What’s Your Agenda??

With the legislature’s passage of the “WUCIOA for All” bill, which makes WUCIOA applicable to all communities beginning in 2028, all Washington associations will soon be required to have open meetings and allow for a member comment period on anything related to the association. This is a big change for many Washington associations, and I think it has a high likelihood of lengthening meetings and increasing community hostility for many associations. Most communities have a few outspoken members that tend to monopolize an open “owner’s forum” so it’s best to implement good procedures now to keep meetings moving. The strategic use of agendas is one of the best ways to accomplish this.
As I am sure most of you know, an agenda is a document distributed before a meeting that outlines what will occur and what business will be undertaken during that meeting. While drafting agendas can be tedious and time-consuming, a good agenda can be invaluable in keeping a meeting running smoothly—especially when you are dealing with contested issues or frustrated Owners. According to the most typical type of parliamentary procedure, there are a few types of agendas an association may choose to use, and the meeting chair can choose to change up the type of agenda from meeting to meeting. Potential agenda styles include:

1. Informal Agenda

This is what many associations prepare for board meetings. These are the least official and the agenda order is not binding on the body. This works great when you have a smaller group of people and want the most flexibility on what is discussed. Given the changes from “WUCIOA for All,” it may be more important than ever to try to stay on topic, so we recommend slightly more formal agendas.

2. Timed Agenda

If the meeting calls for something a bit more official, the Board may choose to adopt an agenda that makes the agenda binding for either a Board meeting or Owners’ meeting. This simply means the topics and order cannot be changed except by motion. To adopt such an agenda the Board would vote to make the agenda binding, typically at the start of the meeting. This can be very useful when you expect a large number of people at a meeting and want to avoid straying off course, such as an annual meeting or a budget ratification meeting. However, unless the adopted agenda is also timed, you will have little to no advance control over how long the meeting will go.

4. Timed Adopted Agenda
For meetings expected to go off the rails, the Board can adopt a timed agenda. As the name suggests, this is an agenda with binding times and order listed. Just like with the adopted agenda, it can be modified by a motion, but with this type of agenda, the chair of the meeting is empowered to stop the discussion at the end of the time and move on to the next order of business. Any unresolved issues can be tabled for future meetings. If you have a community that really struggles to stay on task, one or more owners who commandeer discussion, or if the body has a lot that needs to be accomplished in a specific timeframe, this could be a very valuable tool at getting and keeping everyone on the same page.

“WUCIOA for All” will be a big change for a lot of communities, and it’s coming whether we like it or not, so we are here to help communities develop better skills to minimize the negative impacts it may have on your community. If you want to learn more about parliamentary procedure, please check out my article in the WSCAI’s Journal- July/August, and the ongoing series on the use of parliamentary procedures by associations in the same.