Board secretary duties and responsibilities: The essentials

Understanding the role of your board secretary 

A successful board should expect to maintain records and meet legal and financial obligations. And your secretary is the one person on your board that’s generally responsible for accurately recording and providing sufficient documentation to meet your association’s legal requirements; this includes meeting minutes, membership records and bylaws.

Your board secretary serves as your official record keeper during a board meeting. In broad terms, you can think of this individual as your Chief Information Officer.
 

Board secretary duties and responsibilities 

However as far as the details go, here are some board secretary duties you should know:

1. Minutes

   Don’t be fooled by the name of meeting minutes, these are actually quite meaningful. To help your secretary keep effective minutes, it is best for them to focus on three areas: recording the actions of the association, making notes of the reasons behind those actions and keeping a full record of each board member’s specific vote. These minutes should be a summary of the motions made and actions taken rather than simply a transcript of everything that was said.
    

2. Filing and communications

   All requisite forms should also be filed with the appropriate government entity. Ensuring meeting notices are prepared and distributed as required by applicable law is also among the secretary’s tasks. He or she should also be responsible for facilitating any communication that serves as association correspondence.
    

3. Maintaining Records

   Ensuring all documents are kept in a manner that complies with state laws and regulations is the secretary’s job. This includes community governance documents, professional contracts, bylaws, deeds, covenants, and articles of incorporation.
    

4. Elections and legal matters

   The secretary is responsible for affixing corporate seals when required for official or legal documents. It is their duty to serve as the witness when important documents require signatures. During election time, it is important for the secretary to coordinate the distribution and collection of ballots and proxies pursuant to the governing documents and applicable law.
    

5. Further Duties

   Depending on the requirements of your association, the roles of the secretary may vary. In some communities you may find that the demands are so great that some of these tasks need to be delegated to other members of the board. It may even be necessary to appoint an assistant to aid in the secretary’s duties. In some cases, additional duties might be required of the secretary. This can include varying duties such as typing documents, mailing materials, proofreading, letter writing and file purging.

It’s best to optimize the role of your secretary and make sure that tasks are being distributed appropriately.  Remember, a good property management company can help in the ongoing clarification of board member duties. For more information, contact FirstService Residential.