How long should HOA meetings be?


This is how long HOA meetings should last. One hour!

Everyone knows the starting time is 6:30PM. The nice thing is they (almost) always start on time.

It's not hard to manage time at a meeting. It takes intention. And planning. And discipline. Display a Time-Remaining Clock.

Limit the CAT deputy to five minutes. Don't let the audience suck up 20 minutes of his time and your time with the same gripes every month (speeders on Summit Parkway). Tell him not to ask for questions.

If the public is to have two minutes for each to air his statement or question, then that's it. Period. Use a timer. Refer the person to a committee. To the Ombudsman for County issues. To SC DOT with questions about Hard Scrabble Road. To Animal Control for dog issues.

The Treasurer should give a concise report regarding finances. Figure out how to make the Motions for all those small expenses in a different less time-consuming manner. (Use the Consent Agenda process. Read them all at once; ask if any board member wants to remove one for discussion; approve all others in one Motion; return to the excluded items for discussion and vote.)

Give Committee chairs two minutes for their reports. They should be prepared, ready, speak up, be clear. Some might need to write out their one paragraph.

Use the Old Business and New Business sections of the Agenda.

Inject some humor and fun during the meeting.

End by 7:30PM, when the noise (music) from the next room starts.

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