Chesapeake Region Chapter/Community Associations Institute (CAI)

GETTING HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT

Apr 05, 2004

Community associations are notorious for long meetings that seem to accomplish much less than was intended at their outset. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but the most pervasive one is that community associations deal with issues that affect peoples' lives at home. Because our culture is steeped in the home-as-castle convention, we resent intrusion into and regulation of our home life as much or more than all of the other indignities we suffer. Add to this the fact that those who run and attend association meetings can often be the most outspoken and garrulous in the community, and you have an instant recipe for a "late nighter."
As an attorney, I find that I can usually limit the time I spend at these meetings to that which is really essential by reminding the board that I charge by the hour. This usually results in an amazing, new-found ability of the group to focus in on the legal issues at hand, after which I can happily depart for my own hearth and leave my client richer?—both in terms of knowledge (I hope) and fees that might otherwise have been wastefully incurred.

Many management contracts either limit the number of meeting hours that a manager has to attend or establish a time after which additional fees are charged. Managers that have such a provision

in the contract should use it to good advantage to help meetings proceed apace. Instead, some managers either do not report overtime meetings to their company in an attempt to do the board a "favor," or do not make it an issue because they are satisfied to receive additional money for staying late.

Still, many associations have great difficulty conducting economical and productive meetings. Cynthia Kent and I will be speaking on this topic at a program on February 11, 2004, and will cover a number of areas such as the formulation of good agendas, owner forums, effective use of parliamentary procedure, speaking time limits, rules that apply to board members, meeting room composition, and other means of controlling and directing the course of association meetings. We look forward to a lively discussion and to tried and true suggestions from those managers and association leaders attending the session. I urge anyone tired of long meetings to join us, and promise that we will end the session on time!
The key to a well-run meeting is a chairperson who acts with authority and possesses good people skills. The chairperson must always be in charge of and in control of the meeting, but this does not mean that he or she should be overbearing, confrontational, dictatorial, inflexible or always at center stage. Indeed, the chairperson frequently must walk a tightrope, intervening enough to keep the meeting on track, but allowing others to participate as appropriate so that the meeting does not become a one-man or one-

woman show.
The smart chairperson will make good use of advisors, officers, committee chairpersons and those who act as liaisons to agents or contractors. For example, a typical board meeting might consist of a management report, financial report, a review of rules enforcement efforts, a discussion of proposed document amendments, and the selection of the grounds maintenance contractor for the following year. The chairperson should allow management to make its report, ask for comments or additional information from the officer or director who acts as board liaison to management, and then open the floor to questions directed to the manager or liaison. If a motion is required to approve the management report, the chairperson should request such a motion after appropriate discussion is had. (Robert's Rules of Order also requires discussion on a motion after it is made and seconded. It has been my experience that discussion is frequently necessary before a motion is ripe, which may render discussion after the motion is made unnecessary. Nonetheless, proper procedure is for the chairperson to ask if there is any further discussion on the motion, and, if not, to call the question.)
Note that the chairperson should not allow discussion (either before or after a motion is made) to continue interminably. When discussion becomes tentative or meanders, when the discussion becomes repetitive, or when the discussion degenerates into chaos, the chair should jump in with the question "Are we ready for a

motion?" or "Are we ready for the question?" This language is
better than "Is there any more discussion?" because that question
can foster more discussion. If someone answers no, that they have
additional comments or questions, the chair should note that there
has already been significant discussion and admonish the group that
all further discussion should be brief and to the point so that
other business can be conducted. Even if further discussion is
indicated, any voting member of the group can call the question,
which dispenses with discussion.
To continue with the example meeting, the chairperson should ensure that the appropriate advisors, officers, committee chairs and liaisons are present to provide the proper input. If legal counsel is required to discuss collection efforts (as a part of the financial report), rules enforcement or the document amendment, he or she should be invited for a specific time and the chair should batch the items requiring his or her attention so that they may all be handled and the attorney allowed to depart. If appropriate, the chair should remind the board that the attorney is "on the clock" and encourage only relevant discussion.
If the "finalist" grounds contractors are being interviewed, it will help speed the process for the chairperson, liaison or manager to have prepared for every member of the board a fact sheet on each finalist and the bid for each, along with suggested questions or subject areas for questions. It will also help if each contractor is given a set amount of time to Make his or her

