Meeting Minutes
Guidelines for Meeting Minutes in Local Government
Meeting minutes recording the actions taken by your council or board are a fundamental part of the meeting process. These are our guidelines for meeting minutes in local government.
Read MoreDon’t include detailed public comment in meeting minutes
When city councils, school boards or other public bodies hold their meetings, it is usual to reserve a time in the meeting for members of the public to speak to their elected officials. One common name for this is the public comment period.
Read MoreApproving minutes if you were absent
Is it all right for you to vote to approve minutes of a meeting if you were absent? Robert’s Rules of Order gives a resounding “yes” as the answer to this question. When you vote to approve the minutes, you are expressing your confidence in the veracity of the secretary, the actions of your colleagues,…
Read MoreWho may correct meeting minutes?
In the olden days, the standard way to correct meeting minutes was to request the correction at the next meeting, when the meeting minutes were up for approval. Nowadays, since meeting minutes are often circulated in advance, the question becomes a little more complicated. This article explores those complications. According to Robert’s Rules of Order…
Read MoreRecording votes in meeting minutes
When deciding about recording votes in meeting minutes, first review any legal requirements in your state of incorporation. For instance, in California, public bodies must record how each board member cast her vote by name in the minutes. Those requirements may settle the matter for you. If your state doesn’t specify how to record the…
Read MoreWhat to include in meeting minutes?
Readers sometimes ask us what exactly to include in meeting minutes. This is our best understanding of the content according to our experience and Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 11th edition (pages 468-476). The name of the body that is meeting and the type of meeting (regular, special, annual, continued, study session, “Committee of…
Read MoreNonprofit boards should not vote to approve minutes
Do you serve on a private nonprofit board? Did you know that according to Robert’s Rules of Order, you shouldn’t vote to approve minutes? Instead, use this simple procedure.
Read MoreDetailed minutes put your board at risk
Do you include what directors say in the minutes of your nonprofit board meetings? Jurassic Parliament strongly recommends that you stop immediately. Detailed accounts of “who said what to whom” in your minutes are dangerous. In the worst case, they provide fodder for your opponents should your board ever be involved in a lawsuit. In…
Read MoreAre summary minutes right for your nonprofit board?
Over the years Jurassic Parliament has been a strong supporter of “action minutes.” We agree with Robert’s Rules of Order that the fundamental purpose of minutes is to record official actions taken by a governing body. Minutes are a legal record and document what the body has done. This is true for elected councils, appointed…
Read MoreAction minutes serve the city best
If your council, commission or committee takes detailed minutes of your meetings, we recommend switching to action minutes. Action minutes record what is done at a meeting and not what is said. At Jurassic Parliament, we believe that action minutes serve the city best. It is natural for elected officials and representatives appointed to public…
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