1. MACDC Intercounty Drain Procedures Training
Intercounty Drain Governance
Stacy Hissong
Lizzie Mills
Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes PLC
February 15, 2017
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2. Summary Consistent governance improves: Why? Communication
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Why?
Proper and consistent administration
This chapter will set forth roles, responsibilities, and standardized procedures that will provide guidance to all members in the effective and efficient administration of their intercounty drain drainage boards.
Consistent governance among intercounty drain drainage boards is important in ensuring effective administration of all intercounty drains.
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3. Roles and Responsibilities of the Board
“[T]ake all steps and perform all acts and sign all papers as commissioners are required to do singly in the case of other drains.” MCL
Communication
Satisfy fiduciary duty to
the board and the drainage district
Good faith
Reasonable Care
Loyalty
Drain Code clearly explains the Board members’ responsibilities.
Goal: Communication and team effort.
Ex: Receive documents from land owners and forward to all fellow board members.
What docs? Petitions, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, P.A. 222 Claims, requests for maintenance, and requests for reviews.
Good faith and reasonable care in performing the duties of the board are critical, as is acting in the best interests of the board.
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4. Roles and Responsibilities
Chair
Members
Secretary
Treasurer
FOIA Coordinator
Chairperson
General
Chair of the drainage board.
Prepare orders and other procedural documents
Ensure proper notice and communication related to petitions and other matters that come in front of the board.
Record keeping (See Record Retention Chapter).
Fiduciary duties.
Meeting Responsibilities
Call meetings and provide required notice.
Exercise parliamentary control.
Prepare agendas and distribute to members.
Nonvoting member except in Chapter 21 boards or in the case of a tie.
Prepare and sign all orders and resolutions issued by the drainage board
Members
“[T]ake all steps and perform all acts and sign all papers as commissioners are required to do singly in the case of other drains.”
Receive petitions, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, P.A. 222 Claims, requests for maintenance, and requests for reviews and forward all to MDARD and board members.
Post notices and execute affidavits as required by the Drain Code and requested by the chairperson.
Attend meetings and participate in all deliberation and voting related to matters in front of the drainage board.
Follow procedures for disqualification and substitution for conflict of interest matters (See Conflicts and Dispute Resolution Chapter).
Secretary
Prepare and sign minutes of all proceedings of the drainage board.
Forward originals of all proceedings and records of the drainage board to MDARD at the completion of any project. In the meantime, ensure that copies are provided to MDARD for record retention and FOIA purposes.
Sign all orders and resolutions issued by the drainage board.
Serve as the designated communicator of official drainage board correspondence.
Chapter 21 board secretary must sign and file duplicate originals of the minutes. MCL
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5. Preparing for a Meeting
Calling a Meeting
The chair or two members of the board may call a meeting
Agendas
Drafted by the chair or secretary
Form and format
Changing the agenda
Board members may request additions to the agenda prior to the meeting by contacting the chairperson, or by doing so at the meeting prior to the approval of the agenda
Sample agenda in chapter outlines items that may be included:
Call to order (pledge of allegiance, if there is to be one)
Roll call
Approval of Agenda
Election of Secretary
Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting
Treasurer’s Report
Approval of Invoices
Petitions and Communications (if any)
Reports of board members, committees (if any) and consultants
New Business
Unfinished Business (unfinished or pending matters)
Public Comments— general
Closed Session (if needed)
Adjournment
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6. Meetings Quorum Parliamentary Procedure Deputy and Staff Participation
Deputy Drain Commissioner
Staff
The chairperson has parliamentary control and ultimate discretion in determining any issues of parliamentary procedure.
A drainage board, by resolution, may provide for more specific procedures related to the following (so long as they are not contradictory to the provisions of this Chapter):
Notification of meetings;
Attendance at meetings;
Meeting information packets;
Agenda preparation;
Voting;
Conduct of board members;
Public participation;
Minute preparation;
Committees; and/or
Resolutions.
The drainage board, by resolution, may establish protocol for participation by deputies or staff in a role that assists the drainage board.
If a deputy is appearing on behalf of a member, it is presumed that the deputy is a “designee” that is permitted to act in place of the member, and not simply an authorized “attendee.” The actions of a deputy serving as a “designee” of the member will serve to bind a member county.
Staff may be permitted, pursuant to protocol established by the drainage board, to assist the drainage board in tasks such as taking minutes, providing input during meetings, and participating in closed session. Non-deputized staff members do not have the statutory authority to vote in place of a member.
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7. It’s not all about you, Robert.
A Word About Motions
It’s not all about you, Robert.
The manner in which motions are made and voted upon at an intercounty drainage board meeting relies entirely on which rules of procedure the board has adopted. There is no statutory mandate to use any particular set of rules.
The concepts outlined in the manual do not rely strictly on Roberts’ Rules, but are instead intended to offer basic (more practical) rules of procedure for a board’s consideration and use.
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8. Motion Basics 1. I move that… 2. Support!
