Adding an item into minutes without it being discussed at the meeting the minutes were taken.

[Guest Maureen]

I have a question about minutes.  E.g. if someone asks to add something to the minutes that was not discussed at the time of the meeting, is that allowed?  Can one add an addendum to the minutes?

[Gary Novosielski]

While approval of the minutes is pending, a correction can be offered which could include additional material that should have been included in the minutes but was omitted.

The purpose of corrections is to make sure that the minutes are a true, correct, and complete record of what was actually done at that meeting.  That includes a record of all motions made, who moved them, and how they were disposed of.  The minutes should not contain extraneous material or anything reflecting the content of debate.  

If corrections are offered that are not intended to accomplish that goal, other members should object to the inclusion, and a majority vote would decide whether the correction will be agreed to.

[Dan Honemann]

On 10/21/2023 at 4:21 PM, Guest Maureen said:

I have a question about minutes.  E.g. if someone asks to add something to the minutes that was not discussed at the time of the meeting, is that allowed?  Can one add an addendum to the minutes?

Minutes are mainly a record of what was done at a meeting, and not what was said by the members, and certainly should not include anything that did not happen during the meeting.