When most people think of HOA meetings, images of a town hall full of excited community members chanting for residential justice come to mind.
While most of the HOA meetings a board holds aren’t necessarily as action-packed as depicted in the movies, an HOA’s success really does depend on the decisions made at meetings held throughout the year.
If you are a member of an HOA and desire involvement within your community, understanding the meetings that keep an HOA grounded is a great start.
Here’s a closer look at the five types of HOA meetings and what makes each one unique towards benefiting those who live within its boundaries.
1. Annual Meetings
Much like a presidential state of the union, an annual board meeting brings to light some of the largest decisions and issues a community faces as it heads into a new fiscal year.
As the name suggests, these meetings are held once a year and involve both the HOA’s board members and all community members who are willing to participate.
Aside from forecasting upcoming decisions for a neighborhood, an annual meeting:
- Presents the annual budget
- Elects new board members
- Announces new major projects
2. Board Meetings
These quarterly/monthly meetings are a board’s bread and butter for managing the responsibilities and addressing any urgent issues within the community. These meetings are open to all members of the community.
Everyone is informed of the meeting time and date ahead of scheduled meetings, and agendas are planned out to the minute. In fact the only topics available for discussion at these meetings are those that are on the agenda.
For this reason, the agenda is published ahead of schedule and delivered to the members of the community for review.
3. Executive Sessions
Not all meetings are available to the general public. Sometimes decisions are made and confidential issues are addressed behind closed doors.
At an executive session, the board of directors typically discusses and votes on the following topics:
- Litigation issues
- Delinquent payments
- Internal committee problems, and other private areas of discussion
4. Committee Meetings
Larger HOAs may require committees to address specific needs within the community. From community watch to safety, and neighborhood events, there can be several committees assigned to a community that help make its cogs move smoothly.
Committee meetings are typically held annually or monthly (depending on the importance of the committee). At these meetings committee members and members of the board discuss prominent topics that pertain to the committee’s responsibilities.
Each meeting provides minutes that are accessible upon request by any member of the community.
5. Special Meetings
Special meetings are rare events that only happen when an emergency situation arises within the community. From natural disasters to damage to community property that requires immediate repairs, special meetings have shorter notice requirements than other meetings but only the specified topic may be discussed or voted upon.
These are not executive meetings and minutes are still taken at these meetings and are available to members who want to review them.
Organize Your HOA’s Essential Meetings With Goodwin & Company
As a board member, you have a lot of responsibilities on your plate. The stress of administrative services shouldn’t be one of them. The team at Goodwin & Company knows how important it is to have complete focus on the decisions that drive a community to success.
Let us help you tackle your key responsibilities as a leader while we handle the behind-the-scenes administrative work for you. We are well-versed in:
- Dues collection
- Homeowner communications
- Record keeping
- Financial forecasting
- Vendor services
- Project coordination, and more!
Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you keep your focus on your community where it counts.
