Board and Annual Meetings

Meetings are a necessary, albeit often dreaded component of leading and managing a community association. However, we don't have to look forward to meetings with trepidation, anxiety and apprehension if we know the purpose of those meetings and feel confident that we're appropriately prepared for them.

Why do we have to prepare for meetings, whether they're annual, board, special or committee?

1. inadequate preparation could result in ineffective or illegal meetings
   
2. if we don't comply with state statutes and governing documents, decisions or votes may be invalid
   
3. poorly run meetings can hurt the credibility of the board, the manager & the association
   
4. difficult meetings burn out board members AND managers AND homeowners

Let's first talk about BOARD MEETINGS.

How many of you have monthly board meetings? Bi-monthly? Quarterly? How many of you meet monthly because your board has historically always met monthly? You shouldn't have to meet monthly and spend more of your precious, probably very limited personal time on the operations of your community. Or, your monthly meetings shouldn't last longer than an hour. Here's the ideal procedure for ensuring the optimal productivity and effectiveness of your meetings:

1. Prepare a timed agenda before the meeting. Ideally, a week before the meeting the manager would prepare the draft agenda and send it to the president for input.
   
   
   • During the month, if board members have issues they want discussed at the meeting, they advise the president who includes those topics on the agenda or resolves them before the agenda is distributed.
     
     
   • Better yet, rather than waiting for the meeting to discuss certain issues that don't require decisions, work together during the month to resolve them – isn't that what email and phones are for?
     
     
   • The timed agenda controls extraneous discussions and keeps the focus on the business of the meeting. However, it won't work unless every board member buys into the concept that discussion is limited and everyone must do their homework before the meeting. Coming prepared to the meeting will certainly move it along more quickly than if everyone has to stop to reach the material previously sent to them.
     
     
   • A consent agenda makes it even easier to get home before dark. Items included in on a consent agenda would be the minutes of the previous meeting and other uncontroversial topics and routine business items that require no discussion but do need formal approval in the minutes.
     
     
2. Your manager sends you weekly board packets that include communications that occurred during the previous week. By sending these weekly instead of monthly you should have a more real-time look at what's happening in your community.
   
   
   • By receiving this information more timely, you have the opportunity to ask your manager any questions you might have about the material instead of waiting for the board meeting to make your inquiries.
     
     
   • By asking your manager for the information before the meeting, she'll have the time to do the necessary research to answer your questions.
     
     
3. Your manager submits her recap report either by email or mail before your board meeting – or, at least she tries to. Ideally, you'll receive your report a few days before the meeting, giving you time to review the information and call or email your manager with any questions. At the meeting, she'll bring you any updates that occurred subsequent to her original report. Keep your meetings efficient by not reiterating the information on the recap or the update – if you do your homework by reading the reports before the meeting, the only issues that need to be discussed are those that need policy decisions or additional direction for your manager.
   
   
4. At the meeting, follow the Board Meeting Rules of Conduct and Enforcement Policy (pdf documents*).
   
   
5. Before the meeting adjourns, review the action items for the next meeting, not just for the manager, but for board and committee members as well. During the month, your manager will update you on the progress of the action items assigned to her, eliminating the need to review them at the board meeting, and perhaps even eliminating the need for a meeting.
   
   

Now let's talk about ANNUAL MEETINGS.

1. First, take a look at our Annual Meeting Preparations (pdf document*).
   
2. Next, we've got to figure out how the heck to get a quorum in order to make all the hard work you've done preparing for the meeting pay off. Let's take a look at the Association Times Achieving Quorum article for some ideas.
   
3. What's the primary purpose of annual meetings? To elect directors. So, with that in mind, the major focus has to be on ensuring that the meeting is held legally – remember what we talked about at the beginning of this discussion with regard to the implications of improperly held meetings.
   
   • Some homeowners think this is their one opportunity every year to express their opinion about something or things that have to do with their life in their community association. This is where the team efforts of the manager and the board in successfully communicating with all owners is so important. Owners must know and feel comfortable in communicating with the board and the manager whenever an issue arises so that there is no need for a confrontation at the annual meeting.
     
     
   • How do you prevent the conflict that sometimes occurs at annual meetings? Communicate! Communicate year round, not just before the annual meeting. In the 26 years in which I've been managing community associations, it's become very clear to me that the more the board communicates with the homeowners during the year, the more enjoyable the annual meeting. That's not to say you must have 10-page epics every month. Just a monthly postcard highlighting the board meeting decisions and upcoming events will suffice to assure the owners that you're looking out for their best interests and that they are welcome and encouraged to participate in the operations of their community.
     

Finally, let's take a minute or two to talk about parliamentary procedure. Even though meetings may be relatively informal, and many think that parliamentary procedure will stifle discussion and limit participation, it will actually enable you to more efficiently accomplish the purpose of the meeting – to complete the agenda reasonably and on time. The Community Association Institute has an excellent booklet on Robert's Rules of Order that includes the basic motions and responses. If you're interested in learning more about how parliamentary procedure can help shorten meetings while addressing all the items on the agenda, just let your manager know.

As you can see from all the ideas I've been discussing, the key to successful community association meetings, as with all other types of meetings, is preparation. By using the management tools we provide, and by working together as a team, the result will be smoothly operating communities with informed, satisfied residents – just what we all strive for.

*This document is in PDF format. Viewing it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is a free downloadable software available by clicking here:

Marjorie Jean Meyer, CMCA, PCAM
Vice President and National Director of Education and Certification
Associa
Houston, TX