Deposit a copy with the municipal or county clerk. They bring judgments of a variety of people into decisions and help to make sure that community standards are brought into play in important decisions. The most important ingredient for a good board or commission is, of course, highly qualified members dedicated to doing the work of the body. In order to function well and use the members' talents effectively, the procedures which the group follows should be clearcut and agreed upon in advance so that time is not wasted in wrangling over how to operate. Usually these rules cannot be suspended except according to a suspension method contained in the by-laws themselves.
Some public groups have more freedom than others to set their own rules.
The city council has the power to make rules under which the board of public works proceeds, so the BPW may have no latitude at all. State statutes regarding the board of commissioners of a public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district go so far as to state what is a quorum and the minimum number of meetings to be held. Some very detailed procedures are laid out in the statutes regarding municipal boards of zoning appeals. Although a majority of all members must vote to approve a master plan or an amendment thereto, plan commissions have a good deal of discretion in deciding how they function. Here are three hypothetical examples of problems which by-laws could help avoid.