HOA boards are required, by law, to take down minutes at every board meeting. Keeping minutes is essential for documenting all of the board’s decisions and actions, and can come in handy when there’s a debate or misunderstanding about a particular subject.

Meeting minutes also create a record of different perspectives and opinions shared during discussions. That’s why it’s important for meeting minutes to be accurate.

  

Table of contents

• Who should take meeting minutes?
• Can AI take minutes for the HOA?
• What exactly should be included in meeting minutes?
• How to write meeting minutes
• The importance of an HOA board meeting minutes template
• How long should the HOA maintain its meeting minutes?

  

Finally, meeting minutes are considered to be official HOA documents. That means that unless the minutes were taken during a confidential executive meeting, all residents have the right to review those minutes.

  

Click here to download our free HOA meeting minutes template

  

Minutes must be made available to all residents to see within a specific time frame. Often, that time limit is 30 days, but it could be sooner depending on state laws and governing documents.

Having a secure online document storage option makes it easier for everyone to access the minutes. Some platforms even allow you to set permissions, meaning you can restrict access to certain folders, but make HOA records available to everyone. Storing the documents online also means they won’t get lost or damaged.

Now that we’ve established the importance of taking board meeting minutes and their relevance to HOA communities, it’s time to share some reliable strategies that will help you record accurate, useful minutes.

  

Who should take meeting minutes?

If your HOA doesn’t already have a designated note-taker, the first thing the board should do is appoint someone to take on that role. Furthermore, there should be a backup in case that person is unable to attend a meeting.

It is often the secretary who will take down the minutes, but a board may hire or elect a recording secretary in order to free up the general secretary for meeting participation. If the association works with a property manager, then they may be asked to take, prepare and share meeting minutes.

The skill of writing board meeting minutes is acquired through study and practice. While it isn’t a skill that anyone is born with, most people can learn and master effective note-taking. In fact, experts recommend that all board members have an understanding of how to record meeting minutes, even if they’re not all going to be tasked with the responsibility.

Board members are encouraged to write their own notes when attending open sessions just so they can have the information on hand if they need it immediately after the meeting. Depending on their role and how long the meeting was, it can take a few days, or more than a week for the note-taker to get the minutes up.

  

Can AI take minutes for the HOA?

Using AI to record and transcribe board meetings to create meeting minutes using programs like Fireflies or Otter.ai is considered a relatively low risk activity. Communities can use AI to take minutes, but boards should be aware that entire recordings/transcriptions cannot be published as is.

Someone will still need to turn the transcript into condensed minutes, ensure all the correct information, such as the name of the person who made a motion, is included, and check for any information that should not be included in the minutes.

In short, AI can help with accuracy, but don’t rely on it to produce minutes without checking them first.

What exactly should be included in meeting minutes?

Here are some of the most important points to include in HOA meeting minutes:

• The name of the association
• The type of meeting being held, i.e. special meeting, annual meeting (AGM), monthly meeting, etc.
• The date and location of the meeting
• The time at which the meeting started and adjourned
• A roll call of those who are present and absent with their respective board positions
• Approval of previous minutes
• Reports
• New business from open discussions
• All motions including approved and disapproved motions
• Actions that are taken
• Names of members who voted abstained or dissented for a motion
• A record of all financial transactions, including bank account opening and closing, reserve expenditure, etc.

These are general items that must be included in every HOA board meeting. However, your local or state laws might have additional items and rules on how to take HOA board meeting minutes.

  

How to write meeting minutes

Begin each session by noting the types of meeting, the date and time. Then, write down the meeting objective(s) to provide some context. You could use the objectives to create a title if that would make it easier to find the notes later on.

Next, fill out the names of the attendees as they show up so you don’t accidentally include an attendee who ends up being absent. Include the meeting location as well.

Now for the bulk of the work. The person taking minutes must write down the agenda items while making sure the most important information is captured.

Do not try to write down every single thing word-for-word. This will make it harder for others to find what they’re looking for, and no one wants to review pages and pages of minutes. If you end up jotting down more than is needed, that’s okay. You can always go back and clean up the notes after the meeting.

  

Write meeting minutes according to the agenda

Your HOA meeting minutes should coincide with the agenda. That means whatever is recorded in the minutes should reflect what was listed in the agenda – resist documenting chit-chat that may have happened throughout.

  

Keep track of action items

Out of the discussion will arise action items. It’s important to write these down, along with a due date.

  

Keep it short and sweet

Once you get to the end of the meeting, you must do a review of the action items so that they may be assigned as duties to board committees or members.

You don’t have to document every single thing that goes on in the meeting. Keep it to the important points and avoid trying to transcribe full conversations.

Remember that meeting minutes are not a transcript. They’re a concise collection of important points and ideas from the meeting discussion which may affect decision-making later on.

The minute-taker should always record items that were voted upon, as well as specific motions that transpired at the meeting.

While notes that are transcribed from a tape recording are not considered official meeting minutes, board members may use them as part of their own personal notes.

  

Remain objective

The minute-taker should always maintain an objective perspective when recording the meeting minutes. This means they should avoid adding criticisms, personal opinions or praise.

  

The importance of an HOA board meeting minutes template

An HOA board meeting minutes template comes highly recommended for its ability to help the minute-taker stay on track while writing the minutes. But, the template must follow the association’s regulations for recording meeting minutes. That way, whoever writes the minutes can follow the same format for guaranteed legibility.

Most HOA boards have a meeting minute book with template pages that include input slots for the date, meeting objective (aka agenda), attendees, action items, deadlines, and a note section for you to write the actual minutes.

  

Meeting minute approval

It’s important for the board to approve the previous meeting’s minutes before proceeding with the day’s business. But, this is only possible if the meeting has a quorum according to the HOA rules.

Once approved, the minutes must be signed by the secretary or else they won’t be official. Board meeting minutes are considered “official” only after they’ve been approved by the board and signed by the secretary.

  

Meeting minute access

Aside from residents and board members, other stakeholders are allowed to access meeting minutes as well. This includes realtors, new residents, mortgage companies and bankers.

If necessary, official minutes can be used as a reference for financial transactions. They can also be used in a court of law.

That’s why it’s essential to ensure that meeting minutes are objective and accurate at all times.

  

Why should the board prioritize taking accurate HOA meeting minutes?

Once meeting minutes are approved, they become a legally binding document. Keeping this in mind can be helpful when writing the minutes to make sure that they’re a true reflection of meeting proceedings.

  

How long should the HOA maintain its meeting minutes?

This may come as a surprise, but generally speaking, minutes must be kept indefinitely. They contain an important part of the HOA’s history and may be required in the future.

  

Key takeaways

Meeting minutes are designed to keep track of all board decisions taken at meetings and to ensure that the right actions are carried out to enforce those decisions. It’s not necessary or advised to write down everything that was said in a meeting.

Keep these tips in mind to help you take good HOA minutes:

• Take attendance
• Keep it short and sweet
• Remain objective
• Keep the minutes to two pages or less (when possible)
• Ask for an explanation if confused about anything
• Use a template to ensure uniformity
• Prepare the meeting minutes right after the meeting
• Make sure the minutes are signed for approval
• Log and track meeting minutes tasks

On a final note, when meetings remain professional and objective, it’s a lot easier to compile good minutes. The board should be mindful of this and aim to hold a productive meeting.

Download Template

Download our free meeting minutes template