A: We’re not prepared for our annual meeting which is in August. We’d like to reschedule for September. Can we do that or should we just have an unprepared annual meeting in August to just say we had one?
B: While we would normally not advise a board to ignore the requirements of the governing documents, assuming there is no ulterior motive for delaying the annual meeting – for instance, the board desires to obtain bids on a large contract and award it before new members who are opposed to the contract might be elected to the board – then our usual advice in this situation would be to schedule the meeting on the earliest date that you know you would be prepared to have the meeting. Most bylaws contain an agenda for the annual meeting. The board’s preparation for the meeting need not include anything not listed on the bylaws agenda. Also keep in mind that if there are matters beyond the agenda, for instance, the preparation of, and vote on, an amendment to your governing documents, a special meeting of the members may be scheduled for that and it need not be undertaken at the annual meeting.
While bylaws often contain language that requires the annual meeting to be on a specific day of a particular month, there is little relief an owner can seek for delaying the meeting by a reasonably short period of time. It may also be that since August is a peak vacation month, it may be difficult to obtain a quorum for the meeting. Under some state statutes an owner dissatisfied that the annual meeting is not being held consistent with the requirements of the bylaws may go to court and obtain an order requiring the annual meeting to be held on a specific date; but it is unlikely that a court would schedule it earlier than you are planning and, typically, under statutes that provide for this, there is no penalty to the board or the association for failing to have held the meeting earlier.