What is a Managing Committee Meeting?
The Managing Committee is at the core of active decision-making in a cooperative housing society. It is formed on the basis of representation by electing a certain number of individuals from amongst all society members and is equipped with the responsibility to carry out society management. The individuals in this decision hub are assigned different roles, the big 3 being Secretary, Chairman, and Treasurer. The others are Managing Committee Members that support in different capacities.
Essentially, the decision-making unit in a cooperative housing society is not an individual but a team. And a team needs proactive communication for functioning. A part of this communication is usually over an informal medium on a day-to-day basis or as needed. But while informal communication can bring comfort and flexibility, it can also be chaotic due to lack of structure and hence doesn’t prove enough by itself.
In this article, we will read more about the formal communication setup between committee members in the form of Managing Committee Meetings (MCM). Click on each question to jump to the answer or read along to understand MCM in detail.
What is a Managing Committee Meeting (MCM)?
Using a representative model, the society members elect individuals to hold office in the managing committee. Participation of all managing committee members is crucial as decision-making comes to fruition only when a majority of committee members support and approve that decision. Managing Committee Meetings are the ground where this discussion among committee members and the approval process takes place.
A Managing Committee Meeting is an internal communication and coordination tool for the managing committee members to discuss, weigh and pass various decisions concerning the cooperative housing society.
Why is a managing committee meeting needed?
Maximum responsibility and control for society management lies with the Secretary and then the Chairman. But this is intertwined with member approval at many vital stages. General body meetings like the AGM and SGM invite all society members for discussing and approving the most important topics. However, if these have to be held for the numerous minor and day-to-day issues, the working efficiency would reduce to zero.
However, completely removing approval points would result in the accumulation of power in the hands of a few and the foundation of cooperation would fall. To counter this and to enforce strong communication amongst the committee members, compulsory collaboration requirements have been set. These mandatory meetings are the Managing Committee Meetings.
To instill proper checks on committee gatherings and to ensure all committee members are updated with what is happening in society, the Managing Committee is expected to meet as many times as necessary but at least once every month.
How to call an MCM?
As the name suggests, the committee members are central characters when it comes to a managing committee meeting. The primary responsibility to schedule the mandatory and necessary MCMs is that of the Secretary. If the secretary fails to call the meeting, the responsibility is passed to the Chairman.
The Secretary must send formal invitations in the form of a Notice to all managing committee members at least 3 days before the meeting. This notice must include all meeting details such as date, time, and place along with what will be discussed in the meeting. The notice must clearly state the business to be discussed in the meeting agenda as only those points will be taken for discussion during the meeting.
Other than this conventional way, the committee members can also request an MCM if a specific need arises. This request needs to be submitted to the Secretary along with its explanation and must be supported by at least 1/3rd of the committee members for it to be considered. The Secretary then has 7 days from the requested date to call this special Managing Committee Meeting.
What is the required quorum for MCM?
Once all the steps mentioned above are completed, the MCM takes place as per the scheduled details. However, it is essential to meet the quorum in order to start the meeting. But what does quorum mean?
Quorum is the minimum required attendance that is acceptable for the meeting to convene and make decisions as planned.
For a managing committee meeting, the quorum is set depending on the society size as follows:
How to conduct an MCM?
The MCM starts if the quorum as mentioned above is attained. In order to conduct the meeting as planned, it must be led by someone. The Chairman is responsible for presiding over all managing committee meetings. In Chairman’s absence, the committee must elect one person from amongst them to lead that particular meeting.
The business defined in the meeting agenda must be carried out during this MCM. The individual directing the meeting is responsible for moderating discussions and ensuring only the points mentioned in the agenda are discussed and decided upon.
In the case of decision-making, every managing committee member is entitled to one vote. All decisions are made through voting and only the decisions with majority support are implemented. In case of a tie, the chairman casts the tie-breaker vote.
How to close an MCM?
Since multiple managing committee meetings take place, it is essential to document the events of each meeting for future reference. This formal record of the meeting communication is called Minutes and it marks the closing of a meeting. In literal terms, this document contains a detailed description of the meeting events by the minute.
The details listed in the Minutes are:
- Meeting Held details such as the Day-Date-Time, Mode & Venue
- Topics discussed in the meeting
- Detailed description of the discussion for each of the topics
- The final decision on each topic
- Member names as per their contribution and role in the meeting (wherever necessary)
For a managing committee meeting, the Secretary is responsible for recording the minutes. The secretary must also get the drafted minutes confirmed by the committee at the immediate next committee meeting. The submitted minutes must be signed by the Secretary and Chairman. The final version of these minutes then becomes a part of the official record.
Thus, the managing committee meeting is a structured medium of internal communication between the committee members. Constructive communication and contribution at the MCM set the path for that committee’s performance during their tenure in office.
