can the President adjourn a members meeting.

Started by BonnieG1 • 7 replies • 2389 views

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BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Our President made the statement to me that if our annual meeting gets too our of had, she will pound a gavel and announce "Meeting adjourned" I don't think that is a good idea. Isn't it the President's job to bring the meeting to order and not just adjourn.

Of course she also mentioned to me she was concerned we wouldn't have a majority for the meeting which is highly unlikely. One thing that is not a problem in our association is apathy.

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Under accepted parliamentary procedure the president does not have the authority to unilaterally adjourn a meeting. The president can adjourn a meeting only following a vote of the assembly that the meeting be adjourned. A president attempting to adjourn a meeting without such a vote is violating the rights of the membership and the majority.

The president should state that the meeting has gotten out of hand and that it would be best to adjourn (or recess the meeting to a later date/time) and ask if someone would make such a motion. A typical response would be for someone to say "so moved", followed by a second. The president then puts the question to a vote and if the majority of those present are in favor, then the president can adjourn the meeting.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Bruce,
Thank you for your advise. I gave it to our President. Our meeting went better than we expected it to go. One member absolutely refused to sign in and the former bookkeeper (who was on the Board last year and resigned both positions) insisted the Association should have plenty of money) But she doesn't know of all the repairs coming up.

I personally along with our President think we are dealing with maintenance that should have been done in the past.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BonnieG1 on 02/16/2012 8:10 PM
I personally along with our President think we are dealing with maintenance that should have been done in the past.

Bonnie:

I hope your HOA has a proper reserve fund in place for future maintenance. If not then they need to consider doing a reserve study to insure measures are in place for the future. It is much easier for a homeowner to pay a small amount monthly/annually depending on the association, than to come up with a large amount of money for a "special assessment" due to the association not consdidering the various items coming up for repair in the future.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Janet,
Thanks for responding. Yes, we do have a reserve fund. We have 3 cds worth a little over $130,000.00. We also put $500.00 a month into a savings account. The money in the savings account is easier to get to than the cd money. We had around $15,000.00 in savings until we transferred mone to pay for maintenance cost.

I don't think the lack of maintenance was because previous boards did not care, I think it was that they did not have the knowledge needed to maintain a commercial building.

We now have a man on the Board who is retired from a power company and a woman who has had schooling and experience managing a large building. These two have been a great help. I know that I don't have the knowledge to know exactly what is needed when it comes to the upkeep of this building, but I am learning.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Bonnie

What type, style building(s).

Thanks

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JohnC46 on 02/17/2012 5:26 AM
Bonnie

What type, style building(s).

Thanks

a 43 unit condominium with 3 floors. ground floor as a garage with 33 parking spaces, 2 units, a laundry room and a community room. The other two floors have units. There is an entry way with the mailboxes.

Just one simple rectangular building. No tennis court, not swimming pool etc.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BonnieG1 on 02/17/2012 3:09 PM

Posted By JohnC46 on 02/17/2012 5:26 AM
Bonnie

What type, style building(s).

Thanks

Thanks

So I can assume an elevator or two, common halls/lobby, and also an outside parking area. While not complex, it is not a small undertaking.

I have no experience in this type building. My experiences are in townhouse and stand alone home developments sharing common amenities. Some more complex then others.....LOL

Maybe someone here in a similar type building can use their past experience to "advise/suggest" if what you have in reserves will cover what their experience says might be needed.

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