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Attendance

The minutes should indicate which members are present at the meeting. This provides verification that the assembly had the quorum to act. It also provides an official record so that members can be held accountable for their attendance or lack thereof.1

To achieve this, the minutes should include the roll call at the beginning of a meeting, and a note when any members arrive after the meeting is called to order or leave before the meeting is adjourned. This is required by the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners for neighborhood council boards2 and is also a good idea for neighborhood council committees.

Example:

[10:32 am] The roll was called.
Present (3): Tahani Al-Jamil, Chidi Anagonye, Jason Mendoza
Absent (1): Eleanor Shellstrop

[10:34 am] Eleanor Shellstrop arrived at the meeting.
[10:36 am] Jason Mendoza left the meeting.

  1. See the NC bylaws article V section 7 for board member attendance requirements. ↩

  2. “Minutes shall contain at a minimum the following information: … 2. The roll call of Neighborhood Council board members, noting the time of any members who arrive after the meeting is called to order or who leave before the adjournment of the meeting.” Los Angeles, CA, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, Policy No. 2016-01 (1) ↩