How Do I Obtain Minutes? - Richardson & Harman, PC

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How Do I Obtain Minutes?

June 1, 2009 • By Kelly G. Richardson

Dear Mr Richardson:

Our Board and also the management company have not provided me with the minutes of the open meeting, after numerous requests. I received the June minutes in a timely fashion. There was an error in a date listed so I brought it to their attention right away and asked for a corrected copy - not received. Since then, I've also asked for the Board-approved minutes from the July and August meetings to no avail. Can you head me the right direction here please, as to what I can do?

Thank you so much for your time and hopefully help!

Sincerely,

D. B., Reseda

Dear D.B.:

Well-run associations should have minutes going back many years. Other than the governing documents, minutes are the association's most important records. If not recorded in minutes, it was not a corporate action.

Civil Code 1365.2(i) states that associations must keep all Board meeting and membership meeting minutes, and make them available within the requirements of the Open Meeting Act (Section 1363.05(d)). The Open Meeting Act says minutes must be available within 30 days of the meeting. This creates some confusion. If you are asking for all the minutes from last year, then you are supposed to receive them before you even asked? A more reasonable interpretation would be to give the association 30 days from your request.

Make sure your request for minutes is reasonable. Ask only for what you really need to see, not what you think might be interesting. Remember, the Board secretary is a neighbor, right?

As to corrections to the minutes, that is a Board function. Minutes are drafted by the Board Secretary and are approved by the entire Board. If the error is serious, send a letter to the Board alerting them to the error.

Best,

Kelly G. Richardson

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