Q Our management posts the last board meeting's minutes on a website that unit owners can access, but they're posted several months after the meeting took place, and sometimes after the following meeting has already happened. I've made repeated requests to get them earlier, but both the management and the board have ignored me and pointed the finger the other way. I haven't looked at the bylaws but is there usually something in there about this? If it goes against the bylaws, what action could I take to force them to publish minutes in a timely fashion?

—Waiting in West Palm

A “Pursuant to the association’s bylaws and Florida Statutes minutes of meetings should be taken and maintained as part of the association’s 'Official Records,'” says Shari Garrett, an attorney at the law firm of Siegfried, Rivera, Hyman, Lerner, De La Torre, Mars & Sobel in West Palm Beach. “However, there is no time parameter outlined in Florida Statutes and there are generally not such time parameters contained within an association’s bylaws.

“Recognizing that the board meeting minutes are typically transcribed, either from someone’s handwritten notes or a tape recorder, and are not adopted as proper minutes until they have been approved at a subsequent board meeting, it is typical to anticipate a delay.

“It is our practice to recommend to our clients that these proposed minutes be prepared as soon as practicable and circulated to the board members prior to the next scheduled board meeting, as traditionally, the minutes from the prior meeting are approved at the next scheduled board meeting.”