General Members attending Board of Director Meetings

[tallflknight2015]

In the past when we had our Homeowner Association Board meetings, Members who attended were only allowed to listen and observe. This was according to the Homeowner Association Handbook, where it says, Quote, " Members may attend Board of Directors meetings and can listen and observe only". They cannot at anytime make comments. If after the meeting is adjourned, then that would be allowed.  I want to know if you have any opinions on this subject.

Please advise, Thank you, Frank

[Hieu H. Huynh]

If your rules say, "Members may attend Board of Directors meetings and can listen and observe only", then that is what members can do.

[Richard Brown]

If your rules say, "Members may attend Board of Directors meetings and can listen and observe only", then that is what members can do.

The board may, however, grant special permission for guests to speak.  Normally the board could do that by a majority vote, but if your rule is in the nature of a special rule of order, it would take a two-thirds vote to suspend that rule and to allow a guest to speak.  I don't know whether that is a true special rule of order or just something that someone decided to put in the Homeowner Association Handbook. 

 

Note:  it is my opinion that the board can suspend that rule....assuming that it really is a rule of order.  However, it may be that only the general membership has the power to suspend (or amend) that rule.  Stay tuned.  If I'm wrong, others will be sure to weigh in.   As someone has already pointed out, I haven't had my second cup of coffee yet.  

[Guest Frank]

Thanks for your input, however, we just have  generalized by-laws, It doesn't specifically state the members can attend Board meetings.

 

They just do, and the last years board approved that they not only attend but also ask question ns or give comments before the meeting is adjourned.

 

It's my view, this disrupts and prolongs our meetings. As one meeting we had in November, and no members attended, and our meeting ran so smoothly we got a lot accomplished.

[Richard Brown]

Based on your last comment, I believe that the board can allow "guests" to speak by majority vote.  People who are HOA members but not board members are guests since they aren't members of the group that is meeting.

 

Whether you allow HOA members to speak at board meetings is up to your board and/or the general membership.  Doing so might make your meetings take a little longer, but it gives the members the opportunity to be heard.  It has been my experience that when such boards try to exclude or ignore the membership, it fosters distrust and animosity of the membership towards the board.  The general members generally want to feel like they have a little input into their organization's affairs and that they are not being treated like cattle or little children who should be seen but not heard.   Allowing comments and/or questions at some point in such a meeting is pretty customary.   Your board does seem to have established a custom of allowing HOA members to speak.

 

What you ultimately do is up to your board and/or the general membership.... which probably has the power to enact a rule or bylaw change that permits them  to be heard at board meetings. 

[Josh Martin]

The board may, however, grant special permission for guests to speak.  Normally the board could do that by a majority vote, but if your rule is in the nature of a special rule of order, it would take a two-thirds vote to suspend that rule and to allow a guest to speak.  I don't know whether that is a true special rule of order or just something that someone decided to put in the Homeowner Association Handbook. 

 

In my opinion, a rule of this nature would be a standing rule, not a rule of order, and could therefore be suspended by a majority vote in order to permit them to speak when no motion is pending. A 2/3 vote would be required to let them speak in debate, because this would then be suspending both the standing rule and the relevant rules of order in RONR.

 

Note:  it is my opinion that the board can suspend that rule....assuming that it really is a rule of order.  However, it may be that only the general membership has the power to suspend (or amend) that rule.  Stay tuned.  If I'm wrong, others will be sure to weigh in.   As someone has already pointed out, I haven't had my second cup of coffee yet.  

 

If this rule was adopted by the board, then the board is free to suspend it or amend it as it sees fit.

 

If this rule was adopted by the membership, it may be more complicated. The rule could only be amended by the membership. I believe the board could suspend the rule in order to grant more privileges, such as by permitting members to speak in debate. I don't believe the board could suspend the rule in order to deprive members of the right to attend, since if the board could do this, it would defeat the purpose of the rule.

[Gary Novosielski]

I'm not certain that this is any sort of a rule.  I have seen more than one example of a group compiling a "helpful handbook" of how things are done without bothering to give it any approval or official status, or even checking it against the bylaws.  Instead it amounts to one person's (or small group's) recollection of what the customs of the society have usually been.  

 

I think it would be wise to check to see if there are actually any special rules of order or standing rules that back up this entry in the handbook, and then proceed appropriately.