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PROPER MEETING MINUTES FOR ASSOCIATIONS
January 1, 2003
Minutes of Association Meetings are a reflection of the
business that has been conducted and a history of the
activities that have taken place. Minutes should be kept
for at least seven (7) years and should be written in the
third person.
The agenda of the meeting should be followed and the
Minutes also follow the same format. The Minutes should be
written in the abbreviated style and should only include
the business affairs of the association. During the Old
Business and New Business portions of the meeting only
Motions should be recorded in the Minutes and how each
member voted. Discussions are not crucial and should not be
included. Minutes are not to be used for political
positions, personal views and for the denunciation of
members. The Minutes of the meeting are a factual record of
events. Nothing more!
Minutes should contain the following:
Name of Organization
Date
Time and place of the meeting.
What type of meeting, regular, special emergency, budget,
etc.
The Minutes should state who is in attendance at the
meeting.
The Minutes should state whether the Minutes were read,
approved or amended.
All Motions whether adopted or defeated should be recorded.
All reports of committees may be summarized or they can be
referred to as “given by”, but never include them “word for
word” or if written out, they can be attached to the
Minutes.
Reports do not have to be approved.
Time of adjournment.
The Minutes should be signed by the Secretary, and when
approved, the Secretary will date and initial the Minutes
as well.
If the Minutes are ever corrected, the corrections should
go on the right-hand margin where required and then these
changes should also be stated in the next Minutes when
corrected. Personal opinions of praise and/or criticism
should not be recorded.
Overall, the Minutes must be accurate and concisely
written. The Minutes should be a reflection of what took
place at the meeting. The Minutes are a legal, public
document and may be quoted in lawsuits and court cases. In
addition, the Minutes should have a consistent appearance
from meeting to meeting.
The Secretary is an active participant in all Board and
Member Meetings. The Secretary must record the Minutes,
make corrections, and may have to read back Motions for the
members prior to the voting on all Motions. At the same
time, the Secretary is to also participate in the meeting
itself.
The Secretary should keep the Minute Book up to date and
legible. The Minute Book or copies of the Minutes should be
made available for the members at all times. Make sure that
the Minutes are in a protected area, where they cannot be
destroyed by fire or flood.
Should the Minutes be posted for all of the Members to
read? Yes, the Minutes should be seen by as many members as
possible, as the residents need to be informed of what is
going on in their community.
If the Association has a regular newsletter, website or
community TV channel, try to post the Minutes or at least a
summary of the Minutes. The Minutes are an important
document for all of the residents to read and reflect on.
Copyright 2007© Associated Property Management of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
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