Who controls the agenda?
Not the president alone, and not whoever complains loudest at the meeting.
No one person controls the agenda. Under parliamentary authority, the board president may draft a proposed agenda, but it only binds the board once the full board adopts it. Where a state open meeting statute applies, the board is further bound to whatever agenda was posted in the meeting notice, regardless of who wrote it.
Why "the president sets the agenda" is a myth
It is an easy assumption: the president called the meeting, so the president decides what gets discussed. Under Robert's Rules of Order, that is backwards. A president may draft a proposed agenda ahead of time, the same way anyone could suggest one, but a proposal is not a decision. The agenda only becomes official once the board, as a body, adopts it, usually with a quick motion and vote at the start of the meeting.
"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, 12th ed., Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
That one line does a lot of work. A director who disagrees with the draft can move to amend it before the meeting gets underway, and the board decides by vote, not by whoever is holding the gavel.
Where state law applies, the rule gets stricter, not looser
In states with an HOA-specific open meeting law, the board is not just adopting its own agenda informally, it is bound to whatever agenda was mailed or posted to owners in the meeting notice. California's Open Meeting Act requires that board meeting notice contain the agenda, and the board generally cannot take up anything that was not on it.
"[Notice] shall contain the agenda for the meeting."
Source: California Civil Code §4920, Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, California Legislature
Other states set their own agenda-and-notice rules, and the exact wording and timing differ by state; check your own state's common-interest-community statute, or ask your manager or attorney which one applies to your association. Governing documents can require more notice than a statute demands, never less. So the honest answer to "who controls the agenda" has two layers: the board controls it by adopting it, and once it is posted under a notice statute, the board is bound by what it posted, no matter who typed it up.
What this means the next time you want something on the agenda
If you are a director and want an item discussed, do not wait for the meeting. Get it to whoever prepares the draft agenda, often the president or the manager, before notice goes out. Once notice is posted, adding a brand new item mid-meeting is the exception, not the routine. Where a state open meeting statute applies, the conditions for adding an unnoticed item are narrow, often tied to circumstances that genuinely could not have been foreseen, and the specifics differ by state; check yours before assuming an item can be added on the spot.
See Adding agenda items for how those narrow exceptions actually work, and Creating an agenda for how to get a draft built well before the notice deadline.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
The HOA president emails directors a list of topics before the meeting and calls it the agenda. A director objects mid-meeting that a new item was never discussed beforehand. What is true under Robert's Rules?
A California HOA board posts its meeting notice with an agenda four days ahead, as the statute requires. At the meeting, a director wants to discuss an item that was never on the notice. What generally governs?
A new board member assumes that because the president called the meeting, the president alone decides what gets voted on. Which statement best corrects this assumption?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th ed., Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
- California Civil Code §4920, Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, Open Meeting Act, California Legislature
Board Meetings
Ready to get your item on the next agenda instead of hoping it comes up? Read Adding agenda items next.
This page is educational, not legal advice. Agenda and notice rules vary by state and by your association's own governing documents; confirm the specifics with your CC&Rs, bylaws, and, where questions remain, a licensed attorney in your state.