Blog

Robert's Rules of Order for Associations (Part 1-Agendas)

Posted on April 3, 2019 4:11 PM by Melissa Gentry

Welcome to part one of Robert's rules of order for association board meetings. Part one covers the agenda items that should be present on every meeting agenda.

Call to Order.

State the actual time the meeting begins.

Proof of Notice.

The Chair must verify that all members of the board have received proper notice of the meeting or confirm that all are in attendance.

Quorum.

The Chair may call the meeting to order only if a quorum of the board is present in person.
Telephone is acceptable provided that the phone participant can hear and be heard by all other board members and the owners in attendance.

Notice.

The meeting must be open to all owners and the board and must receive notice of the meeting according to Texas property code.
The code states that notice must be posted in a public area and emailed to all owners.

Approval of Previous Minutes

The minutes do not be read aloud but they should be entered into the Association’s records.
The minutes are prepared by the secretary or other assigned person.
Any board member may suggest changes to the minutes before the board adopts them.
Minutes should state precisely each motion considered by the board, and identify the board members voting in favor, against, or abstaining, and whether the motion was carried.
Minutes should not reflect the comments made except in those instances when the board desires to make a specific record.
Dissenting votes by a board member should be fully stated in the minutes.

Officer or Committee Reports

This is the time in the agenda when any committees of the board or officers of the board may report their findings or recommendations to the board.
The full report should be presented and then each board member, in turn, may ask questions or comment.
Any items that need a vote should not be voted on this section of the agenda. These items should be voted upon under new or old business.

Open Forum

The board opens the floor to provide an open forum for the owners to speak about their concerns.
Strict time limitations should be imposed by the board.
Each unit owner should address the Chair and must speak courteously and to the point.
Board members may question the unit owner about the problem or concern.
Other owners are not entitled to comment or question the speaker, except with the permission of the board.
Once the open forum period is closed, the unit owners are not allowed to participate and may not seek to be recognized unless the board specifically requests input or information from a particular unit owner.

Old and New Business

All items that were tabled during previous meetings must be revisited during the old business portion.
Items that were voted on via email between meetings should also be ratified in old business.
The board may vote to postpone consideration of any old business or it may remove any item from consideration.
All business must be conducted in the form of motions or resolutions adopted by a vote of the board.

Executive (or Closed) Session

The board should move into executive (closed) session only after the regular business is conducted but before formal adjournment.
All owners must be asked to leave except for those having a reason to participate (such as an owner at a rule violation hearing).
No decisions, resolutions, or motions may be adopted in executive session.
All business must be conducted in an open portion of the meeting.
Discussion of items are held in closed section but the actual voting occurs when the meeting is called to order again for open session.
The board should not take minutes of executive sessions.

Adjournment

A motion is made by the board to adjourn, or, upon the conclusion of the agenda, the Chair shall announce the meeting is adjourned and the minutes should reflect the time of adjournment.

Part 2 is coming soon and will focus on common phrasing and protocol using Robert's Rules.