When there is no law,
but every man does what is right in his own eyes,
there is the least of real liberty.
–Henry M. Robert
In 1863, a man named Henry Robert, an engineering captain in the United States Army, was asked to preside over a large church gathering. Captain Robert did not know how to preside over meetings, but trusting that the congregation would behave itself, he plunged right in. And with that plunge came the quick determination that he would NEVER preside over another meeting until he knew more about parliamentary procedure. Hence, the beginning of Robert’s Rules of Order.
Parliamentary Procedure
Before delving into specifics of Robert’s Rules or discussing their applicability to associations, it is important to first understand what the term “parliamentary procedure” means. This term essentially means rules of order that facilitate full participation of the membership and allow groups to maintain democratic rule, flexibility, and protect rights of both the minority and majority.
There are several key principles when it comes to parliamentary procedure, which include the following:
- Interests of the organization come before individual interests
- All members are equal
- Quorum must be present
- One thing at a time
- Full debate allowed
- Focus on the issue, not the person
- Majority rules
Expounding on the above principles, Captain Robert published Robert’s Rules of Order in 1876, containing roughly 700 pages of formalized parliamentary procedures modeled after the U.S. House of Representatives procedures in use at that time.
Use of Robert’s Rules in Associations
The processes set forth in Robert’s Rules are extremely formal and rigid, and intended to be utilized in large assemblies, as opposed to small gatherings. Strict use of Robert’s Rules in small meetings (such as board and membership meetings) may actually hinder the conduct of business. In fact, Robert’s Rules recognizes this and provides that in smaller gatherings the formality may be relaxed.
Although Robert’s Rules is a great tool for large assemblies, for smaller venues, such association meetings, it presents more of a hindrance than a benefit. A few examples of Robert’s Rules that may be counter-productive to board and membership meetings, include:
- Point of order allowed any time attendee wishes to challenge how meeting is being run;
- Attendees may “appeal” decisions of the chair and move decisions from the chair to the attendees;
- Objection to consideration of questions is allowed to “enable assembly to avoid a particular original main motion”.
It is important to understand that Robert’s Rules is not based on statutes or court decisions, so it is not a legal requirement or binding unless formally adopted by an entity.
Based on the above, associations are not required to use Robert’s Rules of Order unless explicitly required by the community’s governing documents (which is virtually nonexistent). Instead of Robert’s Rules, the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”) requires associations to adopt and follow conduct of meetings policies.
Such policies set forth and formalize each association’s individual procedures and processes for running meetings. The conduct of meetings policy should contain rules of conduct that are more relaxed and less formal then Robert’s Rules, yet still address situations that may come up in the context of an HOA meeting.
For example, it is appropriate to have a rule in a conduct of meetings policy dictating that only one person speaks at a time and only when recognized by the chair. It is also appropriate to require attendees to be civil to one another and refrain from using profanity or personal insults. These are examples of Robert’s Rules that have been extremely relaxed for use in an HOA meeting.
If your community does not currently have a conduct of meetings policy, contact the association’s legal counsel right away to ensure your community is compliant with Colorado law.
Should you have any questions concerning Robert’s Rules of Order or meeting procedures, please do not hesitate to contact an Altitude attorney at 303.432.9999 or [email protected]