Roberts Rules of Order Edition 12

Minimally an Association must have an annual meeting. At the annual meeting, a motion is passed, but not in effect until the minutes are approved a year later? The approval of minutes is only a confirmation the record of the meeting is correct.

So then why am I reading that minutes must be unanimously passed by all Directors? Has RRO rules changed? Where does it say it does not have to be unanimous? Don't get me wrong, I am happy that is the case, actually. Thanks again for your (all) kind assistance.

Lou

Below "RONR" is the shorthand for Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised yada, 12th edition.My serious response: Because RONR (and older versions) are so poorly written that it is hard to figure out what they say on this point. Elaboration follows:

I am betting you are referring to a section that speaks to "unanimous consent"? Correct? It appears that "unanimous consent" is not quite the same as "unanimous approval."

Note these exchanges from the Robert's Rues experts at RONR's very own, RONR author-moderated forum, https://robertsrules.forumflash.com:

Q: What is the proper procedure if one member, who happens to be the chairperson of the group, refuses to approve the minutes despite corrections noted?

A: A motion to approve the minutes would not be out of order. If seconded, the Chair should state the question, allowing for debate, amendment (correction) and vote (majority to approve), or rule the motion out of order (which I doubt it would be), which then could be appealed.

See https://robertsrules.forumflash.com/topic/6819-approval-of-minutes/

I'll add that contrary to the common misconception, and possibly common practice, RONR says that a vote is never taken on approving the minutes. The chair simply declares that they are approved after there are no more corrections. No body ever votes on approving them.

See also https://robertsrules.forumflash.com/topic/26128-approval-of-minutes-distributed-via-email-prior-to-meeting/.

From an RONR standpoint, the responses in the latter thread are correct. From a legal standpoint, the responses show extraordinary cluelessness. E.g. the reason the attorney said the approval of minutes by email requires a unanimous vote is because the state's statute requires a unanimous vote for "action without a meeting."

The best responses to HOA/COA questions at the robertsrules.forumflash.com site start with something like: "For HOAs and condo associations, bylaws and state statutes override much of what RONR says."

Note how much time you and I are spending on this one, seemingly simple question. Robert's Rules RONR simply does not answer it directly. Even where RONR does seem to provide a direct answer to this query, RONR will likely say that the text (providing a seemingly direct answer) applies to "ordinary societies." In RONR, homeowners' associations do not qualify as an "ordinary society." Homeowner associations and condo communities are, for RONR purposes, shareholder organizations. Robert's Rules barely treats the latter.

My dismay with Robert's Rules is about bad writing. It's about the fact that the first edition back in the 1800s was written before corporations with shareholders (which HOAs/COAs are, for RONR purposes) were really established. And so on.

I am going to hang in there with your RONR questions, because IMO becoming educated on RONR's worth (really, lack of worth) to HOAs, all by itself, has value. After reviewing the above two forumflash threads, consider asking another question.

LouH1, I hope you are on your way to registering at the site https://robertsrules.forumflash.com/ (for free) and asking your RR questions there. The site has a large cast of regulars. For HOA questions, in my experience the participants will keep the discussion focused on what RONR says, with qualifiers like "Your bylaws and state law may say more." Why? Because the regulars are not trained in the law of HOAs. The latter is not the raison d'etre for the robertsrules.forumflash site. Moderators step in when the discussion starts getting into HOA practices unrelated to RONR.

I think a lot of your questions are in the vein of best practices. E.g. no, RONR does not require an agenda. Should a board, especially a board tasked with significant infrastructure and amenity oversight, have an agenda? Absolutely. Should the minutes record motions and the vote on the motion? Absolutely.

I expect the challenge is getting your board to be reasonable about meetings, votes, minutes et cetera.