In this week's tip, we once again tackle the contentious issue of meeting minutes (why do so many people argue over what to include?)
The topic comes from an HOAleader.com reader, who asks whether the secretary should include in the minutes who counted ballots and which board members were present at a meeting. Ultimately, the question is who gets final say on what's included. In the reader's case, the secretary, who has since retired, refused to amend to include those
details.
Our experts say—at least indirectly—that it's good this secretary has retired. “That seems ridiculous,” says Janet Oulousian Aronson, a partner at Marcus Errico Emmer & Brooks in Braintree, Mass., who is licensed in that state,
in addition to Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
James R. McCormick Jr., CCAL, a partner at Delphi Law Group in Carlsbad, Calif., who has represented association clients for nearly 30 years, has a similar thought. “This question, while
multilayered, leads me to say that whoever is serving in that role as secretary in the reader's question needed to be removed and replaced with someone else,” he says. “This person apparently didn't know what they were doing and was being obstinate.”
First: Should the secretary have added to the minutes who counted ballots? That depends.
For instance, with California's requirement for election inspectors, that information is probably out there for members to
know already, so what's the harm in including it? “For most elections, for annual meetings, anyway, associations are required to hire an independent inspector of election,” explains James R. McCormick Jr., CCAL, a partner at Delphi Law Group in Carlsbad, Calif., who has represented association clients for nearly 30 years. “That inspector is required to do a bunch of things, including prepare a report.
“So our state is a little different from that standpoint because it's known who those people are,” he adds. “They can be volunteer poll workers or homeowners. And generally speaking, you'd want to know who those individuals are because if there's a legal challenge, that person is going to be brought in. So
refusing to put that information in is asinine.”
Even though laws in the New England states in which she practices don't have that same requirement as California, Aronson agrees. “If I had people counting the ballots, I'd identify them,”
she says. “Why wouldn't you? The whole point is to give credibility to the vote. That's part of the certification process.”