Condo Association Management Blog

Yes but if minutes are properly kept, they are brief. Seldom more than a page: Who made up the quorum; Motions made, passed or not. Who voted how. 
Most owners are not happy with that and expect all of the he-said, she-said. This could be done as a meeting summary but should not be in official minutes. Knowledge is good. The more you share the tighter your community.

I have served on our BOD/Management board for 3 years now and I can't think of a single reason why you should. Keep in mind, what your secretery composes does not have to be anything more then what is is your final edit. Tom made a motion.. Sue seconds.. Jack voted no. Your minutes are about what happened at the meeting, what was accomplished, and so on. Having said that, the BOD is voted in to do the job that no one else wanted to do. The job is much like that of a politician and not everything is public knowledge. Exactly what more your secretary puts in before its edited out, I don't know, but perhaps just try to put only what would normally make the final cut into the notes.

That would be an organizational decision, and I would ask your attorney and look at what the local municipality that has a board/council and what they do. 
 
If sent, they should clearly state "DRAFT" and possibly a statement that says only minutes approved by the board are the official record of the Association. 
 
When someone wants unedited or draft minutes, they are looking for a "gotcha" moment or item. It's kind of a Catch-22, because they may use the fact that you don't send them as the gotcha, so don't dwell on it. I only mention it because it is really the most likely reason.  
 
The Association is typically obligated to provide access to records during normal business hours. You need a policy on records. Draft minutes may or may not be considered official records. I typically recommend that minutes be approved and adopted before being sent to the membership. Again, look to legal counsel and possibly even look at organizational books or items, such as Robert's Rules of Order. 
 
If the board does decide to distribute ddraft minutes, they should as stated in the post by David only reflect what happened and what was accomplished. If an item was discussed with no resolution or motion, motions that pass or fail, etc. On contracts, always put the dollar amounts of the approved contract. 
 
Good luck.

State code and/or your by-laws may stipulate how the Board can offically communicate with owners. Under Maryland law, the Board must secure an owners permission before it can use electronic mail. Boards have an obligation to ensure each and every owner receives the same information. Not sure what "unedited" means to you, but anything the Board sends out should be accurate and Board approved. If owners have a different opinion of what the record should show, they should have the right to respond or oppose acceptance of the meeting minutes.

I am the Secretary for my Condo Association. We post "draft" minutes for our monthly minutes on our Association website for homeowners to review and once the minutes have been approved by the board and finalized, a final copy posted. We also put several copies in our Club House for those people that don't have access to a computer. Since it has only been a year since the board took over from the developer, we put holders in the entryway of each building and put copies of newsletters, agendas, etc. in those for homeowners to pick up if they wish.

If your board operates under Robert's Rules the unit owners retain the privilede of approving the minutes. It is a common but mistaken belief that the Board is the approval authority. The minutges arfe the official recod of the business transacted at that meeting and are,in a court of law, the only acceoptable statement in this regard. Minutes are important do not clutter them up with who said-he said. Only the business facts should be included.

Your HOA by laws would dictate what the board has to do with regards to the minutes. Most bylaws just make minutes available to be reviewed during bus hours. Remember, the board is all volunteers, not a paid/hired company. This request sounds like a group looking for something. Once you put these minutes out there you will probably get lots of email back - why didnt you discuss this or that, who voted for this???? You have time for this ???

In Connecticut, the HOA generally a non stock corporation with the units owners as voting members.The HOA also acts like a town government in that assessments are like taxes- money that's taken in and then spent for the common good. I think it's darn disturbing to see the board covering up and wanting to keep meeting minutes away from the members. The board ANSWERS to its members. In CT, board meetings must be open so that a member can come and say whatever about any condo issue or board action. It makes sense to me to email minutes because it saves on postage. If the board gets emailed responses, tell them to come to the damn meetings. So I favor an open approach, not a closed one.

The first thing you should do is check your state's code to see what is legally required and your board should act accordingly. 
 
