My First Meeting

Started by PattyB1 • 3 replies • 1328 views

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PattyB1 (Kentucky)
Posts: 40

Posted:

Hi everyone! I'm VP of our 4 member board, and since we started 8 months ago,this will be the first time I've held a meeting.Our President will be out of town. The Secretary and treasurer,who are close friends,will not be helping me.They have already tried to get me to let them have this meeting.I told them it was my responsibility and I'm looking forward to it.Here's the thing.I missed our last HOA meeting(the only one so far)but I was told there was no new business discussed. Today,I was sent the minutes from that meeting in Dec. and there was new business on the agenda.Only 9 people were there,including 3 BM's,and it looks like they voted on a couple of things that will turn out to be expensive. I didn't know anything about it,but I know we don't really have the money to waste right now.The meeting is tomorrow night and they know I'm walking into it not knowing what's going on. They want to buy this and that and I'm against it for now.I know what the agenda is for tomorrow,but I'm still going to look like an idiot because I don't have details.Any ideas on how to handle this situation? PattyB1

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Posted By PattyB1 on 03/07/2007 6:35 PM
I know what the agenda is for tomorrow,but I'm still going to look like an idiot because I don't have details. Any ideas on how to handle this situation? PattyB1

As the Chair you need to know the details. Ask whomever recorded the meeting to immediately email you a draft of the minutes.

JC3
Posts: 290

Posted:

Do you have a management company? Was a rep from it at the meeting? They can give you info, too. They might have written the formal minutes, or a set of minutes for their own use. Good luck with it.
JC

JM2 (Oregon)
Posts: 439

Posted:

Hi Patty:

If you have a 4 member board, then I would presume that three members are required for a quorum? If so, then you could go and talk to each one separately about the subject - more to get "filled in" on it rather than to debate it. You could ask questions like, "What's that going to do to the budget?" Let them explain how they feel that it can be accomodated.

If two members are required for a quorum of the Board, then you will probably not be able to have such a discussion, depending on your state law and the requirements of any Open Meeting/Sunshine law.

If they previously passed a motion to move forward with paying for the items, then it could be brought back up for consideration at your upcoming meeting, but technically it seems that they passed these items without your vote. Your absence took you out of the discussion and voting on it.

If you have a management company, they should be providing a management report/board pack with information so that the board members can be informed prior to the meeting. If not, then the Board President should be getting information out to the Board. The ideal is that the Board is fully prepared prior to the meeting so that they can go in and vote on the business at hand.

If you are not provided any details on agenda items for the upcoming meeting, then simply state that upfront (so anybody attending knows what has/is going on) and request the details.

If the secretary and treasurer are close friends but stonewall you on this, I would recommend you rethink how close a friendship you have with them.

Good luck on running the meeting.

J. Patrick Moore, CMCA

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