wfd086 Posted February 22, 2018 at 06:06 PM Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 at 06:06 PM I am trying to convince an organization that we should be emailing the minutes of our meetings to all our members in advance so we can get away from the process of reading and approving the minutes that we currently use. Would we need to amend our by-laws to allow the minutes to be sent out or can we just start sending them to the membership? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted February 22, 2018 at 06:28 PM Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 at 06:28 PM (edited) The draft minutes can (and often are) sent to the members in advance, but they should be clearly marked as DRAFT minutes. However, it is still necessary to go through the steps to approve the minutes at a meeting, allowing an opportunity for corrections, unless there is a minutes approval committee which has the authority to approve the minutes. Also, the minutes must still be read upon the demand of a single member. See pages 473-475. Edited February 22, 2018 at 06:31 PM by Richard Brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Coronite Posted February 22, 2018 at 08:15 PM Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 at 08:15 PM Is the process of reading and approving your minutes taking an inordinate amount of time? is that why you want to avoid it? Perhaps there's too much extraneous material in the minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted February 22, 2018 at 08:48 PM Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 at 08:48 PM 2 hours ago, wfd086 said: I am trying to convince an organization that we should be emailing the minutes of our meetings to all our members in advance so we can get away from the process of reading and approving the minutes that we currently use. Would we need to amend our by-laws to allow the minutes to be sent out or can we just start sending them to the membership? By sending draft copies to each member in advance you can get away from the process of reading (except that the minutes must be read anyway on the demand of a single member) but you still need to approve them at a meeting which, if there are no corrections, takes only a moment: Chair states: The first item of business is approval of minutes. Members have received draft copies; without objection, reading is waived. Are there any corrections to the minutes? Members may offer corrections. (Usually agreed to by unanimous consent, but if there is obection, by majority vote.) Chair states: If there are no (further) corrections, the minutes stand approved (as corrected). Draft copies should be clearly labeled as such, to avoid future confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. J. Posted February 22, 2018 at 09:51 PM Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 at 09:51 PM 59 minutes ago, Gary Novosielski said: By sending draft copies to each member in advance you can get away from the process of reading (except that the minutes must be read anyway on the demand of a single member) but you still need to approve them at a meeting which, if there are no corrections, takes only a moment: Chair states: The first item of business is approval of minutes. Members have received draft copies; without objection, reading is waived. Are there any corrections to the minutes? Members may offer corrections. (Usually agreed to by unanimous consent, but if there is obection, by majority vote.) Chair states: If there are no (further) corrections, the minutes stand approved (as corrected). Draft copies should be clearly labeled as such, to avoid future confusion. I think that a special rule could be adopted to permit the majority (or some higher number) to order the reading waived. Without that, and member can require it. You are spot on with the part I have bolded. It is not required in RONR, but it is an exceptionally good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted February 23, 2018 at 01:12 AM Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 at 01:12 AM As a practical matter, I don't think I've ever witnessed a member insisting on the reading of minutes. I agree a special rule could be adopted, but I doubt it would be needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Susie Posted February 25, 2018 at 05:28 PM Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 at 05:28 PM "emailing the minutes of our meetings to all our members" Board meeting minutes or Annual meeting minutes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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