Planning Council Membership
Your time on the Council

• Planning Council meetings will be held six times per year with strict adherence to its planning cycle.
• The length of meetings vary anywhere from one hour to the entire day .
• Members who miss three Planning Council or committee meetings during any calendar year will be removed from the council.
• Membership shall be for two years and shall commence upon the date of  approval. Members may serve consecutive terms if they meet all membership requirements, successfully complete the application and nomination process, and are reappointed.
• No member may hold a voting seat for more than four consecutive years in any six year period, and may not hold a voting seat for more than eight years total.

Decision Process

What is a formal vote?

Formal voting is required for certain decisions such as membership, changes to By-laws and allocations. Robert’s Rules of Order or parliamentary procedure is used to guide voting processes with a motion made, seconded then discussed and voted upon. This process typically is through a show of hands with ‘yes’ votes, ‘no’ votes and ‘abstention. For some crucial votes, a written ballot is taken (voting for Co-Chair of the Planning Council). For more information, please see Robert’s Rules of Order.

What does it mean to abstain from voting and when should I abstain?

• Abstaining means that you decide to NOT vote on an action.
• You should abstain if you are presiding over a meeting, to be sure you are objective.
• You should abstain if you have a conflict of interest (you or your organization could financially benefit from a decision).
• You should abstain if you do not have enough information to vote. If you didn’t attend a previous meeting where discussion of the matter was held in detail, and this puts you at a handicap, then abstain on that vote.
• Do not abstain if you are unsure about an issue. Seek information and come to a decision as part of your duty as a member.

What is a Quorum and why does it matter?

• A quorum is a simple majority (50% or over of the total, if all Planning Council members are present this equals 13 or 52% of the 25 total members). A quorum must be present at each Planning Council meeting where voting occurs, and at each of the three (3) working committee meetings (Membership/Finance, Quality Improvement and Strategic Planning & Assessment–see Committees).
• A committee meeting must have three (3) council members, one of which is the committee co-chair for quorum (or the ability to vote on matters that go forward to the Planning Council).

What is a Conflict of Interest and what does that mean?

A conflict of interest is when a member knowingly influences the outcome of votes or decisions that could financially benefit that member, the organization that they work for, or a service that they provide.