Calling a meeting to order
The chair's opening act, and why it matters more than a formality.
Calling a meeting to order is the moment a gathering of directors formally becomes a board meeting bound by its rules. The chair states the meeting is open, confirms a quorum is present, and turns to the agenda, an agenda the board must adopt, not one the chair controls alone. On a small board (about a dozen members or fewer, typical of most HOAs), the chair can also join the discussion and vote like any other director, not just break ties.
The gavel marks a legal moment, not a ritual
A board meeting exists the moment a quorum of directors gathers to discuss association business, whatever anyone calls it. A hallway conversation among enough directors can legally count as a meeting even if nobody scheduled one. Calling the meeting to order is the chair's way of marking that this particular gathering is now the formal, on-the-record kind, the one where minutes get taken and votes count.
"Participation by directors in a teleconference meeting constitutes presence at that meeting as long as all directors participating are able to hear one another."
Source: California Civil Code §4090, Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, California Legislature
Before saying anything else, the chair should have already confirmed quorum is established. Skip that step and everything that follows is on shaky ground.
Small boards work differently than a big assembly
Most HOA boards are small enough that the usual rule about a neutral, non-voting chair does not apply. That changes how the chair should behave the moment the meeting opens.
In "meetings of a small board (where there are not more than about a dozen board members present)," the chair may participate in discussion and vote on every question, rather than staying impartial and voting only to break ties.
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
A first-time chair who tries to stay silent through every discussion, expecting to vote only on ties, is running a large-assembly rule on a body too small for it.
The agenda is the board's, not the chair's
A common assumption is that whoever runs the meeting also runs the agenda. That is wrong, and it matters right after the gavel falls, before anyone has debated a single item.
"It is wrong to assume, as many do, that the president 'sets the agenda.' It is common for the president to prepare a proposed agenda, but that becomes binding only if it is adopted by the full assembly."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
That rule of thumb only applies if the board's bylaws actually name Robert's Rules as the parliamentary authority. Nothing makes it automatic, some associations have never adopted it at all, and a chair who assumes it applies without checking the bylaws is guessing. Whether a parliamentary authority applies, and which one, is set by each association's own governing documents, check the bylaws' adoption clause.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Your board has five directors. Three showed up tonight, and the printed agenda says "prepared by the president." A new director objects that only the board can approve what gets discussed. Who is right?
Your HOA board has seven members, and all seven attend. During discussion, the chair wants to argue against a proposed contract before the vote is taken. Can the chair do that?
A first-time board member searches online for "Robert's Rules quorum requirement" and assumes it automatically governs the association's meetings. What should they check first?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
- California Civil Code §4090, Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, California Legislature
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Board Meetings
Next up: learn how the agenda gets built before anyone calls the meeting to order at all.
This page is educational, not legal advice. Meeting procedure varies by state law and by each association's own bylaws and CC&Rs. Check your governing documents and consult a qualified attorney before relying on any specific rule.