Hoa board meetings

I would like to present an issue regarding hoa board meetings. I am a newly appointed secretary and attended my first board meeting. There were 14 residents in attendance in addition to 7 board members. The presiding officer (president) had no control over the meeting. It was a free for all with the residents constantly injecting their opinions. As a result, our board got nothing resolved after two hours of discussion. Shouldn't the residing officer hold all comments to the end except if one of the residents is called upon? I would appreciate any advice on how this can be resolved.

I wouldnt leave "when you've had enough," as tempting as that is! As a board member, you should strive to leave after all agenda items have been addressed and there's been a formal motion to close the meeting which is voted upon by the board members.

What you need is for the president to do his//her job and preside. You're correct in assuming this is a BUSINESS meeting and you can't get through the agenda and time sensitive items when homeowners insist on jumping in.

I suggest you note the chaos of the previous meeting in a professional manner, or course, and suggest a resident forum be added to the meeting. Some boards have them only at the start of the meeting, while others have them at the beginning and end of the meeting. Here's how my community does it:

limit the forum to 15 minutes

Homeowners should raise their hand if they want to speak or you can use a sign up sheet and call upon homeowners in the order they signed in

No more than 2 minutes to speak so everyone has a chance. Once you speak, sir down and be quiet! No interrupting others.

The board doesn't have to act on everything they hear right away. The purpose is follow homeowners to talk about what's on their minds Some issues may already part of the agenda. Others may require research and follow up.

After the forum, thank everyone for their participation and encourage them to stay for the rest of the meeting. However, the business portion begins now, so no questions or comments from the floor are allowed, so the board can address all agenda items.

While you're listening, turn off your cell or set it on vibrate. If it rings, leave the room to take your call.

The forum is not the time or place for cussing, screaming, name calling and other jackass behavior. Act that way and you'll be asked to stop. Do it at in and you'll be asked to leave. Keep it up and you'll be escorted out - by the police if necessary. That goes for listening in during the business portion of the meeting.

Once the board determines the rules, publish them on n your newsletter or website (preferably both). Announce the rules at the start of the forum and remind people of acceptable behavior during the business portion of the meeting. Good luck!

One more thing - surf the web for information on holding effective meetings so the board members will also learn how to act so you get things done. There are also older conversations on this website on best practices you could adapt to your community.

They should, but every one is free to run the meeting how they see fit.

My advice, At the start of the meeting mention that you have another obligation and can't stay longer then x.
When x arrives, pass the your notes to the President for someone to finish the minutes and leave.

Once or twice of doing this and they might get the message.

Personally, I think any meeting over 1 hour becomes nonproductive because most of the participants are tired of being there.

Hi Norma,

That is one way to do things, and this would probably be a more effective way to conduct board meetings. That being said, the president may prefer this way because it allows members to freely participate.

Is it possible to share your idea with the president? If they are in agreeance, ensure that there is a Q&A section listed at the end of the agenda and let owners know at the beginning of the next meeting that all questions will be addressed at the end.

Maybe that's the problem. A board meeting is a BUSINESS meeting as I said, which isn't the same as the annual meeting, where the main event is the board election or a special homeowner's meeting, which could be anything from a "town hall" on a specific issue like parking problems to a discussion on if there should be a special assessment or voting to recall a board member or not.

In addition to the resident form I suggested earlier, you could also educate the homeowners (and probably some board members) on what's to be expected during the BOARD MEETING. If there's something that's really bugging homeowners, perhaps the board could consider having quarterly town hall meetings to discuss certain topics and brainstorm possible solutions (a general bitch session might make you feel better, but what's the point if no working solutions come out of it?) Homeowners should also be encouraged to send letters with comments, criticisms and suggestions at any time. When you look through them, you may find some patterns and those letters could be grouped together in some sort of "Ask the Board" section on your community website or newsletter

Simple, we don't let members attend Board meetings. They may come and speak to the Board, but the meeting proper only starts after the non-board member(s) have left.