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Library board asks city legal counsel to interpret bylaws after term‑limit language raises reappointment question
Summary
The Nogales Library Board of Trustees asked city legal counsel to interpret a clause added to its bylaws in March 2024 after members said the language could bar a trustee from reappointment; the board also discussed changing ‘may’ to ‘shall’ in appointment language and will defer formal bylaw edits until after counsel’s opinion.
The Nogales Library Board of Trustees asked the city’s legal counsel to interpret a clause in the board’s bylaws after trustees said wording inserted with the March 2024 signatures could affect reappointment rights.
Chairman Vanderboe opened discussion noting the governing document the board signed last year and the uncertainty about when the term‑limit language takes effect. “It needs to be clarified,” Vanderboe said, referring to the phrase that trustees “may be reappointed for a second term, but may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms.”
The item arose because trustee Ed Delsey’s term expires this month and members said the March 2024 language could be read as applying retroactively. Vanderboe said he had already emailed Delsey but that the board needed a formal legal interpretation before acting on any reappointment.
The board also identified inconsistent drafting elsewhere in the bylaws, including alternating use of “may” and “shall” in appointment provisions. Vanderboe proposed changing the phrase that currently reads “the names of prospective trustees may be recommended” to “shall recommended” to give the board more influence in the nomination process. He said, “I would like to entertain a motion to make that change in the bylaws.”
Board members agreed the issue should go to the city attorney for a prompt interpretation and to return to the board at the next meeting with counsel’s guidance and any proposed edits. The board did not vote on bylaw language changes at the March 12 meeting; members instead directed library staff to submit the questions to legal counsel and to gather suggested grammatical edits for formal consideration at a future meeting.
The board asked for an expedited opinion because the interpretation affects whether Delsey, whose term is expiring, is eligible for reappointment under the newly signed language. No formal reappointment occurred at the March meeting.
Clarifying details the board requested for counsel include whether the March 14, 2024 signature date makes the term‑limit clause retroactive and whether the change from permissive (“may”) to mandatory (“shall”) language should be applied consistently across the bylaws.
