Taping of board meetings

Started by DeborahR5 • 13 replies • 1415 views

💬 Join us to post & get advice from 50,000 HOA & Condo leaders.

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in

DeborahR5 (New Hampshire)
Posts: 6

Posted:

What do people think of taping the minutes of the board meetings.After our new board met today the serving secretary who is voted in her second year, would like to start using a digital recorder to help herself during the meetings,so she is more efficient on taking minutes. She in the past was not very good at this and she thought this would help. All board members agreed on it except one that absolutly did not want herself being taped and was 100% against it. What then do you do,does majority win on this and then what happens to the one person that doesn't want to be taped?

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

DeborahR5,

And what is the problem with the 1 member who does not want to be taped? Is she in the "whitness protection program?" The majority of your Board has approved the taping so you go with it.
We tape all committee and B.O.D. meetings just to make sure that we get the minutes accurate. This is a smart back-up move for someone questioning the minutes. We erase them after the minutes are approved at the next meeting.
BUT!! we also always inform the members that the meetings are being taped. That way, no one challenges that we were being secretly sneaky.
We had a Director deny that he voted on an agenda item once and it caused us to resort to tapeing. No problems arose after we started to tape.

CharlesW1 (Georgia)
Posts: 826

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DeborahR5 on 10/07/2007 5:38 PM
What do people think of taping the minutes of the board meetings.After our new board met today the serving secretary who is voted in her second year, would like to start using a digital recorder to help herself during the meetings,so she is more efficient on taking minutes. She in the past was not very good at this and she thought this would help. All board members agreed on it except one that absolutly did not want herself being taped and was 100% against it. What then do you do,does majority win on this and then what happens to the one person that doesn't want to be taped?

DeborahR5,

I certainly understand your current situation however that is the main reason why there must always be an odd number of board members. There will rarely be a time when the entire board will vote to, agree or disagree on a particular discussion.

We are a board consisting of three members a President, Vice President and Treasure or Secretary. I’m currently the Vice President and we had a very similar predicament. Our documents specifically specify the procedure in which must be followed in order to be legitimate.
Our documents stated that all business decisions (that can be) voted on by board members in accomplished, by establishing quorum (first and foremost) then a vote is taken.

One board member says “ I motion to (yada, yada, yada.. Another board member needs to second the motion, which constituted a vote, a board members present vote resulting in a 2/1 for or against the motion “tabled”

This should also be detailed in your meeting minutes.

I have no objections to taping a meeting. I have even video taped our meetings, annual meetings (community attending) and month meetings. As previously stated, it is highly recommended to make it very clear that “they” are being recorded that way you have proof that all are being recorded.

Unfortunately I don’t believe that ONE person has much of a choice.

Best of luck and keep us posted
Chuck W.

Charles E. Wafer Jr.

NancyD1 (Florida)
Posts: 447

Posted:

Taping is a good idea because it will help with putting the minutes together. Why would the member have a problem with taping. Does he not trust what he says. The tape should be destroyed after the minutes are approved anyways so he will not live on in anything but the minutes.

AnnaD2 (Florida)
Posts: 960

Posted:

What state are you in? The Florida State Statutes specifically address this issue; not once, but TWICE. It IS allowed. If you are in Florida and your (one) board member has a problem with it, he/she had better learn the laws.

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

AnnaD2,

Are you refering to the Sunshine Laws on the tapeing of meetings? If so, the Sunshine laws do not pertain to H.O.A. associations and their meetings unless the association is involved in permit issues with the County.

RW1 (Texas)
Posts: 149

Posted:

Florida Chap. 720 (HOAs) allows taping... video or otherwise.

The BOD may adopt resonable rules regarding taping proceedures but none to prevent it.

Florida's Sunshine Law has little to do with HOAs (with one or two exceptions).

RW1

BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640

Posted:

Deborah:

As with most board decisions majority rules so go ahead and tape. I would either post signs or announce at the beginning of the meeting that it is being recorded.

JimM7 (Florida)
Posts: 71

Posted:

Florida Law says minutes must be kept for 7 years in a form that can be printed if a request is made.
A good digital recorder will store 2000 minutes and you can transfer that to disk for the archive.
No need to post signs, the audiance is in observation only.
We follow Roberts Rules (as per our ByLaws) and it makes it simple.
The only problem with audio tape is it picks up cross talk and the Sec. has to filter it.Good Luck

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Jim, I do not consider a digital recording to be the minutes of a meeting. Nor would I allow anyone present to record a meeting, except the person taking minutes and have previous approval by the Board. Nor would I ever keep such a recording beyond the date the minutes are approved.

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Roger and Jim,

That is exactly how it should be done and how we do it.Only the P.M or Secretary uses the tape and it is erased after the minutes are approved at the next meeting.

BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640

Posted:

Jim:

I would still post signage, even if you follow Roberts Rules they give Homeowners an opportunity to speak at some point. Better to cover all your bases.

NancyD1 (Florida)
Posts: 447

Posted:

Roger,

You are so right! There is no need in the contents of the minutes other motions made, seconded, and passed, and points of order.

LoisC (Washington)
Posts: 17

Posted:

Deborah:

I have been taping our meetings for about 3 years now and we never voted on it, because I basically told the BOD the only way I would be Secretary was if I could use a tape and no one objected. At the last meeting one of our board members asked me to turn the recorder off, because he wanted to comment on something “personal” he said. He basically wanted to attack our president about something she allegedly did in talking to one of our homeowners. I did but I want to tell him next time that if he doesn't want it recorded perhaps he should wait until the end of the meeting so that those of us that don't want to listen to his moral lectures can leave. Maybe that should be a board decision but I thought perhaps this would stop the lectures from this one problematic board member. I know the president should stop this stuff but he's been on the board forever and is a bully of course and everyones too polite.

🎯 You've read this entire discussion

Join the conversation with 50,000 HOA & Condo Leaders:

✓ Ask follow-up questions
✓ Share your experience
✓ Get expert advice
✓ Access 350,000 discussions

Create Free Account →

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in here