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Responsibilities of Elected Officers

The roles and responsibilities of elected officers in organizations, including a special section on how presiding officers can get off to a good start.

• So You Are Newly Elected — What Do You Do Now?
• The Role of Elected Officers
• Getting Off to a Good Start as the Presiding Officer

So You Are Newly Elected — What Do You Do Now?

The success of meetings depends largely on how well officers understand and carry out their responsibilities.

The duties and privileges of officers will vary greatly in different organizations and therefore an organization’s bylaws should clearly define the duties involved. If the bylaws don't, the duties will be limited to presiding at organizational meetings.

The following outlines basic suggestions for successfully carrying out the role of an organization’s newly elected officer.

1. Become knowledgeable about your organization’s bylaws.

• Typical bylaws will contain an organization’s correct name and the reason for its existence. It will outline the membership’s rights and limitations and what parliamentary authority the organization follows.
• For members, it will clarify rules of attendance, membership dues, honorary memberships, and qualifications.
• For officers, details regarding procedures for nominations, voting, officer terms, executive and standing committees, quorum determination, annual meeting requirements, and voting criteria will be addressed.
• A periodic review of the purpose of your organization will help focus the group and keep it from running adrift into side issues. It also will help determine if something is outmoded and adjustments are necessary.

2. Establish a shared vision and values. For an elected officer’s success, the membership must share in the organization’s mission and purpose. Often it is assumed that everyone knows why a group exists (after all, it has been around for years). However, a timely review for old and new members alike can help refocus a membership.

3. Develop a working knowledge of parliamentary procedure. A good presiding officer is familiar with basic parliamentary procedure. In small groups it is usually a mistake to insist on exact procedure, as long as no one is being defrauded rights and the will of the group is being carried out. In larger groups, a parliamentarian can assist with the technical aspects of parliamentary law.

The Role of Elected Officers

General parliamentary law requires only two officers: a presiding officer (president or chairman) and a recording officer, typically known as the secretary. Most organizations also will have a treasurer and many will have standing committees.

The presiding officer, unless other duties are specified in the bylaws, is responsible for:

• seeing that the group’s business is transacted in a proper and expedient manner,
• ensuring that all members observe the rules of debate,
• assuring that order and decorum is always maintained, and
• authenticating by signature the actions of the assembly.

Vice-president: Assumes responsibilities of the presiding officer in his or her absence.

Secretary: Records the minutes of an organization’s meeting. The minutes contain what was accomplished at the meeting and not what was said by the members.

Content of the minutes should include: the kind of meeting held (regular, special, etc.); the organization’s name; the meeting date, time, and location; the names of the presiding officer, and secretary in attendance; and whether the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved as read or corrected.

The body of the minutes should contain a separate paragraph for each subject matter covered. The last paragraph should state the time of adjournment. Minutes should be signed with the name and title of the recording secretary, and a copy of the minutes should be prepared and given to the presiding officer well in advance of the next meeting.

Minutes are the legal record of an organization and should not be destroyed.

Treasurer: Duties of this office will vary greatly among groups. The treasurer usually is the primary custodian of trust funds for the organization. A treasurer may pay bills as directed by the organization. The authority to do so will vary widely. An organization’s bylaws should leave no doubt as to what approval is required to disburse funds by the treasurer. A treasurer’s report should include:

• Receipts and disbursements
• Assets of the organization and amounts due the organization
• Liabilities of the organization
• Balance on hand at the beginning and close of the reporting period. (Annual reports must contain disclosure of all receipts and expenditures for the entire year.)

This publication has been peer reviewed.