Meetings Agenda

Part of our meetings should be a blueprint known as the "Agenda" or "Order of Business" which has the following components:

Establish a Quorum: A "quorum" is 50% plus one of the total Directors present to constitute a legal quorum, the presiding officer announces the results and states, "The meeting will now come to order."

Review of Minutes: Minutes are typically distributed to attendees and the presiding officer states, "If there is no objection, the minutes are approved."

Reports of Officers & Standing Committees: Reports usually are given first by the Property Manager to the President, followed by the Treasurer followed by standing committee chairs. Reports are usually information only and no motion to approve is necessary unless there are recommendations to be implemented.

Unfinished Business: This refers to matters carried over from a previous meeting such as:

• Any matter that was pending when the previous meeting adjourned;
• Any matters on the previous meeting's agenda that were not reached; or
• Matters that were postponed to the present meeting

The presiding officer should know if there are any items to be considered under unfinished business so they should be listed in the Agenda. If there isn't any, the Agenda can state "None."

New Business: In this category, members can introduce any new item for consideration. The presiding officer introduces the category by asking, "Is there any new business?" Any member can then introduce new items of business by making a motion and obtaining a second. Following the consideration of each item, the chair repeatedly asks, "Is there any further new business?"

This process continues until there are no additional business items to come before the assembly. This category is used for discussion purposes only. If the introduced topic requires a vote of the membership to approve, like an amendment to the governing documents, all members must be advised of it in the Notice of Meeting.

Adjourn the Meeting: The presiding officer can adjourn the meeting without waiting for a motion to adjourn. He simply asks, "Is there any further business?" If there is no response, he states, "Since there is no further business, the meeting is adjourned."