Seven Habits of Hig Charles Mortimer
Be Prepared for Meetings. Board members should get a financial and management packet in advance of the meeting, in addition to the minutes, so they can come in prepared. If a board is prepared in advance for a meeting, obvious questions will not take up valuable time, and the board can proceed swiftly through the agenda.
Some have heard tales about associations that have lengthy board meetings as long as four hours. Such circumstances are a source of the negative stories you hear about association living. If you have an agenda, stick to it, and get it done in an hour, which is absolutely feasible. Then those who need to leave— the manager or those who work long hours, for example—can take off and others can stay and socialize. Effective boards meet quarterly, do not revote on expenditures a second time after they have been included in a budget, and do not read the minutes or the management report at the meeting.
Be Available. Deal with problem owners as if they are neighbors with problems. Community association living does mean that a board should promulgate rules and policies and never directly interact with anyone. Sometimes due to a misunderstanding, ignorance of the rules, or just a mistake, an owner
who has a problem emerges as a demagogue and leader of a dissident group. This person may never have been the least bit interested in getting involved in the association and now they are either running for or trying to take over the board for all the wrong reasons.
A board needs to make someone available, and it does not necessarily have to be a director, to talk to the unhappy owner, find out the real problem and then relay it to the board to see if it can be solved. Sometimes a quiet sit-down can go a long way to keeping peace in the community.
Provide Due Process. Send a warning letter, and then schedule a hearing before a fine is levied. Even though this is almost always a legal requirement for both homeowners’ associations and condominiums, many boards frequently levy fines without fine schedules in place, and without having followed proper procedures.
There are some simple steps to take to ensure that a fine is properly assessed: (a) adopt rules governing conduct and fine procedures and schedules; (b) make sure all owners and tenants always have copies of these materials; (c) send a violation letter with a warning; (d) send out notice of opportunity for hearing; (e) and then place the fine on the owner account.
4. Adopt Election Rules. Have election rules in place before the election, not the day of the event. I often get calls the day of an election because the board wants to stop someone from running but has no basis to do so. The association attorney, not the association manager, should develop election rules well
in
advance of the election, with proper forms. Again, all owners need to be aware of the rules of the game before everyone starts playing.
If only owners can run for the board, and there is reason to believe that someone running is not an owner, have rules for verification in place and get it handled before the election. If the board wants all candidates and/or voting members to be current in the payment of their assessments, it cannot decide the morning of the election to limit participation to only members in good standing.
22 Community Associations Journal | January 2014
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