Robert’s Rules of Order Key Terms
Chair
The person responsible for presiding over the meeting, usually the president of the community association board of directors.
Floor
To have the floor means to have a turn to speak.
Motion
A proposal of a decision, question or issue. The motion is made to discuss or vote on a particular item. If no motion is made, then no discussion or vote may take place. Discussion is “in order” if the comments made are relevant to the topic and if the chair has property recognized the speaker. The discussion or the speaker may be “out of order.” In order to have a valid meeting, it must have a quorum. For community associations, a determination of a quorum may depend on the type of meeting; the governing documents; governing state statute.
Order
Quorum
Second
After a motion (another person), a second is made in order to continue.
Voice Vote
“Or show of hands” is just that. Rather than the use of a ballot, limited proxy form, or other type of written instrument, the vote would be taken by each voter’s voice response or raise of their hand to the question “in favor” and “not in favor” (or similar). PART 4: WORKING AS A TEAM AND BOARD CODE OF CONDUCT
volunteering to help out at the annual election or election, even volunteer activities such as decorating clubhouse/ community for holidays or planning community events. But these are voluntary actions. They cannot be hired but can be enlisted; they cannot be fired but may be removed; and are not paid (they give freely of their time and labor). Volunteers’ core values This includes volunteers in community associations: ● Respect and trust: Belief in positive intent. Individual integrity. Creativity and innovation. Regard for their limited authority and expected responsibilities. And the power of teamwork. There are 67 synonyms for volunteers. Some favorites are mentor, take the pledge, paddling one’s own canoe, and unpaid worker. The groups differ in goals, composition, and mindset just within their group (board, committee, etc.). They are also likely to have different objectives than the manager and other members of the management team. Trying to make all this work cohesive may make it necessary to build a team mindset. Can we say that knowing the intricacies of meeting purpose and requirements, governing documents and policies, state statutes, local ordinances are essential business skills of management? Management and volunteers A CAM is charged with the responsibility of understanding how to navigate the process and procedures of management’s staff members, the associations, usually independent contractors, vendors and service providers. Together these teams are charged with addressing the community association’s goals and objectives. The management team looks to achieve certain goals and objectives that in turn help the board and officers to achieve the community association’s goals and objectives. In your experiences, do you find that this is easily done? Uncomplicated? Crystal clear?
For many CAMs it often feels like “us against them.” If the community association leaders feel less confident in the skills and knowledge of their manager or management, or if they take a superior over subservient mindset, it often creates stress on the manager and the management team members and confusion for members. Management of a community association is a lot about group dynamics, sometimes chaos management, and often it takes awhile before a CAM experiences a light in that tunnel. A CAM strives to work in a team environment with the association that they manage, the other members of the management team, and the management firm, if there is one. Group dynamics Regardless of what business background a CAM has, most likely group dynamics played a part. It is the same for community associations. What kinds of groups are involved? The board of directors represents a body or group that has certain rights and authority for the proper management of an association. Committees, whether standing or special, these groups of individuals, usually unit or parcel owners, are comprised of various skills, attitudes, and of course the requirements imposed upon the committee. Do not forget the individual members (owners, tenants) who most CAMs have a lot of daily interaction with. If the management company provides services and personnel to the association, the CAM normally has supervisory authority over those individuals. The point is, no matter how large or small a community association is, a CAM works in an environment of group dynamics daily. Often these volunteer groups are diverse. What exactly does that mean? In a community association who are the groups comprised of? Answer - Volunteers. What are volunteers? They are individuals or groups who freely give time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they contribute, such as management, bookkeeping or accounting, law, or physical property operations. Others serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to an emergency or natural disaster or
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Book Code: CAMFL1526
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