who is allowed to take minutes of a meeting?

Started by BonnieG1 • 7 replies • 1464 views

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BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

I know as Secretary it is my job to take the minutes of a meeting. I believe any other Board member can take minutes if I am absent. But if I am present can someone else take the minutes even though I am present at the meeting?

This is related to the President rewording the minutes I took at a meeting. The readability of her writing was at about a 12th grade level. The readability my writing was at about an 8th grade level.

I have a college education so I could understand what she was trying to say. However, I am trying to decipher one of her recent emails regarding our proposed budget for 2014. I think I may need her to write the email in English and resend it to me.

The President told me that anyone can take the minutes, and that the Secretary's signature just indicates they have been approved. Is this correct?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

I seem to recall that this was recently discussed.

Yes, anyone may be assigned to take the minutes. Typically it's the Secretary's duty but it can be delegated to someone else. Once the minutes are accepted by the Board, the Secretary signs the minutes to certify that the are the adopted minutes.

Personally, I don't think anyone who is serving as officiating over the meeting and taking the minutes can do both well.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

as someone who runs a meeting (work related, not HOA) and must take notes and do the minutes, I can absolutely tell you that the quality of both jobs suffers. I am not as effective a leader as I could be, and I don't take as good quality notes and minutes as I should.

As to the OP's question, I think anyone can take minutes, and sometimes, it might be wise to have two people do it, to see if there are any differences in what is captured/done, but only one set of "minutes" is read and approved by the board, regardless of if they came from person A, B, C, or some combination of the three.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

Actually, Bonnie, our bylaws state that the secretary takes the meeting minutes. What do yours say, if anything? In our HOA, both the president and secretary sign the minutes.

Our bylaws also say that the Board may delegate many tasks to our management company and so our PM takes the minutes per our contract with them. Perhaps your PM can take minutes if it's in your contract.

As with Brian, when I was in a work situation where I chaired the monthly meetings, members took turns recording the minutes. It's very true that the contributions of whoever took them suffered when it was their turn--about once a year.

It does sound like your president is overstepping by rewording your writing. Even if your prose isn't very sophisticated, it doesn't matter if your writing is clear and captures the items suggested to you by others in your last post on this topic.

And if you don't understand her edits about your budget, you and the rest of the Board should get this clarified at your next open meeting. You all should discuss it and make sure you all understand this very important topic.

Perhaps you & the president can have a little heart-to-heart chat when you can relate to her how you feel about this topic.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

I have always wondered too, how many ways there are to word

meeting opened by president at 8:20 pm. Board members present are. Members absent include...

Agenda presented by President X for the meeting:

Minutes of the previous board meeting read by Z.

Motion to accept minutes as read and distributed made by X. Second Y. Motion carries, 5-0.

Motion made by X to obtain bids on landscaping, as per the committee's recommendation (attached). No discussion, no second, motion fails for lack of second.

Motion made by Y to...

people do realize that minutes are not transcripts of the meeting, right? They are a series of factual statements about the business conducted, typically in the form of motion made by, seconded by, and a vote count.

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

Bonnie,

The best-kept minutes simply dictate the actions taken by the board, not discussion contents, emotions and other "facts" that spice up the reading. Practically anyone could keep the minutes and, if accurate, the board will approve them as the official record of your meeting.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BrianB on 11/01/2013 3:48 PM
I have always wondered too, how many ways there are to word

meeting opened by president at 8:20 pm. Board members present are. Members absent include...

Agenda presented by President X for the meeting:

Minutes of the previous board meeting read by Z.

Motion to accept minutes as read and distributed made by X. Second Y. Motion carries, 5-0.

Motion made by X to obtain bids on landscaping, as per the committee's recommendation (attached). No discussion, no second, motion fails for lack of second.

Motion made by Y to...

people do realize that minutes are not transcripts of the meeting, right? They are a series of factual statements about the business conducted, typically in the form of motion made by, seconded by, and a vote count.

I agree, but many do think it is a narrative.

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

It annoys me, at times, how our minutes are recorded. I was asked by a resident about our "spirited conversation" about some agenda item at a recent meeting. I was confused until I realized the term had been officially listed in the minutes.

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