Minutes of Meetings

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Minutes in a standardised format must be taken of all regular meetings, annual general meetings, emergency general meetings and sub-committees. These minutes must record:

• the date of meeting
• time and location
• those present
• apologies received
• who was in the Chair
• all elections
• appointments
• votes
• agreed expenditure
• topics discussed and agreed actions.

It's not necessary to record every word spoken except in the case of formal motions. Instead, they should be the summarised views of the members. The following points should also be taken into account:

• good minute taking is a skill, so that neither too little nor too much detail is included.
• as a permanent record of the community council's business, they are a very important document with both historical and legal implications.
• responsibility for the minutes rests with the secretary, although a minute secretary may be appointed for convenience.
• the format of the minutes follows closely that detailed for the agenda with subheadings corresponding to agenda items and each topic discussed.
• copies of the minutes should be circulated to all present, the local authority and the local library. (In Renfrewshire, the council circulates community council minutes.)
• Minutes of all meetings must be retained for future reference and passed on to each new secretary for safe keeping.