A council meeting agenda that keeps meetings short

A clear agenda does two jobs at once. During the meeting it keeps discussion moving and stops the same topic from being reopened three times. Afterwards it becomes the outline of the minutes, because a well-run meeting produces minutes with the same headings in the same order. Councils that struggle with long meetings and late minutes almost always have an agenda problem first.

The standard order of business

The Strata Property Act does not prescribe an agenda for council meetings, so this is convention rather than law. It is the order most BC strata councils and property managers use, and the one our own documents follow:

1. Call to order. Note the time and who is chairing.
2. Confirmation of quorum. A majority of council members under the Standard Bylaws.
3. Approval of the agenda. Thirty seconds that prevents surprise topics.
4. Approval of previous minutes. A motion, a seconder, and the result.
5. Business arising. Action items from last meeting, each with a status.
6. Correspondence. Letters and emails received, and how council will respond.
7. Financial report. Operating and contingency balances, arrears summary, invoices to approve.
8. Maintenance and repairs. Ongoing projects, new quotes, decisions needed.
9. Reports. Committees, and the strata manager if you have one.
10. Bylaw and rule matters. Complaints, enforcement steps, hearings held.
11. New business. Items added when the agenda was approved.
12. Next meeting and adjournment. Date, time, and the time the meeting ended.

Habits that keep meetings under an hour

Circulate the agenda before the meeting, with the financial figures and any quotes attached. Council members who have read the package vote in minutes; council members seeing a roof quote for the first time debate it for forty.

Put a decision beside every item. "Parkade membrane" is a conversation. "Choose one of three parkade quotes" is a decision. Wording the agenda around decisions produces motions, and motions are exactly what the minutes must record.

Park the unexpected. New topics raised mid-meeting go to new business or to next month's agenda. That single habit shortens meetings more than any other.

From agenda to minutes

If the meeting followed the order above, the minutes almost write themselves: the same numbered headings, with what was decided under each. Our free minutes template mirrors this structure, and our guide to taking minutes during the meeting shows what to write under each heading while people are still talking.

This page is general information for BC strata councils, not legal advice. See the current text of the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.

Related guides

Minutes Template
Minute-Taking Guide
Quorum Rules
Secretary Duties