approval of minutes

[Leo]

A notice is given of a special meeting before the next regular monthly meeting.

It is important that certain records involving other organizations, such as the post office and the bank, be updated as soon as possible.

Although a special meeting does not normally approve the minutes of the previous regular monthly meeting, would it be in order at the special meeting to suspend the rules and adopt the minutes of the previous regular monthly meeting.

[jstackpo]

11 minutes ago, Leo said:

would it be in order at the special meeting to suspend the rules and adopt ...

I kinda doubt it as the members who chose not to come to the special meeting (because the announced agenda was not relevant to them, or something) wouldn't be getting a proper notice about minutes adoption.  Absentee protection rights and all that, p. 251.

However, it would be perfectly OK to include "adoption of minutes of..." in the call for the special meeting.

[Leo]

Thank  you. I figured it was not the best idea but wanted to give it a try.  

The notice went out and the deadline has passed. I asked the question too late.

[Richard Brown]

I agree with Dr Stackpole in part and disagree with him in part. The disagreement is minor.

I agree that in order for the special meeting to approve the minutes of a previous meeting, notice of that must be included in the call of the meeting.

The point that I have a minor disagreement is that RONR consistently and repeatedly speaks of "approving" the minutes, not "adopting" the minutes. It does not once refer to"adopting" the minutes.  

Therefore, I think the notice should include a statement that one of the purposes of the meeting is to approve the minutes of the specified previous meeting.

Edited January 20, 2019 at 05:11 PM by Richard Brown
Added the sentence that says RONR does not once refer to adopting the minutes

[Joshua Katz]

Remind me again: what is the motion used to modify minutes after approval?

[Bruce Lages]

Amend Something Previously Adopted - but the motion that was adopted, and subsequently subject to amendment, was an implied motion to approve the minutes.

[Gary Novosielski]

4 hours ago, Leo said:

Thank  you. I figured it was not the best idea but wanted to give it a try.  

The notice went out and the deadline has passed. I asked the question too late.

It's worth noting that any actions taken at the previous meeting are effective immediately and not when the minutes are approved.  Approval of minutes affects nothing but the minutes themselves, confirming that they are correct records of what went on before being filed for the benefit of future archeologists. 

So post office records, bank records, and the like may properly be updated as soon as the relevant motions are adopted, and need not wait for the minutes of that meeting to be approved.  It is appropriate for the secretary to submit a certified copy of a resolution for banking purposes, for example, taking care that it is, in fact, accurate.

So your concern with seeing that the minutes are approved may be somewhat misplaced.

[Joshua Katz]

2 hours ago, Bruce Lages said:

but the motion that was adopted, and subsequently subject to amendment, was an implied motion to approve the minutes.

Then why is it the content of the minutes being amended?

[Joshua Katz]

1 hour ago, Gary Novosielski said:

So your concern with seeing that the minutes are approved may be somewhat misplaced.

My assumption was that it was the sort of situation where, e.g., a bank needs to see the minutes.

[Gary Novosielski]

55 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said:

My assumption was that it was the sort of situation where, e.g., a bank needs to see the minutes.

I suppose that is possible, but the banks I have had experience with have always accepted a certified resolution signed by the Secretary and sometimes the President quoting the text of the resolution and concluding with:

I [We] hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of a resolution adopted at a regular or properly called meeting of the [body] at which a quorum was present.

It would not be necessary to wait for the approval of minutes for the Secretary (and President) to issue such a certification prior to the actual approval of minutes.

Edited January 20, 2019 at 08:51 PM by Gary Novosielski