from   poliakoffoncondohoaliving.com

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL CONDO OR HOA(Homeowners' Association)  BOARD MEETING,

INTRODUCTION

Hello , and welcome to our new “How To” feature!  In the next few blogs, we’re going to cover a number of practical areas that will help board members and homeowners manage common issues in Shared Ownership Communities (SOCs).  In our book, New Neighborhoods, The Consumer’s Guide to Condominium, Co-Op and HOA Living, we devote an entire chapter to running meetings, but I’m going to try to distill that advice into a smaller package.  If you’re still interested in more information, of course I recommend the book as a great resource.

As explained in New Neighborhoods, Condo, Co-Op and HOA boards are democratically elected groups of owners who are tasked with overseeing the corporation that operates the community.  Elections are periodically held to elect new directors (or retain old ones) and generally it is those directors who serve as the officers of the corporation as well (although in most states it’s not strictly necessary that officers be either directors, or even owners, except perhaps the president and treasurer).

So once officers are elected, they must find a way to conduct the business of the association, and that is usually done in the context of a MEETING.  Now, a corporate board meeting is not the same as going to a book club luncheon.  There are certain corporate fomalities that need to be used if you want to ensure a smooth and conflict-free environment.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL CONDO OR HOA BOARD MEETING,

PART 1 – KNOW YOUR RULES (OF ORDER)!

Here is another installment in our first How To Series–how to hold successful and effective meetings in your Condo, Co-Op or HOA.  Whether you are a board member or a volunteer looking to make a difference in your shared community, preparation is key. If you don’t know how to run a meeting, how can you expect to govern the property? Just like any committee, organization or corporation, an association board needs structure to operate efficiently.

Today’s Board Meeting Tip:  Know your Rules (Of Order)

Over 100 years ago a very smart American named Henry Robert published a procedural rulebook called, simply,Robert’s Rules of Order.  Robert’s Rules is today the gold standard for all meeting organization.  What Robert’s does is explain, in exacting detail, how a meeting is run–who the chairperson is, when each person may speak, how to make motions, how they are seconded and voted upon, etc.  The documents of your SOC very likely specifies that some form of procedural rules should be used at all board meetings, and it’s likely that Robert’s is mentioned by name (although there are other very good options).  Now, if you’re in a tiny condominium with four owners, and all four sit on the board, it’s reasonable to hold your board meetings at a coffee shop somewhere and be quite happy and efficient.  But once associations involve dozens, even hundreds of unit owners, it really does benefit the board if a rule system like Robert’s is strictly followed.  Otherwise, the chairperson of the meeting (usually the president) is going to find herself trying to maintain order in a large meeting as if it were a classroom, and that generally doesn’t work very well with adults.  When I was elected president of my own condominium, the very first thing I did was to buy a copy of Robert’s Rules for all of my board members.  And by the way, Robert’s works great in any formal meeting–charity boards, fraternal organizations, and of course all corporations (like condos and HOAs).

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL CONDO OR HOA BOARD MEETING,

PART 2 – STICK TO THE PLAN (YOUR AGENDA)

Today’s Board Meeting Tip–Stick to the Plan (Your Agenda)

Today’s How To Series on Board Meetings covers creating an agenda and sticking to it.  A legal requirement of most SOC board meetings is that they must be noticed in advance (48 hours is common) by posting an AGENDA in a public place on the property.  An agenda is simply an outline of what issues will be discussed at the meeting.  Any items not on the agenda cannot be discussed.  Now, obviously this can be an inconvenience to board members, who often want to chat at the last minute about items that aren’t on the agenda, or that were forgotten.  But the idea of posting an agenda is to allow owners to accurately know what issues will be discussed at a meeting so that they can attend if an issue is important to them.  So I’m not particularly fond of agenda items that state “discussion of any and all business that may be important to the association.”  That may be legal, but it certainly goes against the intent of notice requirements and makes it impossible for owners to adequately participate in meetings (more on that a bit later).  Instead, I strongly recommend that agendas be explicit and specific, outlining all items that might be discussed (it’s always OK to table a matter if needed) and whether those items are old or new business.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL CONDO OR HOA BOARD MEETING,

PART 3 – EMBRACE YOUR INNER EXHIBITIONIST (DO IT IN THE OPEN)

Today’s Board Meeting Tip–Embrace your Inner Exhibitionist (Do it in the Open)

This   How To   tip for holding more effective and productive SOC board meetings discusses transparency and openness.

