Question: We have an Owners' Forum at each annual homeowners' meeting, during which owners can identify themselves and ask questions, make comments or offer suggestions. Should we identify the individuals who speak and report what they say in the minutes of the meeting? Some board members think we should itemize these comments to avoid misunderstandings about what was said; others don¡¦t think detailed reporting is necessary. Is there a ¡§best practice¡¨ for association boards that we should follows?

Answer: The rule-of-thumb for the minutes of association board meetings applies to your owners¡¦ forum as well: The less said the better. That is the standard advice from community association attorneys, most of whom agree that boards should record only the essential information about their meetings „o issues discussed, motions made and votes taken „o omitting the details of who said what and why.

There is no requirement that the board identify every speaker and every word uttered at board meetings or at owners¡¦ forums, and there are good reasons for not doing so, primary among them: The possibility that a speaker might divulge personal information about individuals that should not be published, and the risk that detailed information might be used in litigation against the association.

The minutes of the owners¡¦ forum, like the minutes of board meetings, should report the issues discussed, the concerns expressed and the ideas proposed, but not much more than that. Information you include in the minutes is far more likely to create problems for the board than information you omit.