Florida HOA Lawyer Blog
Florida community associations are required to keep certain records and make them available to all their members, so the position of secretary as the official record keeper of an association is of vital importance.
The most effective association secretaries are typically detail oriented, highly organized, efficient, and responsive. They must be able to coordinate records and communications with property management and the other members of the board, executive committee, and other association committees.
Strong writers and communicators often do well in the position. Secretaries are responsible for keeping the “meeting minutes” for all official association board meetings, so they must be able to listen closely to detailed discussions and distill them into clear and concise summaries. The best ones understand that these minutes must be accurate yet concise. They are not meant to document everything that everyone said at the meetings, but rather to list the topics and reports that were discussed, and all the actions taken.
Community association secretaries should understand that the focus of the meeting minutes must be on recording all votes and decisions. They need only include a summary of the discussions, with a complete and accurate listing of the motions made and the resulting votes.