Cedar Management Group Blog

The Homeowner Forum can be a wonderful outlet for the exchange of ideas, thoughts and general information.  Unfortunately, sometimes these forums, if uncontrolled, can turn into a “gripe session.”  When concerned homeowners get together and are given an outlet to present their concerns to the board, things can quickly get out of control.  To combat this issue, one must understand how vital the application of the Parliamentary Procedure is into these meetings.

There are several formats used for parliamentary procedure.  Parliamentary procedure is defined as the body of rules, ethics and customs governing meetings and other operations.  But, unless specified in the community’s CC&Rs, Robert’s Rules of order is usually the format used to keep the flow of the Homeowner Forum on track.  For those that are not familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order, it is a book that provides common rules and procedures for deliberation and debate in order to place the whole membership on the same footing and speaking the same language.

The parliamentary procedure, in brief, is made up of three major components.  The first step is to Secure the Floor.  A member (homeowner) raises their hand or rises.  The member then addresses the chair / board member.  The chair will then recognize the member.  Secondly, the parliamentary procedure process is followed by the Introduction of the Business.  The member makes a motion, another member seconds the motion and then the chair states the motion.  Finally, the last component of the parliamentary procedure is the Voting on the Question.  The chair takes both the affirmative and negative votes and then announces the result.

As one can see, the use of the parliamentary procedure during the homeowner forum can restore order to an otherwise possibly chaotic meeting.