AGENDA'S

Started by JeriD • 9 replies • 1604 views

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JeriD
Posts: 44

Posted:

If there are any Chairperson's out there in Florida, can you tell me who sets your Agenda? Not prepares, thatr's the Secretaries job under direction of the BOD as I know it.
Would like to hear from your Floridians.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

It shouldn't matter, Jeri, whether the chair is in Florida or not. Anywhere in the US, the chair of the HOA's board meeting generally is the board president. This probably is stated in your bylaws.

Your bylaws also might state who sets the agenda, but our don't. Often, the Board itself sets the agenda and the president and secretary or Property Mgr. organize it for copying and distributing.

Are you on the board? Are you the president? I guess I'm wondering your purpose for asking the question.

JeriD
Posts: 44

Posted:

Yes, I am Board president. I had been secretary for 10 years and our Management company had always prepared the agenda from the President's information. I have a problem with the current Secretary wanting to DO the Agenda without consulting the President for the input. At one general meeting, after I had sent the Agenda to the members, the secretary brought and passed out the second agenda calling it "the official agenda" It made for a very uncomfortable opening of the meeting when I had to ask BOD's if they wanted it changed. In my company and any company, the President would never allow the secretary to actually do the Agenda without his/her input first.
WAs just wondedering iuf anyone ever came across with this problem.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

A little more clarity, please, Jeri.

By "do" the agenda do you mean the secretary decided what to place on it?

And you wrote that you'd sent your own agenda to the members. Do you mean directors--members of the board? And did you get any input from the directors about what to place on the agenda you sent them? Or was everything on it of your choosing?

I guess if one strictly follows Robert's Rules of Order, the secretary creates the agenda and the board approves it at the beginning of the meeting. But I don't think most HOA boards operate that way.

You also wrote about a "general meeting." Is that an open board meeting that homeowners may attend? Or was it a meeting of the homeowners--a Meeting of the Members?

I'm having a little trouble following the language used.

JeriD
Posts: 44

Posted:

Secretary wants to write the actual agenda. The past President's always set their own agenda for the BOD and the Members of the Community and the Management Company prepared it for distributing to the membership. When I became President, I ask members of the BOD if they wanted anything on the agenda, but always put the unfinished business first. After all info was in, the Management company continued to prepare it for the BOD and membership. Not a problem, they did a great job, why change it. The new secretary wants to take over the role of secretary as it states in the Bylaws. Still no problem. We were spoiled for 13 years by leting the Management type up agenda, take minutes, send them to BOD for approval.Everything worked fine. I have no problem with the secretary wanting to take over role from Management company, it had to happen sometime and why not now. The question and I didn't expect to be writing all this is,that I have a problem with the Secretary wanting to write his own agenda. when he should be taking direction from the President as to what is placed on the agenda and in what order. Anything over that is alright. Like I said, if you owned a company, would you allow your secretary to write your agenda without consulting you as to what you want on it?

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

Just what do your bylaws state about the role of the secretary? Please include the exact citation. Is there also a place in your bylaws which says that your board may delegate certain duties to your management company?

Why does it "have to happen" that the sec'y would take over what the MC has been doing for so long?? I feel like I'm still missing something, but at the end of the day (ugh, I'm so tired of that phrase), your board should decide how the agenda is prepared UNLESS your bylaws are very specific.

Sort of as an aside: Does your board follow Robert's Rules of Order?

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Time to have a "Come to Jesus" meeting with her and explain how things are done and that once the agenda is set it is not to be changed without approval. Now most agendas are boring as dirt and unless she is adding things for her own purpose, I don't see the problem. I do hope you allow all Board members to have input on agenda items and don't do exactly what you are accusing her of.

BTW If that fails, the Board can appoint another secretary and move her to something innocuous like Member at Large, where she would not have any specific duties.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

JenniferA3 (Florida)
Posts: 3

Posted:

Yes we have had the same problem many times. We have an overbearing Secretary who tries to run everything every chance possible. We have had Agenda's revised at the last minute. This secretary has also re-written minutes in their recollection and embellished such minutes so they are virtually unrecognizable which we have rejected the reading of these minutes for approval. Setting us back several meeting worth of minutes to make them official. You simply must have all you checks and balances on a board and not let any one director take charge. Hope this helps.

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