When the budget permits, an association board will usually hire either an in-house property manager or an outside management company to tackle day to day operations. Either way, the property manager’s job is to act as The Hand of the King. For those unfamiliar with the world of Game of Thrones, the Hand of the King is the King’s number two, his most trusted advisor, and the one tasked with carrying out the King’s wishes. Although in this case, the King is really the board. Confused yet? Watch the TV series and you will be even more confused!
Since most associations are professionally managed, the workload of the board member, or officer, is almost self- defined. Does the President meet with all the vendors bidding on a project or leave it to the manager? Does the Treasurer sign every check or simply review all transactions monthly? Does the Secretary take the minutes at every meeting or does the board hire a recording secretary? This is an over-simplification, but the truth is, a board member’s time commitment is directly correlated to its reliance on its property manager. There may be board members who have the time and enjoy the day-to-day responsibility, or the board may misguidedly think that it’s a fiduciary duty to be involved with the minutiae. The board may take matters into its own hands either because it doubts the manager’s competency or the manager is nothing more than an administrative paper-pusher. In that case, find another manager! All kidding aside, successful boards find the balance between upholding their fiduciary duties and utilizing their managing agent’s expertise in handling the daily operations of the association.
Another factor that influences a board’s time commitment is whether the association is plagued by drama and intrigue to rival that seen in The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. An entirely different article could be devoted to this topic alone. If you don’t understand what this means, then consider yourself blessed. Your association is not experiencing such distracting issues that are irrelevant to its successful operation.
Although there are no rules for how involved individual board members must function in day-to-day association affairs, all must adhere to the basic premise that the board has a fiduciary duty to the owners. While the property manager may act as The Hand or squire, the board must sit on that throne and rule, making the final decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions. The board must ensure that the association’s governing documents are enforced fairly and uniformly and that the decisions made are in the best interest of the whole realm: the property and its homeowners.
Long live the King – i.e, the board!
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