Approval of general assembly and board meeting minutes

[Guest Doris]

General assembly minutes:

We had a special meeting of our entire subdivision association last month. It was on a very hot topic. Secretary prepared the minutes and sent them to the board for review before sending them to the association. Our board has 5 members. 3 board members approved the minutes to be sent to the association as a draft and they also agree on same desired result on hot topic. The chair will not approve them and is on other side of hot topic. Are these minutes (draft version) initially approved by a vote of the board prior to sending to association for approval? Or can the chair by his own authority approve the minutes regardless of what the majority of the board agrees to?

 

Board meeting minutes:

Are these minutes approved by a vote of the entire board of 5 members? Can the chair by his own authority approve the minutes? 

 

Here is what we are dealing with: 

Per the chair: when you are chair, then you can lead the meetings and drive decisions, until then, it is my position and my authority.

 

 

 

[Sean Hunt]

The minutes must be approved by the board at a meeting. The correct procedure is as follows:

1. The secretary prepares the minutes. At this point, he may circulate a draft, but the content is entirely up to the secretary under the rules of the board.
2. At a meeting (usually the next one), the chair announces that the minutes are up for approval.
3. The secretary reads the minutes (this may be skipped with unanimous consent if they were distributed in advance).
4. The chair asks for corrections.
5. If a correction is offered, and there is objection to the correction, then the assembly can take a vote on which version is preferred.
6. Once there are no more corrections, the minutes are approved.

If someone has an issue with the draft minutes circulated by the secretary, they can either try to convince the secretary to change them before presenting them for approval, or they can bring it up at the meeting as described.

[Chris Harrison]

<snip>

It is unclear whether the General Assembly authorized the Board to approve the minutes for them.  If they did then the Board would approve the minutes and no approval from the GA would be necessary or proper though the GA at their next meeting could amend the previously adopted minutes if needed (RONR pp. 474-475).  On the other hand, if the GA had not authorized the Board to approve the minutes then the Board should stay out of it.

[Sean Hunt]

It is unclear whether the General Assembly authorized the Board to approve the minutes for them.  If they did then the Board would approve the minutes and no approval from the GA would be necessary or proper though the GA at their next meeting could amend the previously adopted minutes if needed (RONR pp. 474-475).  On the other hand, if the GA had not authorized the Board to approve the minutes then the Board should stay out of it.

 

Ah, my bad, I had read this as being the minutes of the Board. What Chris said is absolutely correct.

[Guest Edgar]

Secretary prepared the minutes and sent them to the board for review . . .  

 

Why?

[Josh Martin]

General assembly minutes:

We had a special meeting of our entire subdivision association last month. It was on a very hot topic. Secretary prepared the minutes and sent them to the board for review before sending them to the association. Our board has 5 members. 3 board members approved the minutes to be sent to the association as a draft and they also agree on same desired result on hot topic. The chair will not approve them and is on other side of hot topic.

 

Approving the minutes simply indicates that they are an accurate record of what happened. Whether people are pleased about what happened is irrelevant for this purpose.

 

Are these minutes (draft version) initially approved by a vote of the board prior to sending to association for approval? Or can the chair by his own authority approve the minutes regardless of what the majority of the board agrees to?

 

The chair certainly can't approve the minutes on his own authority, and the board doesn't have the authority to approve the minutes either, unless the membership has authorized it to do so. This is recommended if, for instance, the membership meets less often than quarterly. If the board has not been authorized to do this, the membership approves its own minutes.

 

Board meeting minutes:

Are these minutes approved by a vote of the entire board of 5 members? Can the chair by his own authority approve the minutes? 

 

The minutes are declared approved when no further corrections are offered. A final vote is not taken on the approval of the minutes. In the event that there is disagreement on a correction, the board would vote on the correction. The chair cannot decide these issues on his own authority.

 

Here is what we are dealing with: 

Per the chair: when you are chair, then you can lead the meetings and drive decisions, until then, it is my position and my authority.

 

The chair appears to be somewhat confused on the role of the chair and the authority granted by this position. If this doesn't improve, see FAQ #20.

[Guest Doris]

Thank you very much for your help as I begin to learn RONR. Very much appreciated!!!

[Guest Nancy N.]

Thank you very much for your help as I begin to learn RONR. Very much appreciated!!!

 

As you begin to learn RONR, please -- please -- please pick up yourself a copy of RONR-In Brief.  And do this at once.  Do not delay; go to the bookstore now, if you're here on the East Coast (N.A.) at One in the morning you can bring a bedroll and sleep there on the sidewalk until they open; otherwise, no eating, no bathroom, don't go to work or school or pay attention to fire alarms until you have read it the first time.  Only about an hour (the first reading) (unless you're a college graduate like maybe Hunt, Harrison, Edgar or Martin), you can reluctantly move away from in front of the cashier at the store so other customers can buy their RONR-In Brief's and start reading next to you.

 

Hmm, maybe a good way to meet people.