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 … [Read more...]
Master meeting minutes to ensure that your records are useful and accurate, and meet state requirements
Keeping good minutes is a critical task for any secretary, clerk or staff member. Read our posts for valuable tips and information about this essential aspect of your work.
Who 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 … [Read more...]
Recording 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 … [Read more...]
What 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 … [Read more...]
Nonprofit 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. The secretary reads the minutes aloud. If the draft minutes have been distributed in advance, so … [Read more...]
Detailed 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 … [Read more...]
Are 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 … [Read more...]
Action 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 … [Read more...]