GETTING READY FOR THE STRATA CORPORATION'S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

by John Noonan

The President of the Strata Council and the agent representing the Property Management firm met to review the agenda and do some planning for the Corporation's AGM, which was scheduled to take place late, next month. Bill, the President said, "The agenda had been finalized and is ready to be mailed out with the call to the meeting."

The agent for the Property Management Firm enquired, "What are we going to do to avoid a repeat of last year's meeting where confusion and confrontation were the order of the evening?"

Bill said, "I attended a seminar entitled, Presiding with Precision and Poise. This program, which was lead by a Registered Parliamentarian, was very carefully customized to Strata Corporations and their Annual General Meeting. I've had several conversations with the parliamentarian about the difficulties we experienced at last year's AGM. He has been assisting me in planning this year's meeting and will be in attendance at the AGM to provide support, if and as required. He has reviewed our bylaws, the minutes from last year's AGM, recent Council meetings and the agenda for this year's AGM. Based on his recommendations, we will be following four fairly simple rules to keep our meeting focused, enable the assembly to complete the agenda in a timely fashion, while allowing our members ample opportunity to debate each agenda item and become comfortable with the issues before they are asked to vote."

"Tell me," the agent asked; "What are these four simple rules?"

"Well," Bill responded, "Let me itemize them for you:"

1. Justice and Courtesy for all:
   Parliamentary procedure is about common sense and good manners. We are ladies and gentlemen and will treat each other accordingly.

2. We will abide by the rule of the agenda:
   A carefully planned agenda, distributed in advance of the meeting, is a necessary prerequisite for a successful meeting. Participants at a meeting need to be assured that the time invested reading pre-meeting materials will be useful, and that they will be called upon during the meeting for their input. Adherence to the agenda ensures that only identified agenda items will be discussed. Following the rules of the agenda requires:
   • Having an agenda to work from
   • Ensuring that items on the agenda are covered
   • Keeping other items off the table until the agenda items are covered
3. We will abide by the rule of the clock:
   The meeting will start on time and end on time. The amount of time allocated to the discussion of each agenda item and to each speaker will be carefully controlled in line with the wishes of the owners.
4. Deal with only one item at a time:
   The role of the presiding officer is to ensure that there is only one pending motion for the consideration of the assembly at any one time. As the meeting's chairman, my principal task is to keep, the main thing the main thing.

The agent took a deep breath and said; "I think we are in for a very enjoyable meeting... a satisfying experience for all. Thank you, for all your advanced planning."