Rules of Order

Why don't you just agree to follow some kind of parliamentary procedure?
Roberts Rules or some other one. . . .

You can just write it down and use it. It is not a legal document*. It is simply a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that your HOA/board has agreed to use.

*please note, in a court of law, practically anything written can become a "legal document", but in the common usage of the word, an SOP is not a legal document. However, failure to abide by your own internal SOP's is unprofessional and said failure can be used against you in a legal setting.

Thanks everyone for your comments. They really helped. One more question. I know in RRO is states that a board member makes a motion then it has to be seconded to even be discussed. A buddy told me that in his hoa meetings that have discussions without anyone making a motion, then after discussions they make a motion and vote. He said when you discuss without a motion or a second it helps to shape what the motion will be and will more than likely get a unanimous vote. Does that make sense to you?

If your covenants and/or bylaws state that you will use Robert's Rules of Order in you general community meeting can your board choose not to use them ( because your president is unfamiliar with the process) Is there a way to open the meeting and then make a motion to put Robert's Rules aside?

our bylaws state that Robert's Rules will be used for all meetings. The developer never used them and this will be the first community wide meeting that the board will run. Our president is not familiar with Robert's Rules and is uncomfortable trying to use them. We have not been using them for board meetings. I think that most of the homeowners would not care what procedures we used in running a meeting but we have one homeowner that would make a scene if we did something he felt was wrong. He has been upset about everything and has been trying to get the board overturned ever since we required him to brick a detached garage he was building as per our covenants. I just wondered if there was a way to open with Robert's Rules and then motion to set them aside and just follow the agenda in a less formal way.

Sharon,

Technically, per your governing documents, Roberts Rules should be followed. Realistically (and I'll probably get a lot of feedback on this), if no one complains, minutes are taken, the agenda is followed and everyone has an opportunity to be heard it's probably not very important that Roberts rules are strictly adhered to.

Here is a link to Roberts Rules of Order Online

I would also offer the following which may help, from the Fairfax County Community Association Manual:

Points for Effective Meetings -

The president or presiding officer must follow the requirements of the law, the agenda, maintain order, and allow for all viewpoints. Knowledge of basic parliamentary procedure is helpful. . . . A successful meeting requires adequate planning,cooperation of all members, and should include:

• advance notice of a date, time and place convenient to a majority of members, distribution of the agenda, issues and procedures, and promotion of attendance;

• selection of a meeting place with enough seating, lighting, ventilation, and
parking facilities;

• preparation of election ballots, financial statements, committee and general
reports, etc., to be distributed at the meeting; and officers’ preparation to discuss and answer questions about community issues and problems.

Discussions should not be so short as to prevent adequate consideration of an issue. The time allotted to each issue, however, should be limited to allow the meeting to proceed on schedule. A time limit also alerts members to make their point as quickly as possible and keeps discussion from digressing from the issue.

Meeting Officers should:
• begin and end the meeting within 10 minutes of the scheduled time, adhere to the agenda and set time limits for the discussion of each topic;

• carefully present each motion by providing its historical background, clearly summarize the issue and guide the debate; and

• recognize in turn each person who wishes to speak, keep the discussion relevant to the issue, and maintain the announced time limits.

Tim

Marcus - yes, it's OK to have discussion of the agenda item, and then a motion is formulated from the discussion.
This can be done with any issue, especially when it comes under New Business. This is not the same "Discussion" that comes after the motion is up for vote. There, amendments to the motion can be added or the motion can get tweeked and then restated for the vote.

PS - in some small boards, a Second is not even needed. A "Second" is not an additional agreement to the motion, it is the way to move the motion along in the process.