Guest Caitlin J Posted January 18, 2011 at 04:45 PM Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 at 04:45 PM I have found unsigned minutes from as far back as 2006. Do these need to be signed, and what if the meeting chair is no longer with the institution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted January 18, 2011 at 04:52 PM Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 at 04:52 PM I have found unsigned minutes from as far back as 2006. Do these need to be signed, and what if the meeting chair is no longer with the institution?They should have been signed upon submission and initialed upon approval but the lack of either is not necessarily a deal-breaker as long as they've been approved (which you can verify by looking for that fact recorded in the minutes of the next meeting).If they have not been approved (or if there's any doubt), you could approve them (chronogically) at the next regular meeting.Finally, the minutes should be kept in a "minutes book" so that you won't find isolated minutes just lying around. Or perhaps what you found were just copies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Goldsworthy Posted January 18, 2011 at 06:54 PM Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 at 06:54 PM I have found unsigned minutes from as far back as 2006. Q1. Do these need to be signed? Q2. What if the meeting chair is no longer with the institution?"Found"?What do you mean?Where did you "find" these minutes?(a.) in the minutes book?(b.) on a sidewalk?A1.) No.Those minutes are not authentic. They are copies, or early (superseded) drafts.I assume that the your organization has established the recommended practice of having your secretary date and initial the official approved hard copy.Maybe now would be a good time to mention the obvious.No hard copy of minutes is dated and signed except one -- the approved minutes, which is archived carefully in the archives of the organization.A2.) Not relevant. Minutes do not depend on any previous chair.My goodness! You weren't thinking of having your 2006 chair signing your newly-discovered draft minutes, were you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Caitlin Posted January 18, 2011 at 07:48 PM Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 at 07:48 PM "Found"?What do you mean?Where did you "find" these minutes?(a.) in the minutes book?(b.) on a sidewalk?A1.) No.Those minutes are not authentic. They are copies, or early (superseded) drafts.I assume that the your organization has established the recommended practice of having your secretary date and initial the official approved hard copy.Maybe now would be a good time to mention the obvious.No hard copy of minutes is dated and signed except one -- the approved minutes, which is archived carefully in the archives of the organization.A2.) Not relevant. Minutes do not depend on any previous chair.My goodness! You weren't thinking of having your 2006 chair signing your newly-discovered draft minutes, were you? Thanks for being very obvious there! I am in the process of scanning our signed - and approved - meeting minutes into electronic form and I have found older - approved - minutes that were not signed at the time by the department chair. My supervisor asked me to check Robert's Rules in regards to getting older minutes signed, and thus here I am! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted January 18, 2011 at 07:57 PM Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 at 07:57 PM Thanks for being very obvious there! I am in the process of scanning our signed - and approved - meeting minutes into electronic form and I have found older - approved - minutes that were not signed at the time by the department chair. My supervisor asked me to check Robert's Rules in regards to getting older minutes signed, and thus here I am!As long as they've been approved, the absence of a signature is immaterial. If you want to play it safe, you could adopt a motion declaring all previous minutes to be considered approved and then make a small notation in the margins of the old minutes (where the signatures would have been) referencing this fact.And don't confuse the scanned copies of the minutes with the minutes themselves. It's great to have backups but don't even think of throwing out the originals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Caitlin Posted January 18, 2011 at 08:13 PM Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 at 08:13 PM As long as they've been approved, the absence of a signature is immaterial. If you want to play it safe, you could adopt a motion declaring all previous minutes to be considered approved and then make a small notation in the margins of the old minutes (where the signatures would have been) referencing this fact.And don't confuse the scanned copies of the minutes with the minutes themselves. It's great to have backups but don't even think of throwing out the originals.Thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Goldsworthy Posted January 19, 2011 at 07:05 AM Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 at 07:05 AM ... our signed - and approved - meeting minutes ..."Whew!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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