Academy/Committees & Volunteers
Committee meetings
What has to happen before a committee's meeting counts, and what its minutes owe the record.
A committee meeting is valid only when a quorum, ordinarily a majority of the committee's own members, is present. The chair calls the meeting; if the chair will not, any two members can. Minutes are usually informal notes unless the committee holds decision-making authority or your bylaws say otherwise.
Getting the meeting called
Under Robert's Rules, calling the meeting is the chair's job by default, unless your association's bylaws hand that job to someone else, such as a board-appointed staff liaison. If the chair is absent, forgets, or simply refuses, the committee is not stuck.
"It is the duty of the chairman to call the committee together, but, if he is absent, or neglects or declines to call a meeting... it is the duty of the committee to meet on the call of any two of its members."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Article IX, Public domain edition
This is the parliamentary default, and it only applies if your association has adopted a parliamentary authority at all. Check your bylaws or your committee charter first; they can name a different person to schedule meetings.
No quorum, no action
A committee is not five separate opinions collected by text message. It acts as one body, and it can only act when enough of its own members are in the room.
"The committee constitute a miniature assembly, being able to act only when a quorum (a majority of the members) is present."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Article IX, Public domain edition
Majority of the committee's own members is the parliamentary default, not a number every association is required to use. Your bylaws or the committee's own charter can set a different quorum; check both before you assume a majority is the rule that governs your committee.
What the minutes have to say
By default, a committee's internal discussion never makes it into the board's official minutes. The committee keeps its own memorandum, and that memorandum can be informal.
"The secretary does not record in the minutes the proceedings of the committee, but should keep a memorandum of the proceedings for its use."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Article IX, Public domain edition
That default flips when the committee has been delegated real decision-making authority, and some states write the flip into statute. Florida, for example, requires open meetings and specific notice for a committee that will spend association funds or approve or deny architectural decisions:
"The provisions of this subsection shall also apply to the meetings of any committee or other similar body when a final decision will be made regarding the expenditure of association funds and to meetings of any body vested with the power to approve or disapprove architectural decisions with respect to a specific parcel of residential property owned by a member of the community."
Source: Florida Statutes section 720.303, State of Florida
California draws a similar line around any committee holding the board's own decision-making authority. Neither statute reaches every state or every committee, so check your own state's community association statute, or ask your manager or attorney, before deciding whether your committee needs formal minutes and open meetings. See Committee minutes for the full picture.
A vote here is not the final word
Most committees are advisory. A vote taken at a committee meeting produces a recommendation, and that recommendation has no effect until the body that created the committee formally takes it up.
The board reviews and decides; the committee researches and recommends, unless the governing documents specifically handed the committee final authority, such as an empowered architectural review committee. Either way, what happens at the meeting is a step, not the ending. See Committee recommendations and Advisory vs decision-making committees for what happens next.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Your committee's chair is on an extended vacation and has not called a meeting in months. Two members want to meet anyway. What is the correct move under the ordinary parliamentary default?
A finance committee has six members. Only two show up to a meeting. Under the ordinary parliamentary default, what can the committee do at this meeting?
Your architectural review committee has been delegated final authority to approve or deny applications, not just recommend. What does that delegation change about its meetings?
Sources
Committees & Volunteers
Next, learn what has to actually happen to a committee's recommendation once the meeting ends. See Committee recommendations.
Whether your committee must keep formal minutes, open its meetings to members, or follow any parliamentary authority at all depends on your state's statutes, your bylaws, and whether the committee holds decision-making authority.