Board meeting minutes (any state)

Association: _______________________________________________ State: ____________ Property type: ☐ Condominium ☐ Cooperative ☐ HOA ☐ Other Meeting date: ____________ Prepared by: ____________________

Before you use this

Minutes are not a transcript and they are not a newsletter. They are the association's record of what the board decided and on what authority, and they are the document a court, an auditor, a lender, or a hostile owner reads first.

Most minutes fail in one of two directions. Too thin: "the board discussed roofing and a decision was made." That records nothing and proves nothing. Too thick: three paragraphs of who said what, which creates a record of debate that can be quoted against the association later and still does not establish what was decided.

The fix is the same in every state. Record the motion in full, the mover, the seconder, the outcome, and how each director voted. Record the facts a decision rested on. Record nothing about tone, personality, or argument.

This template is written for any state. The mechanics above are universal. What varies by state is the notice that had to precede the meeting, whether abstentions carry a consequence, what may be discussed in a closed session, and how long minutes must be retained and how quickly they must be made available. Part 0 makes you settle that before you adopt this.

Part 0. Establish your state's requirements first

• ☐ What notice must precede a board meeting, in what form and how far ahead? Answer: ______________
• ☐ Do any agenda items require heightened notice (assessments, rule changes, and similar are common)? Answer: ______________
• ☐ Are minutes an official record, and for how long must they be retained? Answer: ______________
• ☐ Within what period must minutes be made available to an owner who asks? Answer: ______________
• ☐ Does state law say how a director's vote or abstention must be recorded, or attach a consequence to silence? Answer: ______________
• ☐ On what grounds, if any, may the board meet in closed session? Answer: ______________
• ☐ May a director attend or vote remotely, and does that count toward quorum? Answer: ______________