Minutes should be available via email--anything that the bod is doing should be freely shared knowledge, the BOD works for the homeowners who are paying the monthly assessments.

When asking question or making comments would you please tell us the state you're living in. It sure would help. thank you. I'm in Illinois

This topic sure generated a lot of responses :) 
 
An open and transparent board can always get a lot more done than one that is covered in secrecy. 
 
Your governing documents probably already state that minutes need to be available to all owners on request. Why not making them open to owners before they request them? This shows you have nothing to hide and also gets owners more engaged. It also may help with giving people heads up on big projects, increased dues, or special assessment. For example you may have a discussion of a project and part of that discussion could be a need for a special assessment. You don't necessary vote on it just yet and when owners see this they know what's possible coming and can ask questions. Again transparency helps. 
 
I don't know what you mean by 'unedited' minutes. Do you mean before they were approved? I don't think those need to be distributed. It can create unnecessary problems. For example a secretary made a mistake and now you have convince everyone that it was a mistake. Better to have them approved and distributed. 
 
Many associations I work with post their approved minutes on the association web site for all owners to see. 
 
As far as what goes in your notes - I always recommend to include a little more than just "John made a motions, Susan seconded, vote was 3:0" 
 
There is no need to write down every word of the discussion and create "War and Peace" but you should consider including some key points of discussions. First of all it creates a point of reference on why a certain decision was made and helps you remember if there is a problem later, also it explains to owner reasoning behind a decision. 
 
I was recently involved in a dispute between an owner and an association, where owner accused the association that her request for repairs was denied while a similar request by another owner was paid. This was about a problem that occurred more than 3 years ago. By looking at all paperwork submitted by the owner it sure looked like she had a case. Board members could't remember what exactly happened 3.5 years ago. This is when we went through their meeting minutes from that time. Their discussion was there and it was clear that their denial was justified and had nothing to do with preferential treatment or any kind of discrimination.

I agree with Jeff Ross's general comments on openness. But I think sending "unedited" minutes is important. In other words, send them out to owners before they're approved by the Board. I say this because in our Association in Connecticut, approval of minutes is always done first on the agenda at the NEXT meeting which takes place one month after the meeting at which the minutes were taken.  
 
Sending out Minutes before they're approved gives folks a chance to weigh in on any changes before the Motion to Approve the Minutes is made at the next meeting. Plus, waiting (more than) a whole month to send out minutes is too long a time to wait, assuming that the goal is to keep people reasonably informed.

There are some excellent points to offer up more transparency to the owners, and I am not saying hide anything necessarily. However, under the freedom of information act (at least in Canada) a board has to be very careful on information contained within discussions and to whom that information is available to. If an owner is in arrears, or somebody is having problems with someone else, you have to be careful of what you say and how you say. The owners are the stakeholders, but the BOD has to control the flow of information and respect the privacy of others. I would not offer rough draft edits until approved by the board as accurate and respectful of peoples privacy. You can create problems out of nothing if you post what amounts to as tabloid facts. I must reiterate, the board is hired to make the decisions. If you are putting the decision before the owners all the time, then you might as well not have a board. If you put yourself in a spot where it becomes impossible to make important decision that may not be popular, then you have made yourself useless as a decision maker. If an owner wants the minutes, great, they want to be involved. Just don't throw yourself into a tough spot that won't help the owners or yourself.

Good thread here!  
 
I have been Secretary, and what we do is post minutes on our website. I agree with the others that say emailing is not a good idea. Next thing, you will have a 27-page thread on "why didn't you all discuss what I asked you to discuss".  
 
Also, AFAIK, minutes are not official until approved by the Board. At the start of the meeting, after call to order and roll call, the Secretary should read the Minutes from the last meeting, or if all board members have already read them, dispense with the reading, next ask for "any additions, alterations, or corrections". "If not, the Minutes stand Approved As Read." And NOW they can be distributed. Not before!  
 
The owners who cannot attend, and want a "reporter", can certainly have someone sit and take their own notes for the group. 
 