My advice is to Embrace your Inner Exhibitionist (Do it in the Open)

The current trend among laws around the country is to mandate that the vast majority of SOC meetings must be held in a public place, open to all members.  Under many laws, members must be allowed to speak on all issues on the agenda for some minimum amount of time.  Generally, the only exceptions to these rules involve legal meetings, which are required to be closed to maintain attorney-client confidentiality (the attorney represents the association itself, not the owners, and so the only ones who may be privy to the attorney’s advice are the officers and certain employees of the association.  Otherwise privilege is broken, and any advice may be requested by third parties, such as the opposition in a lawsuit).  But assuming that we’re talking about a typical board meeting, whether or not your documents, or the laws of your state require open meetings I would STRONGLY suggest that all of your meetings be open to members.  Look at it this way–directors are democratically elected by the owners to represent the owners in a mirror of our own American governmental system.  Nothing looks more corrupt than an elected government operating in secret 100% of the time.  That’s why our own federal government is largely open to the press–look at TV channels like C-Span.  This is just a very basic element that is core to our democracy, and ultimately SOCs are supposed to be mini representative democracies, themselves.  The owner’s don’t have final say on decisions, but they are supposed to be able to contribute.

The main reason that boards fail to follow open meeting rules is because it’s inconvenient for volunteers, who ordinarily have their own lives to manage, to have to meet in a big formal meeting every time they want to make a decision about the community.  In the modern age it’s tempting to simply send around an email to discuss issues among the board at their convenience.  But remember that the main reason owners may attend meetings is so that they can comment and add their thoughts on issues that affect their community.  Often, you will find that an owner has an unusual expertise in an area being discussed by the board, one where his or her advice is welcome and even essential.  Or, you may find that a contrary position as presented by an owner is convincing enough to change the board’s mind about its course of action.  Either way, it’s never a bad idea to allow owners to participate and comment as much as possible.  Ultimately, it serves as a CYA for the board–actions taken at open board meetings, where owners are allowed to participate and comment, always carry a greater impression of propriety than a decision made in secret by a quiet cabal.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL CONDO OR HOA BOARD MEETING,

PART 4 – TRUST YOUR JUDGMENT

Edmund Burke

Our last How To Series tip for running a successful SOC board meeting addresses trusting your judgment as a leader.

Edmund Burke, a famous Irish politician, once said that “Your representative owes you not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”  SOC boards, just like most democratic governments, arerepresentative democracies, not pure democracies.  By and large owners don’t vote en masse on individual issues.  The reasons for this are basic and practical–the vast majority of people, engaged in their own complex lives, cannot reasonably be expected to educate themselves about every issue facing a corporation, at least not enough to make a well-judged decision about the subject.  And further, unlike board members, individual owners have no legal duty to the association, and can make decisions that are personally preferable, but globally inadvisable.  So once an issue has been discussed, and every owner has had an opportunity to weigh in on the subject, it’s up to each board member to use their best personal judgement to decide how to proceed, given their duty to the association as a fiduciary (a person in a unique position of trust).  You can’t be an effective director if you make decisions based on the rumblings of one or two of your friends, or in an attempt to keep other owners from disliking you, or simply because you’re intolerant of conflict.  Serving as a board member requires some internal fortitude.  It’s your responsibility as a director to make your best, well informed decision, consistent with the requirements of the association, even if a majority of owners would disagree with that decision.  A very common example of this is when a special assessment is needed to perform some form of advisable but non-emergency maintenance on the property.  Especially in difficult economic times you’ll find that a large percentage of owners oppose the expenditure, but deferred maintenance is almost always more expensive down the road.  It’s well within the rights of a group of board members to decide that a decision is in the best interests of the association as a whole, even if it goes against the stated will of the majority.  Remember, if a true majority of owners rejects a board, they can always recall the members and elect a new board that they believe is more representative.  Still, this rarely happens in practice because a true majority of people rarely disagrees with the decisions made by a board that follows the tips that I’ve recommended in the past like preparing and sticking to agendas as well as holding meetings in public places.  And, even in that rare case where your neighbors recall you from the board, it’s better to be rejected for sticking to your own ideas than retained for caving to those that you don’t agree with.

from   poliakoffoncondohoaliving.com