Let’s call it what it is… Death by HOA Meeting Syndrome! We start our meeting at 7pm to accommodate those working or wanting to have dinner with their families. Next thing you know, the meeting is still dragging on at 9:30 pm, and there are still more items to cover on the agenda!
These meetings drag on for various reasons. You may have a chatty Board Member who loves to hear themselves talk; you may have argumentative members who debate ad nauseam, etc. There are many reasons, but you must keep in mind, productive boards don’t work longer… they work tighter. Your Board should be focused on moving away from the long “discussion” sessions and into a structured “business session”.
There are three focused areas to help move you in that direction. First, I would always recommend reviewing “Robert’s Rules of Order” to fully understand how meetings should be conducted. Yes, it is a bit rigid, but it is the standard that should be your goal.
Let’s start with Pre-Meeting Prep. The meeting itself should be for the actual voting on the issues on the agenda, not for reading the documents for the first time. The Board packet should be distributed several days to a week in advance. This should include the minutes, Treasurer’s and President’s reports, vendor bids, etc. Every Board Member should be prepared ahead of time. If they haven’t prepared properly, the meeting should not slow down for them. Keep the cadence moving. We have a Board Packet Checklist in our Professional Kit for reference.
Let’s move on to a Targeted Agenda. Your Agenda should not have vague topics such as “Landscapeing”, “Pool”, etc. Have your agenda detailed and include a timeline for each item, such as “Landscape Bid Review – 10 minutes”. Keep things concise and clear! When a topic goes off-course, the meeting Chair should move it to the “Parking Lot” to discuss further in a future meeting or under a committee review. Keep your meeting moving!
Homeowners’ forums are a quick and easy derailment of any meeting. The trick to keeping things moving and on topic is to set clear boundaries from the start. Even in your Agenda, place a clear time limit for each speaker. Thank each speaker for their time and then allow the next speaker. The board should simply listen and not engage in debate. Don’t get defensive or allow a homeowner to hijack the meeting. This is a meeting for the Board to conduct business. Remember that even if an owner demands a Board decide on a random topic at that time, remind them that the Board cannot make decisions on items not on the agenda. And move on!
One other trick to moving the meeting along is the use of a Consent Agenda. You can bundle the non-controversial items, such as minutes, financials, etc, into a Consent Agenda that the Board can approve in bulk. Instead of separate motions for each easy item, you have one quick one to move things along.
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