Does Your Board Have a Parliamentarian?

We don't have one, but I'm going to suggest appointing one of the board members as such at next week's board meeting. Like you, we've become sloppy in conducting an effective meeting, especially with our resident forum, which has led to people ranting about the same thing for 40 minutes.

I don't think you need to pay anyone to serve as parliamentarian - basically, you need someone who's well versed in the protocols. For example, if you run the meetings according to Robert's Rules of Order, that person should know the rules well enough to be able to answer questions regarding motions (making them, withdrawing them, etc.)

If keeping order at your meetings is an issue, wouldn't that be the job of a sergeant of arms, or can one combine the jobs? That may be something else to consider

One of the members in my wine tasting group recently told me she belongs to a parliamentarian organization - don't know what it's called, but apparently there's a national organization that provides training. You might do a Google search for more information. If you want to hire someone, maybe there's a local chapter who can give you a referral - I would think that person could stick around for a few months, educating the board members on proper procedures and that may help solve your problem.

You can also Google Robert's Rules of Order to get some basic procedures to pass on to the president. The Community Association Institute (CAI) also has a really nice cheat sheet which could be distributed to all the board members so they'll know what to do and when. You may need to be a member to access it (I think it's under member resources), but if your property manager is a member, have him or her download it.

I understand why you'd want to hire someone to ensure order during the meeting, but try the less expensive alternatives first before going that route - see how the new president works out and go on from there. If everyone had some basic rules, maybe you could spend part of the next meeting going over that and then the president can stress that from this point on, the meetings will be run this way.

Here's a link from a homeowners association that seems to summarize the importance of orderly meetings very well:

http://goldenlakesvillage.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/friendly-short-summary-of-roberts-rules-of-order-an-official-one-page-summary/

My bylaws are the same as Bruce's, Beth. Why, though, does your PM chair the Board meetings??

Our most recent past Board president was so ignorant, that the PM "saved" her many times when the president went off on the wrong track or on a tangent. But then, and homeowners who attended remarked about it, by saying oh, the Board doesn't know anything. That's why the PM must answer questions, etc. But the prez didn't want the rest of the Board replying if she could not.

My point, Beth, is that because your PM chairs the meetings, it could make the rest of your Board appear very weak, which in turn, can lead to a loss of trust, etc. Not good, in my opinion.