inaccurate annual meeting minutes

Started by JoyceC4 • 9 replies • 2523 views

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JoyceC4 (Idaho)
Posts: 3

Posted:

I am trying to find out how to force a board to correct annual meeting minutes prior to their submittal for review at the next annual meeting.

Our former president sent out inaccurate instructions regarding the process for the submittal of proxies. She quickly resigned when confronted with the reality that her instructions were a figment of her imagination and had no bearing whatsoever on what the by laws truly say. At the annual meeting I asked the interim president if the instructions given were indeed, inaccurate. He replied "Yes". The board has now submitted meeting minutes that completely misstate my question and in fact, imply that the instructions were correct.

I have repeatedly asked the board (in writing) to correct the minutes. They refuse to do so. They acknowledge that they do not clearly remember my question. A review of the bylaws easily shows that the instructions given were inaccurate.

The inaccurate minutes have now been posted on the association website. I will now have to stand up and for the 50th time, assert my opinion that my question is being misstated and that the instructions given were inaccurate.

How can I get a board to simply fix preliminary minutes? Do members have any rights when being quoted in minutes?

JeanneK3 (Maryland)
Posts: 562

Posted:

JoyceC:
Send the board a letter requesting that the Minutes be corrected signed by several homeowners who were present at the annual meeting. That usually does it.
Jeanne

JoyceC4 (Idaho)
Posts: 3

Posted:

I am in the process of preparing an affidavit that will be both signed and notarized. I expect the board to ignore it. If they do, what is my next recourse? I feel that they are deliberately attempting to use my misquoted question to avoid simply acknowledging that they made a goof up in the instructions. The error in itself is not that big of deal. The refusal of the board to act on my request for a correction implicates me in their collusion. This has been going on for six months now. Is there any kind of technical term for what they are doing? It is not slander, it is not libel, it is a refusal to accurately re-state the question I asked at the meeting.

________________________________________

MicheleD (Kentucky)
Posts: 4,491

Posted:

What do you intend to gain with this?

I'm just curious, because it seems as if the person who created the conflict is already gone.

Frankly, neither your question nor the response would have even appeared in our HOA's annual meeting minutes.

MicheleD (Kentucky)
Posts: 4,491

Posted:

By the way, I think the technical term for what they are doing might be "moving on."

JoyceC4 (Idaho)
Posts: 3

Posted:

The question most definitely will appear in the minutes. That is the problem. I have repeatedly asked that they either correct the quote or delete it. It is a power struggle. Our BOD has no idea how to prepare proper minutes. They are a true embarassment. They admit that they do not remember what I asked yet their purpose in keeping the quote in is to make their error look like it did not occur. Manning up to an error is beyond the capabilities of the current president.

I am objecting because they have my question as being that I asked if the proxy submittal process was done correctly when my question was the complete opposite. It is a matter of principle to me that I be quoted correctly if I have to be quoted at all. I would prefer that they delete the reference in its entirety but they refuse. The minutes look like they were prepared by a jr. high school student.

I might add that my husband was president for three years, was serving as treasurer and quit just weeks before this entire incident when the then president violated the bylaws and called a "secret" board meeting of which my husband was not informed about. His integrity was brought into question and therefore he resigned. The fallout from the "secret meeting" has been long and widespread. He was a most effective president and the personal attack was unwarranted. The entire ungly mess has changed the dymanics of our entire association on a permanent basis. The groundswell of support has been for my husband.

The question issue is just a ploy by the current president to continue the b.s. There has to be a way to stop the game playing and get back to civilized business. That is what I am hoping to find. I feel that the next annual meeting needs to start on a positive focus and not begin with a re-hash of last years screw ups in order to get the minutes corrected. It is such a waste of valuable annual meeting time. The board seems intent on continuing with the game playing and most members are growing extremely weary of the boards immature behavior.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

The MEMBERS approve the minutes of the meeting at the Annual Meeting, not the board (unless the board was given that power in writing to approve the minutes before the next annual meeting)

Get some resident/members who were present at the meeting and insist the entire question and response be deleted. It has no right to be in the minutes anywhere. ONLY motions/votes and actions done by the board should be in the minutes, not discussions and Q/As.

DanielH1 (California)
Posts: 482

Posted:

Since you've already done a lot, you could start a petition and hold a Special Meeting to amend the minutes. But, no matter how great a job that you and your husband did, I can't imagine a majority of your HOA caring enough to show up.

You could file a lawsuit. This seems like a dumb way to spend your money (and the HOA's money when it has to defend it) but, for some people, principles are worth any amount of money.

Like somebody else suggested, I'd recommend dropping the matter entirely. If it ever became a legal issue, you could use all the work that you've done so far as evidence that you think that the minutes are in dispute and should not be used as evidence.

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Joyce,

Frankly I think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill. However, since this concerns you, you will most likely have to wait until the next annual meeting to make the correction. As someone else stated, the minutes are approved by the membership, not the BOD and that is normally done at the next meeting. So, at the next annual meeting, you can stand up and propose a correction. If a majority of the members present agree, the correction will be made and that will be it. In the meantime, if anyone asks, you can just tell them the correct story.

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Joyce,
I hope you realize why people here are offering the advise they have been. I doubt there is one of them that hasn't been more or less in your position. I know I have and expect to be right back there again in the not too distant future. Seems to be a normal course of events other that something out of the ordinary. We do not get involved realizing that you will forever speak from a moving platform. You can advocate something one day and by necessity have to change sides. It's a constant moving picture that never seems to end, there is no, " I am glad that is over and done with." The skilll is in doing the best you can do, not prove who is wrong. We all wear that hat at times. You and your husband know enough about your organization to know you will never have everyone paddling in the same direction. The one worst thing we could do is to let this association business become bigger than life, who knows, you may have to offer help to your neighbor, friend or foe.

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