Proper Procedure for Conducting the Condo Board Meeting

J.D. from Middlesex County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

What is the proper procedure for conducting a condo board meeting? Should there be time set aside during the meeting for addressing owners’ concerns? Can owners voice their concerns during the meeting?

Mister Condo replies:

J.D., thanks for writing. Here is a proper response to your proper procedure question. The answer lies in the meeting agenda and the methodology of how the meeting is conducted. In Connecticut, the Common Interest Ownership Act (also known as CIOA) provides a solid guideline for how your Board meetings should be conducted. However, there is some flexibility in how rigidly the meeting conforms to Roberts Rules of Order; strict parliamentary procedure does not need to be followed. That being said, the meeting agenda needs to be published and distributed well in advance of the actual meeting. There is an order of how information will be shared and discussed that is outlined in the agenda. While unit owners do not have the right to speak or vote at a Board meeting, they do have the right to attend and listen to what is discussed with the exception of items that fall under Executive Session (another topic for another day). If an owner contacted the Board or Property Manager with an item that requires the Board’s attention, there should be an agenda item addressing that concern. If it is an existing agenda item, the concern might be mentioned while discussing the item under Unfinished Business. If it is a new concern, it might fall under New Business. Concerns from unit owners should be presented to the Board in writing so there is a record of the concern. The Board is not required to allow unit owners to address the Board at the meeting. However, it may wish to do so if the unit owner can bring additional information to an agenda item topic that will educate the Board. For instance, a unit owner stopping a Board member in the parking lot to complain about the disrepair of the parking lot is not the same as a unit owner writing to the Board and requesting that the parking lot be repaired. The Board is not required to act on all agenda items; things can be tabled, moved to committee, voted upon and acted upon, or removed from further consideration. The minutes of the meeting should reflect this. Just like the agenda, the minutes of the meeting need to be made available to all unit owners. Hope that helps!