E-mail discussion

[Guest Marty]

Our small HOA Board occasionally mails comments to each other i.e. dissatisfaction with our management company. We do not see each other except at Board meetings, which are held every other month. One of our board members insists if two or more members participate in these discussions by e-mail, we must declare an official Board meeting. Since we are not taking any action on the issues, merely discussing our individual thoughts regarding the matters must we declare this communication as an actual Board meeting?

[Larry Cisar]

Our small HOA Board occasionally mails comments to each other i.e. dissatisfaction with our management company. We do not see each other except at Board meetings, which are held every other month. One of our board members insists if two or more members participate in these discussions by e-mail, we must declare an official Board meeting. Since we are not taking any action on the issues, merely discussing our individual thoughts regarding the matters must we declare this communication as an actual Board meeting?

Ask the board member where such a rule is found -- bet you he can't. Also, you cannot have board meetings via email unless your bylaws provide for them.

[hmtcastle]

Since we are not taking any action on the issues, merely discussing our individual thoughts regarding the matters must we declare this communication as an actual Board meeting?

Not as far as RONR is concerned. In fact, as far as RONR is concerned, you couldn't declare it a meeting even if you wanted to.

But, as an HOA, you might be subject to so-called "open meeting" (or "sunshine") laws. Ask your insistent board member to show you the rule that supports his claim.

[Gary Novosielski]

Our small HOA Board occasionally mails comments to each other i.e. dissatisfaction with our management company. We do not see each other except at Board meetings, which are held every other month. One of our board members insists if two or more members participate in these discussions by e-mail, we must declare an official Board meeting. Since we are not taking any action on the issues, merely discussing our individual thoughts regarding the matters must we declare this communication as an actual Board meeting?

If you are subject to state "Sunshine" law requirements, then the member might have a point. RONR has no such requirement, but depending on the state you live in, some of these laws protect the right of the public to have access to matters being "discussed or acted upon". In some states you might run into trouble only if a quorum of members participated in extra-meeting discussions.

But you can't declare an e-mail to be a meeting. It's not a meeting. And if you could, it wouldn't satisfy the "Sunshine" requirement anyway, unless you e-mailed "the public" too.