What is a committee - How does it work?

​What is a committee?
A committee is elected by the members of a community association to continue the work of the association between general meetings. It is the committee members' responsibility to make sure that decisions taken at its association's general meeting are acted on during their year in office.
What size should a committee be?
Most committees have between 12 and 15 members. Committees with more than 15 members tend to be unwieldy and difficult to operate. committees with less than 6 people tend to be unrepresentative.
Who and what are the office bearers or honorary officers?
Every member of a committee has an important role to play and contribution to make. However, there are 3 posts or offices which need to be filled in order that the committee can operate effectively.
Chairperson
The chairperson of a committee is responsible for the smooth running of meetings, allowing all members to have their say, and for guiding the committee's work towards the aims set by the community association. This is a vital position in any community association and a good chairperson will do the following:
At committee meetings

• Conduct business in the order set out in the agenda
• Keep discussion focused on the item as set by the agenda
• Make sure that a decision has been reached before going onto the next item on the agenda
• Allow everyone to speak and be heard
• Make sure a record of all decisions is kept.

Between committee meetings

• Know of all work that the community association is doing so that he/she is well informed about all matters that may arise at committee meetings
• Keep in touch with other committee members and how their work is coming along, which means supporting people, not ordering them about
• Meet with the secretary to arrange and draw up the agenda to be discussed at meetings and ensure minutes are properly drafted and issued prior to the next meeting

 Treasurer
It is most important that a community association is not spending money that it does not have, and that good records are kept of its income and expenditure.
A treasurer should

• Open a bank account for the community association. This can be easily done and bank staff can explain how to do so.
• Pay all money coming into the community association into the bank account, apart from a small sum of cash, say about £5, which should be kept at hand as 'petty cash'
• A record must also be kept of the petty cash and what it is. Any remaining petty cash at the end of the year should be added to the present balance in the accounts for the Annual General Meeting.
• Make a regular statement to the committee on how much money the community association has spent and still has in its account.
• Pay bills for the community association.
• Give out receipts for money given to the community association.

Secretary
The secretary is the community association's point of contact with its members and the wider public in line with the direction given by the committee and its chairperson. The work involves writing letters on the association's behalf, and organising and keeping records of committee meetings.
A secretary is expected to do the following
Before committee meetings

• Find a room for the meeting.
• Meet the chairperson and agree an agenda.
• Send out a notice to committee members of where and when the meeting will take place and the agreed agenda.
• Prepare all papers needed for the meeting at least a week beforehand. The papers should include correspondence since the last meeting and minutes, which are a record of the last meeting.

During committee meetings

• Take a note of everyone present at the meeting and everyone who could not be there but has sent an apology.
• Circulate or read out the minutes of the previous meeting, take questions about the minutes and change the minutes if necessary.
• Take notes of what members say when they are reporting on action taken and of the decisions that are taken by the committee.
• Report to the committee any letters written by the secretary and any replies that have been received so that action can be taken on them.

After committee meetings

• Write up formal minutes from the notes taken during the meeting in time for issue to the next committee meeting.
• Write and send off any letter that the committee has asked to be dealt with.

The secretary should maintain up-to-date records of

• Committee members' names, addresses and telephone numbers.
• Tenant/community association members' names and addresses.
• Meetings attended by community association members.
• Other useful contacts.