BOARD MEETING PROTOCOL
Homeowner’s Forum
This session is dedicated to homeowner’s. This is your time to address the Board whether it be to thank them for their efforts and volunteer time, or to ask questions, make suggestions, express your opinion or to express concerns. Here are some tips for productive participation:
Prepare your statement, in writing, ahead of time. That will help you to focus in on what you want to say. Each homeowner is allowed three (3) minutes.
If the topic is complex, submit your statement ahead of time to the Board, via the management company. That offers the Board and management company an opportunity to do research.
Don’t expect an immediate response or resolution. Board Members don’t act independently. All issues require discussion and sometimes a vote. Only matters deemed an emergency such as safety and/or health are dealt with immediately.
Regular Business Session
After the Homeowner’s Forum, homeowners are welcome to stay and observe the Board in action as they continue to conduct business. However, homeowners may not address the Board. If a homeowner has something important to share with the Board, some Boards open up homeowner discussion again, briefly, after the business meeting has adjourned. If not, homeowners are welcome to submit their concerns and comments to the Board, in writing, through the management company for consideration at the next Board Meeting.
Executive Session
The general homeowner population is not allowed to stay and observe the Executive Session due to confidentiality.
Hearings are held during the Executive Session. The Board reviews and discusses delinquent accounts, violations and fines, and ARCs, as examples.
The law is very specific on what limited business topics can be handled in the Executive Session.
Conduct of Board Meetings
Parliamentary procedure is a set of rules for conduct at meetings. The most popular version of parliamentary procedure is Robert’s Rules of Order.
Motions
A “motion” is a proposal that the board take a stand or take action on some isue. Motions are used to get a group to make decisions.
Seconds
A “second” to the motion is made by a different board member to signal continuation of the motion for further discussion.
Amend a Motion
To change a motion by inserting, adding, striking out, or substituting words.
Table a Motion
To put aside a motion for future considerations.
Abstentions
To abstain is to not cast a vote.
Voting
Majority vote is required to pass the motion
Board Meeting Minutes
The Minutes of a meeting document the decisions made during the meeting. This provides a permanent public record of positions and actions taken by a board. The secretary of the board is responsible for maintaining all official records, including the minute book of all board meetings.
Minutes should reflect what was “done” at a meeting, not what was “said”. The minutes may list the name and topic for any speaker, but not a summary of the person’s remarks.
If a meeting is taped to assist in preparation of the minutes, the tape should be erased when the minutes are approved. If a homeowner wishes to tape record a meeting, that is allowed, but the homeowner must announce the taping.
Minutes should state:
- The type of meetings, such as, regular business or specialDate, place and time of the meeting
- Presence of-a quorum-and-the names of-the-people present
- Action taken on the minutes of the previous meeting and corrections, if any
- Wording of each motion, the name of the person who made the motion, and whether the motion was adopted or not
- Hour of adjournment
Source: Community Associations Institute