Literacy Basics - Community Literacy of Ontario

Minutes and Action Items

The long-standing debate about meeting minutes is deciding how much information to include. It is a challenge to be able to reflect the intent of an action item without providing all of the nitty- gritty discussion details. The key is to realize that minutes are legal documents of the organization, but they are also intended to be read in the future, often by people who weren't at the meeting. While it's important that all motions, decisions and action items are recorded, it's equally important that there be some context to how the decisions were made.

At a minimum, minutes need to include:

• The date and location of the meeting
• Members who were present for voting
• Motions put forth, the mover and seconder
• Amendments to motions
• The outcome of the motion (whether it was carried or not) and record of the vote including dissenters and those who voted in abstention or by proxy

The responsibility of recording and distributing minutes is usually given to an appointed or elected officer of the board called a secretary. On some boards, responsibility for taking minutes is delegated to staff and the minutes are then reviewed and approved by the secretary. As well, some boards that don't have executive positions may appoint the secretary on a rotating basis or may delegate the responsibility to a staff person.

In addition to the formal minutes of an organization, some organizations also prepare action items. The action items may be part of the minutes or a separate document attached to the minutes. To view a sample and tips for effective minutes see How to Take Meeting Minutes by Estela Kennen.

Minutes and action items should be distributed to board members as soon as feasible after the meeting. At a minimum they should be distributed to the board to provide enough time for members to review them prior to the next meeting. At each meeting there needs to be time allotted to raise questions, clarify items or make amendments to the previous meeting's minutes. Ideally, the minutes should have been read and reviewed prior to the meeting, eliminating the need to read through them at the meeting. Any board member who requires assistance in reading and reviewing the minutes should have the opportunity to do so prior to the meeting.

Once the minutes are approved by a vote of the board they become part of the official record of the organization. A copy of all minutes should be kept in one location along with a back-up copy. Many boards get the secretary (and sometimes the chair) to sign an official copy of the minutes. Board members should receive their own copy of minutes including any amendments.

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