3. Chair restates the motion; calls for discussion
5. Debate
6. Chair calls the question
7. Vote
8. Results: Adopted or Defeated
A member must first be recognized by the chairperson.
The member makes a motion by saying “I move to…” or “I move that…” A motion should not be accompanied by a reason of why the motion is being made.
Next, a member must support the motion for it to proceed. If the motion is not supported, it fails to move forward for discussion.
The chairperson may make a motion or offer support for a motion to bring the matter for discussion before the board.
Once a motion has been supported, the chairperson states the motion: “It is moved and supported to...”
At this point the motion now belongs to the group (not the movant or the “supporter”).
Next, members debate the motion. During the debate, members must still be recognized by the chairperson in order to speak.
Once the debate has finished, or if there is no debate, the chairperson repeats the motion: “The question is on the adoption of the motion to…”
The chairperson calls for the vote by asking for all those in favor to say “aye” and all oppose to say “no” (unless the vote is on a resolution, which will be a roll call vote, as discussed in this section).
In most cases, the chairperson votes only in the event of a tie.
In a Chapter 21 board, the chairperson may vote on any matter before the board.
After the vote, results are announced and, depending on the tally,
the chairperson declares the motion as adopted or defeated.
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9. Motion to Amend Purpose: change wording of motion
Majority vote is required
Special Issue: Friendly amendment
Original motion changes
Motion Passes
Original motion stays the same
Motion Fails
Used to change the wording of a motion that has been made, supported, and is currently under consideration.
In making a motion to amend, a member cannot interrupt a speaker who has the floor.
The motion to amend must be supported.
Majority vote is required to adopt the motion to amend.
If the motion to amend passes, the original motion changes.
If the motion to amend fails, the original motion remains the same.
Majority vote is not required if the motion to amend is a “friendly amendment,” which requires the original movant to (1) state his or her intent to amend the original motion or (2) accept the request of another board member to amend the motion.
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10. Motions to Delay Consideration of a Pending Motion
A motion to table will postpone until a later point in the meeting
A motion to postpone consideration will delay the consideration to a later date
To recall the motion for deliberation, recall the motion from the table by vote.
A motion to table is used to postpone consideration of a motion until a later point in the meeting in order to consider a more pressing matter.
A motion to take from the table may be made later in the meeting to resume consideration.
A motion to postpone consideration of an item is used to delay the consideration to a later date, either a specific meeting or for an indefinite period.
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11. Motions to Reconsider
Purpose: revisit a previous decision made at the same meeting.
Cannot reconsider if:
It has been partly carried out or
The party to a previously approved contract
The motion to reconsider can be made and supported at any point in the meeting. However, it cannot be considered until it would be “in order,” meaning another item is not currently pending.
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12. Motion to Rescind
Purpose: revisit a board decision from a previous meeting.
Notification required
Cannot rescind if the actions set in motion by the prior decisions are fully or substantially completed
If the original motion has been acted upon and the action cannot be undone, the motion cannot be rescinded.
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13. Resolutions
Written motion used to capture details of more complex matters or to meet statutory requirements
Document rationale
Outline a significant number of details regarding the action.
Identify the board’s authority to act
Numbering
Record retention
Prepared before the meeting by any member of the board or consultant to the board.
Includes “whereas” clauses that provide the basis for the action being taken by the drainage board.
Resolutions should be stored and forwarded in accordance with the Record Retention Chapter and other applicable laws and regulations. It is recommended that each resolution be numbered (for example, the first resolution passed in 2016 would be labeled “Resolution ”).
Voting is done by roll call, with the results recorded on the resolution.
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14. Substitutions Typically arise with conflicts of interest
Appointment of a special commissioner by the probate court
Substitution by the deputy of the board member.
Substitutions, conflicts of interests will be addressed more fully in the Dispute Resolution Chapter
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15. Communicating Board Actions
Identify who will speak on behalf of the board
General rule? The Board speaks through its minutes and resolutions
Take care when providing an individual position or opinion
It is important to remember that the drainage board as a whole is the representative entity for intercounty drainage districts, not individual members.
No individual member has the right to speak on behalf of the board, unless conveying an officially adopted position or action taken by the board.
If providing an individual position or opinion, an individual member must clearly represent that it is just that, and not a position of the drainage board.
Particularly in the case of intercounty drainage boards made up of elected drain commissioners, property owners and citizens may not be able to distinguish between the positions of the board and a member.
Unless otherwise specified, approved or delegated by the board:
All motions must be certified by the secretary and
All orders, resolutions, and official actions taken by the board must be certified by the chairperson
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16. Confidentiality
Fiduciary obligation requires board members to, among other things, maintain confidentiality of information not subject to disclosure.
Ex: Attorney-Client Privileged Communication or Documents
Ex: Closed Session minutes, discussion
Members of the drainage board have a fiduciary duty to the drainage district, which includes keeping confidential all information that is not subject to disclosure and not authorized for release by a majority of the board.
Information disclosure by an individual member
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