HOA Board Meeting Minutes

I've never heard that. Ask the person who told you this to provide you with the basis of that statement.

Minutes should be brief and not a detailed transcript. However, depending on the meeting, we have had minutes be up to 5 pages long and totaling 15 or 20 pages when all the attachments are included.

Here is what the Fairfax County Community Association Manual says about minutes:

Minutes Applicable Virginia statutes and most associations’ bylaws require that factual and accurate minutes be kept of all board of directors meetings, annual meetings, and special
meetings of the members. The importance of accurate minutes cannot be stressed enough because often the minutes are the only record of official decisions, directions, and actions of the board. If there is no verifiable record, a decision cannot be enforced. Minutes officially record the time, date and place of each association meeting, the presiding officer and board members in attendance, the subjects discussed, and the actions taken at the meeting. Title and sufficient information to establish its background, the action to be taken if any, and the reasons for the action should introduce each topic. Only important points in the discussion should be recorded along with any decision, and including the votes for or against an issue if voting takes place. A subject or proposal referred to committee or tabled pending further in
formation or discussion should be so recorded in the minutes.

Too often, meeting minutes become lengthy with the intent of being thorough and correct. The purpose of a meeting is to conduct the business of the association; and the minutes should record what was done or decided, and not what was said or by whom. The minutes should never reflect upon the character, emotion, or personality of any person, or give the secretary’s
opinion, favorable or otherwise, on anything said or done in the meeting. For important motions, however, the name of the mover should be recorded along with the exact final wording, including amendments, upon which the subsequent vote is taken. The recording secretary should be familiar with “Minutes and Reports of Officers” of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th Rev. edition (November 14, 2000). Meeting minutes, including motions, amendments and votes
should be signed and dated by the president or secretary once they have been approved, and should be kept in a binder, file or “book of minutes” for later reference. It may also
be helpful to file copies of meeting notices, financial statements, committee reports, and
other documents along with the minutes, making them part of the association’s official
records. Complete minutes can be valuable to an association should it need to document
or defend its actions.

Emmy, there is no "one-page rule' about meeting minutes. Our minutes are rarely fewer than three pages and sometimes quite a few more. but this depends on how many items are on the agenda. Sometimes we have 6-7 pages; sometimes a dozen.

As Tim points out, what was DONE at the meetings, e.g., board action and votes must be recorded. The motions should be recorded exactly and it's the president's job to repeat the motion so that every director understands it.

What was a SAID, e.g., discussion, debate, etc., should not be in the minutes.

There's probably no difference re: minutes between the 10th & 11th editions of Robert's Rules of Order, but if you want to refer to that, buy the latest edition.

Emmy

Our Secretary recently resigned as he was criticized for long and lengthy minutes. Most of us believed he was publishing his agenda list/beliefs versus our minutes.

As Kerry said, keep minutes brief. All minutes are required to have is motions made and the vote on such. There does not need to be an explanation. Now I do not believe in this brevity alone. I do think it best to let people know what went on, especially concerning hot button issues, but it is impossible to list everything said so even then, keep it brief.

Things like the BOD discussed revising the fine schedule as some believe the fines are to low so people ignore them. No decisions were made.

The BOD reviewed several written complaints about landscaping issues. These issues will be discussed with the landscaping service provider.

KISS......

As a former Secretary I concur with all who have already commented. Never heard of any "rule" about how many pages, does not seem reasonable or realistic. Like all have stated minutes should be AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE and cover the facts only absolutely no added emotion or opinion. (Some Secretaries have a hard time doing this and create not only more work for themselves but added conflict.)

Amanda is correct. Our former secretary was guilty of creating conflict. His "minutes" read like a personal list of things he believed the BOD needed to do. One issue was when the budget was discussed for presentation at the Annual Meeting, one BOD Member said he believed the budget was doable for 2014 but he believed a dues increase was something that would be warranted next year. He commented that he would be raising the issue when we began work on next years budget. Nothing else was said.

It came out in the "raw" Minutes that the BOD was discussing a dues increase for 2015. Criticism of the Minutes started flying back and forth between BOD Members. It went downhill from there resulting in the Secretary resigning. That "comment" was also removed.

The Secretary was professional in that he resigned for health reasons and wished the BOD nothing but the best.

Several weeks later a neighbor asked me if the BOD had been discussing a dues increase for next year. Talk about leaks..another subject...LOL

Emmy; glad we've helped! To add to NpS's remarks: The less the sec'y scribbles, the more s/he can contribute AS a director.

Someone said stick to the "facts," but even that's bit vague. Stick to the motions! And votes. This includes items that are postponed, e.g., The Board decided to take no action on (Agenda item name); 4 in favor; Smith opposed.

The board decided to postpone (Agenda item name) until it reviews a forthcoming estimated cost from the vendor.

Every agenda items' result needs a line in the minutes.

The Board heard several complaints from the audience about landscaping; the Board decided VP X will investigate, and provide a report next month's meeting.