*jimmy in MD

We live in a NJ-HOA association. We are only required to have an annual meetings (once a year). HOA members have asked for the meeting minutes the board does not reply to any emails related to the meeting minutes...How to proceed? 
 
 
 
Is the only option to ask to review the board records & books --- they let us review the records and books and the minutes (draft/final) are excluded or they say we are entitled to review the books but not the minutes 
 

Try sending a certified mail to your management company requesting a copy of minutes. Emails are easily ignored. Your bylaws my specify a process to follow when requesting notes.

our hoa has the management company  
 
to record the board meeting on her 
 
tape recorder she writes the minutes and will not share with owners. at president request. 
 
she turns the tape recorder off at the president request when he chooses to attack a owner. 
 
or give her and the management gifts. 
 
i tried to serve on this board and was asked to leave because i questioned the president and the management. the president told me to leave as a unaminous decision of her, 
 
and the management co. only one board member president and he left.what can we do our building is 
 
being neglected. carolyn

The president and the management company will only take their mismanaged practices as far as the board allows. 
 
If you were asked to leave you were under no obligation to do so. 
 
If the president makes decision by himself its only because the board allows it. 
 
If the management company mismanages the building it's only because the board allows it

I just moved back to FL. after reviewing the minutes I asked the management co. how to open the attachments or (see attachments)on our web page. Her reply was furnishing a draft of the minutes to the attendees of the meetings is purly a courtesy to the members. that they are not legal until they are approved by the BOD and marked approved.No one has seen attachments since the web site first started three yrs.ago. She sent me an email that said it was an oversight and would be able to open in comming minutes, this was aftr they told me I didn't have the right program on my computer to open them.At this point I am so frustrated with the with the management co. they have the answers but avoid giving any answers at all costs. What do you do????

I record my BOD meetings, put into draft form for BOD to review and approve at next meeting. When should I delete the recording? Wait until those minutes are adopted? I have been deleting directing after they have been transferred to the first draft. I have one Board member who keeps questioning an issue was not correct. I listened over and over to the recording and there was no motion made or passed on the issue only an action for management to get advice from legal counsel and report the answer back to the Board for further discussion. One Board member wants me to hold onto 2 exec session draft minutes recordings so she can listen to the whole meeting. I said I would keep recordings until minutes were adopted. They take their time adopting the minutes. should approval be within a reasonable time? She wants me (or the Board) to keep the recordings for up to one year. I need my recorder for other meetings. Plus, an association member said you cannot approve a regular session if you do not approve the exec session held on the same day. I never hear this. So - I have been invited to a meeting so that the Board can again, listen to two exec sessions or She wants me to turn over my recorder to her. this is my personal property. I am an independent contractor, semi retired, physically challenged (Multiple sclerosis) and need my recorder to help me do my work. I even went back an transcribed the meeting word for word - but the way this Board member is she will not even trust that. I make sure my minutes are accurate because it is a reflection on my work. I also told the lady that Draft #1 minutes are an outline and the Board can revise any portions with motions to amend. I have just given them the outline. No he said she said he said. But I do feel it important to note any reasons why the decisions were passed and updates of building projects which are informational and affect the residents in the building such as garage renovations, suggested investments being considered, financial status, Committee Reports, Mgmt Reports, etc. because this is what they want as minutes are ported so those who could not attend ,meeting could be informed. 
 
But I am frustrated regarding turning over my recorder, which I need for other meetings and this persona challenging what I heard. She insists all five Board members passed a decision, they did not, they only directed Management to call attorney. She insists that I put in the minutes that she said this and this person agreed with that. it happens very meeting. So 
 
If I have to bring the recordings to an special meeting for her to listen to both exec sessions can I charge for my time? I will keep recordings until minute approved for sure. 
 
Some one please help me out with this - this woman won't leave this alone and I feel that my work is being wrongfully challenged. I really need some advice as they want me to come to a meeting Tuesday to listen to recordings. I will not leave my recorder with that woman. Plus I have other meetings on he device. 
 
What options do i have? Please let me know and thank you so very much!