Board Meeting Minutes

[Guest Peggy]

As secretary, I email a draft of the Board minutes to the Board Members only. If there are no corrections or additionas, We dispense with the reading and accept the minutes at the next meeting. If there are changes, I read the minutes and the changes are made. So far - is this correct procedure?

We have 2 gen members who regularly attend Board meetings. Now they are requesting they too receive the draft of the minutes. As a courtesy, I print the minutes and post a copy on the bulletin board for the members to read. Am I obligated to provide an email to everyone attending the Board meeting? Is posting a copy ok?

How much can the 2 Board meeting "guests" participate in the meeting???

[Rob Elsman]

Visitors to board meetings are not entitled to receive copies of the minutes or have the minutes posted. The board is free, however, to decide what it wants to do.

[J. J.]

No, only members of the body meeting, the board in this case, have a right to even see the minutes (p. 444). You are not required to post them, unless the board or organization so requests.

I would say that if the board does not object, it is okay to post them. It is the board's decision, not yours.

[J. J.]

Visitors to board meetings are not entitled to receive copies of the minutes or have the minutes posted. The board is free, however, to decide what it wants to do.

Well I cited the page number.

[hmtcastle]

As secretary, I email a draft of the Board minutes to the Board Members only. If there are no corrections or additionas, We dispense with the reading and accept the minutes at the next meeting. If there are changes, I read the minutes and the changes are made. So far - is this correct procedure?

We have 2 gen members who regularly attend Board meetings. Now they are requesting they too receive the draft of the minutes. As a courtesy, I print the minutes and post a copy on the bulletin board for the members to read. Am I obligated to provide an email to everyone attending the Board meeting? Is posting a copy ok?

How much can the 2 Board meeting "guests" participate in the meeting???

"Guests" are not members and they have no right to even attend meetings. But they can be permitted to attend and they can even be permitted to speak. Beyond that it gets tricky.

Further, nothing in RONR requires that you send your draft to anyone (though you're free to do so) and, in fact, it's a common practice to send the draft to all members (of the body that is meeting) in order to expedite their approval.

[Trina]

...

We have 2 gen members who regularly attend Board meetings. Now they are requesting they too receive the draft of the minutes. As a courtesy, I print the minutes and post a copy on the bulletin board for the members to read. Am I obligated to provide an email to everyone attending the Board meeting? Is posting a copy ok?

How much can the 2 Board meeting "guests" participate in the meeting???

Your three question marks make me wonder how much the guests are participating in board meetings at the moment. Do they assume they have full rights to participate because they are regularly there? Do they talk? Make motions? Raise their hands when a vote is called for?

What do the actual board members think about the participation by the guests -- are the guests useful contributors, or a general pain in the neck?

As has been noted by others, non-members (of the body which is meeting) have no right to even attend meetings, according to RONR. However, the assembly has a great deal of latitude in allowing attendance, and participation, even to the extent of allowing visitors to make motions and speak in debate (these latter allowances can be made by voting to suspend the rules which normally prevent such participation). The assembly CANNOT allow non-members to vote, even by suspending the rules.