Sergeant of Arms

[Guest Darin Burnett]

Does the sergeant of arms for an HOA have to be a member of the board of directors?

[Atul Kapur]

Not generally, no.

It depends what your bylaws say

[Richard Brown]

RONR does not even require that the sergeant at arms be a member (or homeowner) of the organization. Any such requirement would have to be found in your own bylaws or other governing documents or in controlling state law. 

[puzzling]

On 5/9/2023 at 5:37 AM, Richard Brown said:

RONR does not even require that the sergeant at arms be a member (or homeowner) of the organization. Any such requirement would have to be found in your own bylaws or other governing documents or in controlling state law. 

I thought it even went further: if the officer is not mentioned in the bylaws you cannot elect or appoint one

[Gary Novosielski]

On 5/9/2023 at 3:09 PM, puzzling said:

I thought it even went further: if the officer is not mentioned in the bylaws you cannot elect or appoint one

Did anyone say something different?

[Josh Martin]

On 5/9/2023 at 2:09 PM, puzzling said:

I thought it even went further: if the officer is not mentioned in the bylaws you cannot elect or appoint one

It may be that the Sergeant-at-Arms position is specified as an officer in the organization's bylaws. It may be that it is not. In the latter case, I do not believe any rule in RONR prevents the appointment of such a position - it just won't be an officer position.

The description of the Sergeant-at-Arms in RONR (excluding the last sentence, which is not applicable for most organizations) is as follows:

"A sergeant-at-arms (or warden, or warrant officer, as sometimes called), who, on the floor of the meeting hall, assists in preserving order as the chair may direct. In a convention or large meeting this officer may have charge of the ushers. He may handle certain physical arrangements in the hall as well, such as being responsible in some cases for seeing that the furnishings are in proper order for each meeting." RONR (12th ed.) 47:40

It does not seem to me that the duties of this position are of such a nature that the position must be in the bylaws, unless it is desired that the position is formally classified as an officer.

In any event, whether this is an officer position or not, the answer to the OP's question remains the same - the Sergeant-at-Arms is not required to be a board member, or even a member of the organization at all, unless the organization's rules so provide.