presentation and if the contractors are scheduled to arrive at
preset intervals. Anytime that a timekeeper is needed, the
chairperson should ask someone else to do it rather than doing it
himself or herself. When "time" is abruptly called, the
chairperson can then diplomatically intercede, thank the contractor
for the presentation, and invite questions from the board, noting
that the next contractor will be there shortly.
As I said in CAI's GAP Report 21, Guide to Annual Meetings. Special Meetings, and Elections, it is crucial to the conduct of any meeting that the chairperson remain above the fray and that he or she is composed, organized, soft-spoken, equitable, and obviously in charge without being overbearing. This is a tall order to fill, especially if the chairperson comes under personal attack, and it requires emotional preparation and control. Once the chairperson becomes visibly angry, tearful, flustered or frustrated, the meeting can degenerate. Anger can be diffused and personal attacks deflected by the judicious use of advisors, committee chairs and other officers and directors to answer questions or explain issues or actions, as indicated above.
At the same time, the chairperson cannot allow others to take over the meeting. The chairperson should see that specific assignments are carried out by the others mentioned, but that control of the meeting returns to the chair after each report or discussion. One sign of a good chairperson is when all heads automatically turn back to the chairperson at the end of a report

by another.
Being chairperson of a community association meeting does not necessarily mean that other powers or duties are forfeited. The president of the board, for example, serves as president only by dint of a vote of the other directors. He or she was first elected by the owners as a director, and it is to those owners that the primary duty is owed. Consequently, the prohibition in Robert's regarding chairpersons making motions or voting (except to break a tie) should be ignored. The president in this context is first and foremost a director, and was elected to that position by the owners to vote for them as their representative and, if appropriate, to
make motions designed to encourage the action by the entire board
that he or she feels is in the best interest of the owners.
Contrary to Robert's. then, the president, as a director, should
always vote on every issue before the board and should make ally
motions he or she feels are warranted, especially if no one else
will.
As I stated earlier, the success of a meeting often hinges upon the strength of the chairperson. This does not mean, however, that he or she must have a dominating personality or be able to scream louder than anyone else. Indeed, I have found that quiet authority is usually more effective than strident demands. Moreover, speaking with a soft voice causes people to strain slightly to hear, which serves to focus their attention even more. Also, when everyone is focusing on hearing a soft-voiced

chairperson, the loudmouth will be required by peer pressure to remain silent while the chairperson is speaking, and will seem to be even more of a loudmouth if he or she jumps back in after the chair finishes.
Finally, it must be pointed out that strength is derived from knowledge and organization. The chairperson should always do his or her homework so that he or she knows as much as possible about the issues that will be brought up at the meeting. Likely as not, that will mean that he or she knows more than anyone else about those issues. That strength is buttressed by being organized in terms of the agenda, being able to find the right papers at the right time, having prepared handouts for the others, and being able to direct the discussion toward salient points. Knowledge and organization, properly utilized, will demand respect and attention and allow the chairperson the control that is necessary for a successful meeting?—one that will allow everyone to get home before midnight.

P. Michael Nagle is a principal with Nagle & Zaller, P.C. in Columbia, MD and was also a Chapter President in 1981 and 1982.

Sponsored Links
Advertise Here!

Promote Your Business or Product for $10/mo

istockphoto_2518034-hot-pizza.jpg

For just $10/mo you can promote your business or product directly to nearby residents. Buy 12 months and save 50%!

Buynow

Zip Code Profiler

21045 Zip Code Details

Neighborhoods, Home Values, Schools, City & State Data, Sex Offender Lists, more.