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Order or Chaos Most city councils or town assemblies eventually realize that they can't do it all - too much information, too many decisions, too much to sort out during that one weekly meeting. To help shoulder the burden, they create boards, commissions, ad hoc committees, blue ribbon committees and other entities to take on zoning, literacy, animal control, ethics, veterans and myriad other issues that the citizens expect their city to solve. Citizens come forward to serve on these boards anticipating an enriching experience in which they use their life's work and expertise to help solve problems. They are excited to be working with others who share their passion and interests and thrilled for the chance to "give back to the community." Unfortunately, many of these citizen volunteers discover a less exhilarating reality. They find themselves doodling as another member endlessly drones on about the same topic week after week. Some sneak peeks at their watches and fantasize about slipping away to feed the parking meter, while others worry about how much longer they can keep their babysitter waiting. They grow increasingly frustrated with the know -it -all who claims to have mastered rules of parliamentary procedure and then uses these rules to run roughshod over the other members. They wonder about the chair's selective enforcement the rules of procedure based on which side of the issue she favors. At some point along the way, some of these members find it harder to get to the meetings - conflicts at work, vacations, child -care problems, lost their car keys, etc. Or could it be that they've grown weary of meetings that never seem to get to the point, debates where one member (or maybe an alliance of two!) drags everything out for hours, and personality conflicts that the chair seems unable or unwilling to manage. The board isn't getting much done and no one's having any fun, plus you've having a problem getting a quorum. Boards Behaving Badly or "Can We Have Training on Robert's Rules ?" Things are out of hand and the chair contacts the Office of the City Attorney. "What can we do ?" Madam Chair asks. "Our board's behaving badly and we need help! Some of our members want to vote other members off the board like on "Survivor!" Can we get some training on Robert's Rules ?" Sometimes, boards get along fine without formal rules of procedure, leaving it to a mutual understanding of some informal rules and a well- respected chair to keep things moving along. Besides, who has time to plow through the two- inch -thick Robert's Rules, 10` Edition? There may come a time, however, when things don't go so smoothly. In those cases, Robert's Rules or some other rules of procedure can help. It isn't necessary for the entire board to become certified parliamentarians, but it is helpful for the members to become familiar with some of the basics. Page 2 of 7