Do all items voted on have to be recorded in the minutes?

[Guest Chris]

Do all items motioned, seconded and voted upon at a Board meeting have to be included in the meeting minutes? At a recent Board meeting (April) an item was M/S/C (unanimously) to add a particular topic on the following month's (May) meeting agenda. When the minutes for the April meeting were provided for the Board to amend or approve, it was noticed that the above item was not included in the minutes even though it was motioned, seconded and carried (unanimously). When asked why, the Secretary said adding an item to the agenda does not require a vote, so they decided to remove the item from the minutes. Can the Secretary do this on their own? Also, is the Secretary correct that a vote is not needed to include an item on the upcoming meeting agenda? There is nothing in our organization's by-laws covering minutes taken at meetings. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

All main motions should be included in the minutes. See RONR 11th ed., pp. 468-471 regarding the content of the minutes.

 

Also, FAQ #14, 15 and 16 may be of use.

[Josh Martin]

Do all items motioned, seconded and voted upon at a Board meeting have to be included in the meeting minutes? At a recent Board meeting (April) an item was M/S/C (unanimously) to add a particular topic on the following month's (May) meeting agenda. When the minutes for the April meeting were provided for the Board to amend or approve, it was noticed that the above item was not included in the minutes even though it was motioned, seconded and carried (unanimously). When asked why, the Secretary said adding an item to the agenda does not require a vote, so they decided to remove the item from the minutes. Can the Secretary do this on their own? Also, is the Secretary correct that a vote is not needed to include an item on the upcoming meeting agenda? There is nothing in our organization's by-laws covering minutes taken at meetings. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

No, it was not proper for the Secretary to make this decision, and no, the Secretary was not correct.

On the other hand, not all items voted on must be included in the minutes. All main motions which were not withdrawn are recorded. Other motions may or may not need to be recorded, depending on the specifics. It seems that this was a main motion.

[Guest chris]

Thank you for responding gentlemen. I appreciate your help and information in this matter. 

[jstackpo]

And just to close a possible loophole:  Amendments, whether adopted or defeated (an amendment is a "motion" after all) do not go in the minutes  --  all that ends up in the minutes is the final text of the motion, as possibly amended, with the note that it was adopted / defeated (or other possibilities).

[Edgar Guest]

Amendments, whether adopted or defeated (an amendment is a "motion" after all) do not go in the minutes . . .

 

Well, there are amendments and then there are amendments. Amendments to the bylaws, for example, most definitely belong in the minutes.

[Gary Novosielski]

I think it's pretty well covered if you include all Main motions in the minutes..

 

Amendments to the bylaws are main motions.  Amendments to pending motions are not.