TIPS ON HOW TO HAVE A PEACEFUL & PRODUCTIVE ANNUAL MEETING
Andrew Sytnik, CMCA FirstService Residential, AAMC
The annual meeting of any community association brings a variety of emotions and procedural tasks that can create an environment of chaos and frustration for the board of directors and community managers. It’s also the election of the people who will be making decisions on behalf of the entire community.
While most annual meetings can be fun and communal social events which bring together people of all walks of life, today’s social and political climate is increasingly shifting towards chaos. Some homeowners have lost the ability to debate rationally for the good of the community. They are often loud, and active on social media. The distractions and disruptions they create are real and must be dealt with in some way.
The other annual meeting extreme is the absolute lack of participation where a board and management are left scratching their heads wondering what the next steps should be. How do we get quorum for the meeting to count? Or, who will be on the board of directors when no one volunteers for the job?
2 4 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2023
The antidote to the above mentioned “chaos,” is order. The Yin and Yang concept. You want to create the balance that prevents the extremes from taking over control or stopping progress. In community association management and governance, annual meeting order starts with organization and developing the correct processes from the governing documents (Bylaws, Declarations and Covenants, Rules, etc.) and applicable laws. From there, you can develop the best practices for your specific needs.
Start by reading your documents. Your community manager and management company should be able to explain the roadmap to a successful election portion of the annual meeting. If your documents are not clear, contact your legal counsel for advice. Afterall, the board’s fiduciary duty is to rely on their experts. It may be worth the small investment of legal expenses to clarify ambiguities and contradictions you may see. Map out the timeline and milestones, then prepare your necessary documents to facilitate your annual meeting.
No community is the same. Lean on your colleagues and experts for best practices and see if they will fit your specific needs. Know your voting procedures and make a clear document mapping out the timeline and procedures that you can share with everyone, in the essence of “transparency,” whatever that means to you. You are part of a micro-democracy, and essentially facilitating a fair election of the people, within your community.
People in general, want to “have a say” and be heard. You give them the opportunity to have a say through a fair election process. You allow them to be heard at the annual meeting through question -and-answer sessions, by presentation, and an agenda. A good agenda creates order and mitigates the possibility of chaos. Your agenda should be clear, concise, and respect everyone’s time. Homeowners do not want to sit through hours and hours of board members and committee members hogging the floor with reports, stories, monologues, or speeches. They come to better understand what is going on in their community. Time your segments. Board members who want to report on specific
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