The citizens' board that is charged with overseeing the actions of the Philadelphia Police Department no longer has rules in place.
The commission, which is down to four people from its original nine member composition, removed its bylaws earlier in August.
The group has been through a lot of dysfunction, or growing pains, since its inception two years ago.
We've been reporting on it as the board has continued to shrink.
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And now, even more uncertainty lies ahead.
"In my opinion, the current bylaws, they do not accurately reflect the current work of the Commission," Citizens Police Oversight Commission interim chair Hassan Bennett said.
And with that, Bennett asked that the board's bylaws be rescinded.
Fellow commissioners John Solomon and Haakin Peay voted yes. A fourth member was absent.
However, no replacement bylaws were introduced.
The board is charged with overseeing the actions of the police department, including officer-involved shootings and allegations of police misconduct.
"The commission really wants to take its time to really think about it," the board's executive director Tonya McCleary said.
McCleary says it's not required to have bylaws to function, but some governmental experts, including the Committee of Seventy executive director Lauren Cristella, say that's not good practice.
“I think operating without any bylaws is risky behavior, right? And it can only lead to more questions and, less defined, less transparent process," Cristella said.
“If the commission requirement is to have so many members and they're well below that number, then the question is, can you adequately carry out your business?” Charles Elson, of the University of Delaware, told NBC10.
The board of nine is down to four members following a mass resignation last year, a suspension and the chair stepping down.
Elson also questioned whether the commission even has a quorum.
The bylaws that the three members rescinded define a quorum as five members, or half the commission plus one.
“I think someone would have a very good argument that their actions at this point are not effective because they, in fact, don't have the necessary complement," Elson explained.
McCleary says they believe the board's actions are legally sound. She says the commissioners want to have new bylaws before new members join.
“They want to make sure that in the orientations and things of that nature that people understand what the work is," McCleary said.
A selection panel appointed by city council and the mayor is currently reviewing applications for new commissioners.
“The hope is to have the slate ready by October," according to McCleary.
In the meantime, the remaining members will continue to make decisions.
“The goal of the commission is to increase trust between government, law enforcement and residents of Philadelphia. And this level of dysfunction is only going to breed more distrust," Cristella said.
If you'd like to apply for a spot on the commission, the panel is taking applications until this Friday, August 23. Find the application by clicking here.
