Required Approvals (Consent) Agenda

"Our Board is not certain how to go about using a consent agenda properly. When should we use it, and how do we document the discussion?"

A Consent Agenda (Required Approvals Agenda)   is used for items which the Board has clearly delegated to the CEO in its policy, but which some outside body stipulates must be "formally approved" by the Board. These items go onto a special portion of the agenda, which may be called the Required Approvals, or Consent Agenda.   The CEO provides a special monitoring report that includes evidence to certify that any relevant criteria previously stated by the Board in its policies have been met. If the board is satisfied with the monitoring evidence, it then adopts the entire Required Approvals Agenda with one motion. There is no discussion. An item can be removed from this kind of consent agenda to the regular agenda to allow discussion only by majority vote of the Board.