Question: How to decide what expenditures to vote on?

We usually have a membership vote for many of our expenses. How do we decide which items to actually put forth for a vote? Is this decided by the officers? Lately we seem to have just one officer putting forth her own suggestions for items to purchase without consulting anyone else. Our meetings are only attended by a few people and I've yet to see anyone vote "no" against any of this person's suggestions.

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
It isn't a good idea to have one officer acting in such a solo role. Check your group's bylaws to see what procedures have been outlined for spending. Do you have executive board meetings? That's when the officers should be discussing upcoming expenses and the board should be in agreement on expenses before moving forward. Often, groups have a cap on small expenses (say, $100 to $200) that the board can do without a vote. Bigger expenses should be presented to the group for a vote.