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Although condominium government closely parallels municipal government, the scales are obviously far different. While Calgary City Council has professional staff advising on points of law and recording minutes, your and my condo Boards are entirely volunteers, and our property manager—if we even have one—usually doesn't take the minutes, as it's not part of the management contract.
In short, we should not expect municipal standards of administration and minute taking for condominium Boards of directors. That's not to let anyone off the hook. Condo Boards should exercise leadership, especially by the Chair, who is also president of the corporation. Board discussions should be led by an agenda, and clear decisions and votes should be taken, especially on financial and disciplinary questions. And of course the best-possible minutes should be recorded, be typed up, and be distributed soon after each session.
The important thing in minutes is for there to be clarity afterward about what was decided. The fact that the Board voted 5 to 2 to spend $80,000 to re-roof a building is more important than that the minutes be typed and have no spelling errors. In human history, of course, far more minutes have been accurately recorded in hand-written script, as opposed to being typed, much less being laptop-typed and e-mail distributed. Fancy isn't necessary. Clear recording of votes and decisions made is.
If your Board doesn't have a Director willing or able to do this job, it's a proper expense for the Board to hire someone to do it. What's $50 or $100 per session to pay a capable resident to attend, record and distribute minutes when you're making $80,000 decisions? If an owner protests the expense at the next annual general meeting, elect THAT person to the Board to be the secretary.
As a condominium-specialist Realtor I read the condo Board meeting minutes from dozens of condo corporations every year. Yes, some record-keeping is inadequate. But I'm tolerant of Boards that are obviously doing everything they can to properly run their little communities. When their efforts and record keeping are occasionally challenged by an aggrieved or grumpy owner, even the courts seem to indulge amateur Boards' best efforts.
Run your Board meetings with some discipline and clarity, following an agenda. Record the best minutes you can. Hire someone to do the job if you must, as that's a legitimate expense. But don't strive for or demand municipal standards at the Condo Board level. This isn't city hall.
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