HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - July 10, 2015
Published: Fri, 07/10/15
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Your HOA May Be Able to Relax Its Parliamentary Procedures. Here’s Why.
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In this week’s tip, we keep the discussion going on a recent article that
triggered reader responses. The topic: The ongoing debate in the HOA
community over whether Robert’s Rules of Order are worth using if your HOA
has the option to decline to adopt them.
One of our readers raised an interesting issue, and that’s whether you can
loosen Robert’s Rules depending on the type of meeting you’re conducting:
“Where most professionals get confused is that parliamentary procedure
for boards is supposed to be much more relaxed than for larger membership
meetings.” We’ve contacted an expert to get the answer.
But first, we note that the response doesn’t surprise Bob Kmiecik, a partner
at Kaman & Cusimano LLC, which represents associations throughout Ohio.
"Some people are nuts about Robert’s Rules,” he says. “Where I practice,
very few associations are required to follow Robert’s Rules. But you’ll
have owners who show up with a copy. They’ll dominate meetings and raise
procedural questions. It almost requires you to have an attorney there. I
even had to go to court with one owner who insisted these rules be followed.
The judge ordered him to sit down and not interfere anymore.”
James Slaughter agrees that some people are sticklers about Robert’s
Rules. “I’ve had people come up after a meeting and tell me what Robert’s
Rules require—and they’re 100 percent certain they’re correct,” explains
the partner at Rossabi Black Slaughter in Greensboro, N.C., who heads his
firm’s community association practice. “But what they say doesn’t appear
in Robert’s Rules anywhere.”
If anybody can make that type of statement, it’s Slaughter. He’s has made it
his business to understand parliamentary procedures. He’s a certified
professional parliamentarian and a professional registered
parliamentarian. Slaughter has also written two books on Robert’s Rules of
Order: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Parliamentary Procedure Fast-Track,
which focuses on procedures for smaller meetings, and Notes and Comments on
Robert’s Rules, Fourth Edition, a user’s guide to the latest edition of
Robert’s Rules.
Even lawyers aren’t always as fluent with Robert’s Rules as they should be,
says Slaughter. “Most lawyers didn’t learn parliamentary procedure in law
school,” he says. “I only know it because I’m certified. All the time I deal
with lawyers who service parliamentary groups, and they’re quite certain
of something. But they’re kind of making it up as they go along, too. They say
things like the chair isn’t allowed to speak or to vote, and that’s not true.”
Find out whether Slaughter thinks our article was accurate, along with the
answer to whether you can loosen up on Robert’s Rules, in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1205.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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How to Run a Successful HOA Board Orientation
An Exclusive HOAleader.com Webinar
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Thursday, July 16, 2015
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Learn more or Register now:
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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More on Robert's Rules: Should You Loosen Up Your HOA Meetings?
Recently, we reported on a debate in the HOA community over whether Robert's
Rules of Order are worth using if your HOA has the option to decline to adopt
them. That prompted several HOAleader.com readers to write in offering
additional insights on the use of the parliamentary procedures.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/More-on-Roberts-Rules-Should-You-Loosen-Up-Your-HOA-Meetings.cfm
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HOAs and Bidding: Don't Let the Process Backfire
In this week's tip, we expand on an interesting discussion that took place
during a recent HOAleader.com webinar about condominium and homeowner
associations and their use of requests for proposal (RFPs) when bidding out
the HOA manager's contract.
During the webinar on how to choose and work with your HOA's manager, the
expert panelists offered cautions when using RFPs, particularly when
seeking bids from management companies.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOAs-Bidding-Dont-Let-Process-Backfire.cfm
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HOAs and RFPs: How to Pair Them Wisely
At a recent HOAleader.com webinar, our panelists had an interesting
discussion about condominium and homeowner associations and their use of
requests for proposal (RFPs) when bidding out the HOA manager's contract.
Here's what they had to say, along with additional thoughts from our experts
on using RFPs for management and other HOA contracts.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOAs-RFPs-How-Pair-Them-Wisely.cfm
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HOA Elections: A Guide to Managing the Election Process at Condo and
Homeowner Associations
In this report you'll discover tips from our editorial team and experts on
HOA governance and management from across the country on how to plan,
properly notice, and execute an HOA election. These are tips you can begin
implementing immediately to make your elections run more smoothly and
withstand challenges from disgruntled homeowners.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOA-Elections-Guide-Managing-Election-Process-at-Condo-Homeowner-Associations.cfm
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Is the HOA in the Business of Selling Itself?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Several new board members are real estate
agents or owners with many lots they want to sell. The board has authorized
'advertising' monies not in our budget. The focus is quickly becoming sales
of lots. Our documents state our primary focus is 1) Maintaining common
areas and 2) Maintaining building and architectural requirements. Our
documents do not say anything about 'advertising.' Anyone else dealing
with this issue?"
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-in-Business-Selling-Itself.cfm
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