THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702060241
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Common Ground
SOURCE: G. Robert Kirkland and Michael A. Inman
LENGTH: 75 lines
Q. Our community association has recently held two long and frustrating board meetings. Homeowners not on the board of directors have shown up with their own agendas, dominating the meetings.
What can we do when an association member or board director speaks out of turn and disrupts the course of a meeting?
A. If there ever was a situation that demands courtesy and respect it is the community association meeting. For many people, homes are emotional issues, and as a result, many owners do not always act rationally when dealing with issues that affect their homes.
There are two important parts to maintaining order at meetings.
The first is a strong chairperson willing to tell an owner that he or she is out of order. This needs to be done in a firm, but polite way. The chairperson should let the owner know when he or she will be allowed to speak.
Every association meeting should provide a period for homeowner questions and comments immediately prior to the board meeting. This gives the owners a chance to speak without interrupting the meeting.
The chairperson should put a strict time limit on this period and enforce it - generally 15 minutes to a half-hour is sufficient. Thereafter, homeowners may stay for the board meeting but they have no right to speak during the board meeting.
If interruptions occur, the chairperson should ask the offending owner to leave. If necessary, a temporary adjournment of a few minutes should be called.
The second part of the solution requires putting in place proper parliamentary procedure at meetings. Both the Community Associations Institute and the National Association of Parliamentarians have booklets that offer guidelines on these procedures.
These days, when it seems as though good manners are not as prevalent as they once were, it will do everyone good to bring some common courtesy to community association meetings. Good parliamentary procedure includes these basic principles.
Prepare an agenda before the meeting and stick to it.
Speak only when recognized by the chair. This is particularly important at board meetings.
Ask questions, if you must, during the various reports, but do not make motions.
Vote only on items carried over from a previous meeting during the segment for unfinished business.
Bring to the table only items not previous considered during the segment for new business.
Do not discuss anything during the business portion unless there is a proper motion on the floor. This means that a motion has been made and seconded.
Do not speak until recognized by the chairperson. Speak to the issue at hand.
Do not get involved in side conversations.
Do not interrupt a speaker.
Address all questions and comments to the chairperson. The chairperson should give each owner a chance to be heard.
Also, the chairperson should remind speakers when they are long-winded or redundant. Before a vote is taken, the person making the motion should be given the first and last word.
Remember that a motion to adjourn is always in order.
Establish a time limit for the meeting. Most are entirely too long.
Generally, an hour to 90 minutes is enough. When time is up, adjourn and go home. After a couple of such meetings, people will get the message and become more businesslike. MEMO: G. Robert Kirkland, president of a Virginia Beach property
management consulting firm, and attorney Michael A. Inman specialize in
Virginia community association issues and are affiliated with the
Southeastern Virginia chapter of the Community Associations Institute.
Send comments and questions to them at 2622 Southern Blvd., Virginia
Beach, Va. 23452. To submit questions by phone, call 486-7265; by fax:
431-0410; by E-mail, grkirkland(AT)aol.com