Board meeting minutes

Minutes…It’s such a simple word for a task that can strike fear into the hearts of inexperienced board members.   Although it’s true that producing accurate minutes is one of the responsibilities of the board secretary, that doesn’t mean the secretary alone must bear the burden for producing them.  That’s because what all board members should really fear – and take steps to avoid – are the results of unclear, incomplete, or inaccurate minutes.  

Failure to keep good minutes will doom board members to endlessly repeat decisions made at prior meetings that weren’t adequately documented.  Obviously, failure to document decisions also may expose the association to liability and the board to accusations of a lack of transparency.  

Parliamentary Tip:  Whoever prepares the agenda and chairs a meeting has a significant influence on how complete and accurate the minutes will be, regardless of who actually writes them down.  The chair should be focused on the meeting outcome – that is, the Minutes – throughout the planning and execution of every meeting.

Some suggestions for making meetings “minutes-friendly”:

• Draft the minutes first.  Then prepare the agenda to achieve that outcome.  For example, if you know the board must approve a contract during the meeting, put it in the draft Minutes, then draft your agenda to match
• Use a template minutes form.  Prepare the draft recommended above from a standard form you create for your community.  Leave blanks or check-mark options to make the minute-taker’s job as easy as possible
• Use written motions when necessary.  During a meeting, if a motion or issue starts to become complicated, consider requiring motions and amendments to be submitted to the chair in writing.  Your minute-taker will be thrilled, and you’ll save time in the long run.
• Make minutes a priority.  Don’t hesitate to stop and repeat a motion, or slowly restate where you are in the process of decision-making.  Then ask the minute-taker if what you just said was clear enough for the minutes.  Wait until he or she says “Yes, I’ve got it.  Please go on.”  Make sure all meeting participants know that having accurate minutes is a key outcome of every meeting
• Minutes are not a transcript.  Of all the tips for good minute-taking, this is the most important: minutes record actions taken.  They are not a word-for-word transcription of everything anyone said during the meeting