Electronic minutes

[Guest Keyz Mike]

in today’s era of technology would it be OK to distribute meeting minutes and agenda to the board for approval via email? In addition, to those without email access, I’d be willing to project them from my phone to a whiteboard for sharing. 

One of our board members tries to be a stickler for procedure and claims that this would not be acceptable. 

The other members of the board concur with me. They agree that this would not only save paper and ink, it would avoid the waste of over printing or copying. 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

A draft could be sent in advance of the meeting. Approval would take place at the meeting.

[jstackpo]

What you do is up to your organization.  To avoid future arguments, draw up and adopt a "standing rule" that details what process is acceptable to a majority. 

[Richard Brown]

Guest Keyz Mike, is it your intent that the approval of the minutes also be done by email rather than in a meeting? If so, that would amount to absentee voting (or voting by mail) and would have to be authorized in your bylaws.

[Josh Martin]

10 hours ago, Guest Keyz Mike said:

in today’s era of technology would it be OK to distribute meeting minutes and agenda to the board for approval via email? In addition, to those without email access, I’d be willing to project them from my phone to a whiteboard for sharing. 

One of our board members tries to be a stickler for procedure and claims that this would not be acceptable. 

The other members of the board concur with me. They agree that this would not only save paper and ink, it would avoid the waste of over printing or copying. 

Sending the minutes by email is fine - which will address the board’s concerns regarding the paper, ink, printing, and copying. The approval itself, however, must happen at a meeting (which appears to be what is suggested, given the reference to projecting the minutes on a whiteboard).

[Atul Kapur]

What you are sending out by email are draft minutes, and I see nothing wrong with that. Agreeing with my colleagues, the actual approval should happen at a meeting.

I am not a fan of only keeping electronic records. And this leads to a suggestion that may satisfy your stickler. The secretary brings one hard copy to the meeting which any member is free to review at the time the minutes are approved. Corrections, if any, are made on that hard copy, and once approved the hard copy is signed as the official minutes of the previous meeting. This hard copy then gets put into the official records of the association.

The electronic record can be kept as a backup. And this way, only one printed copy exists, thus saving paper and ink from having multiple copies circulating.

[J. J.]

5 hours ago, Josh Martin said:

Sending the minutes by email is fine - which will address the board’s concerns regarding the paper, ink, printing, and copying. The approval itself, however, must happen at a meeting (which appears to be what is suggested, given the reference to projecting the minutes on a whiteboard).

Just to be clear, at the meeting, the chair would ask for corrections, and if there are none, declare the minutes approved.  It should  not be overly difficult to approve the draft minutes at a meeting. 

Edited August 8, 2018 at 07:00 PM by J. J.
plugging the not hole. :)

[Joshua Katz]

11 minutes ago, J. J. said:

Just to be clear, at the meeting, the chair would ask for corrections, and if there are none, declare the minutes apposed.  It should be overly difficult to approve the draft minutes at a meeting. 

This makes no sense to me.

[Chris Harrison]

10 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said:

This makes no sense to me.

I think JJ fell in a "not" hole and that was supposed to be " It should [NOT] be overly difficult..."

[Gary Novosielski]

On 8/7/2018 at 11:04 PM, Guest Keyz Mike said:

in today’s era of technology would it be OK to distribute meeting minutes and agenda to the board for approval via email? In addition, to those without email access, I’d be willing to project them from my phone to a whiteboard for sharing. 

One of our board members tries to be a stickler for procedure and claims that this would not be acceptable. 

The other members of the board concur with me. They agree that this would not only save paper and ink, it would avoid the waste of over printing or copying. 

The reading aloud of minutes can be omitted by unanimous consent if all members receive an advance draft.  In my opinion, this could be an electronic or paper copy.  I would suggest, however that paper copies be sent in advance to those without e-mail, so that they have time to review them, and are not at a disadvantage to those who have e-mail.

However, if your stickler wishes to stickle, remember that even if all members receive advance drafts, the minutes must be read aloud at the meeting upon the demand of a single member.

I concur with those who have pointed out that approval may only happen at a meeting, absent some pretty fancy bylaws provisions.