Taking minutes for an HOA or condo meeting can be arduous, intimidating, and a misunderstood procedure. But make no mistake, meeting minutes are crucial and – if taken incorrectly – could cost the community financially.
Condo board meeting minutes are not supposed to be a verbatim recording of what happened at the meeting, but rather they are an official record of the decisions taken by the board of directors. It is where the motions, votes on motions, action items, and notations of items tabled for a future meeting are memorialized. These minutes play a pivotal role in maintaining transparency and accountability within the community.
They are a living written history of the association and provide a linear record of the decisions made over the tenure of many boards of directors. Minutes should be kept for many years and, depending on where you live, there are often time horizons given for how long they are to be kept. They provide continuity and if there is a lawsuit, condo board meeting minutes are considered a significant evidentiary document.
Unless the organization’s governing documents are specific as to who is responsible for composing the condo board meeting minutes, almost anybody can do this task – but this does not mean anybody should. The importance of accuracy in these minutes cannot be overstated, as they serve as a legal record of the board’s actions.
Minute taking is sometimes done by the property manager or directors on the board – often the secretary. Look at your governing documents to see who is responsible for the minutes and in most cases, it will be the secretary. But while the board’s secretary is the keeper of the association’s important documents including the minutes, it does not mean they have to – or should – actually write them. Having a board member take minutes sidelines a key decision maker who may be too distracted by the task of writing about the meeting to actually contribute to it.
Another option is to engage a third party to take the minutes. These services provide clients with a professional who is well-versed in what must be in condo board meeting minutes and what should not be. A professional minute taker is experienced at documenting the board’s decisions in objective language, which may protect directors from liability in the event of a legal dispute. Minutes by an outside recording secretary have more credibility because the individual who took them wasn’t also involved in making the decisions for the association.
Conversely, emotional arguments of who said what are not necessary or advisable in condo board meeting minutes and can even end up making individual board members personally vulnerable in a lawsuit.
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