Recall of Director

We recently initiated a recall procedure to remove one particular member of the Board of Directors. We have not yet served the Board with the petition. However, we just heard that our Budget Committee is recommending a special assessment of some $25,000 to pay for "eventual expenses" the Board may incur to fight the recall. Is this legal or is it just a scare tactic to keekp people from signing the ballot. Those expenses include lawyer's fees and travelling expenses for the entire Board to go to Talhassee to fight this.
Can they assess us for something that has not yet happened?
The recall stated that if the required number of signatures was not reached by a certain date that the recall petition would be dropped. How can they vote a special assessment before they even know if there will be need for it?
Help!

Louise,

It does sound like a scare tactic as it is just a recommendation.

Just as special assessments can be done for expected maintenance before it occurs, special assessments for expected legal fees can also be done. However, the Board will have to follow any procedure and requirements your Association or State has concerning special assessments.

Question, is the 25,000 the total or per lot?

If it's total, it could be the retainer fee. If it's per lot, it sounds even more of a scare tactic. Additionally, the Association can be represented by the President and the lawyer vs. requiring the entire board to travel.

Tim

I would call it a threat: "You can't remove us. We will not step down. If you go forward, we will fight you at your own expense."

I would make sure you do everything carefully according to your rules (your governing documents) and get a clear majority of those eligible to vote. They might back down if they don't have any basis to contest the recall, or if the actual signatures shame them. (We recalled our Board. They started an effort to challenge it, but then lost heart in the face of signatures of well over half their neighbors.)

Is a vote of the Membership required for a special assessment? Otherwise, the actual assessment would come after the recall drive is completed successfully.

Why do you want to recall your Board?

Louise,

This is from 720, (10) (d)

"If the board determines not to certify the written agreement or written ballots to recall a director or directors of the board or does not certify the recall by a vote at a meeting, the board shall, within 5 full business days after the meeting, file with the department a petition for binding arbitration pursuant to the applicable procedures in ss. 718.112(2)(j) and 718.1255 and the rules adopted thereunder. For the purposes of this section, the members who voted at the meeting or who executed the agreement in writing shall constitute one party under the petition for arbitration. If the arbitrator certifies the recall as to any director or directors of the board, the recall will be effective upon mailing of the final order of arbitration to the association. The director or directors so recalled shall deliver to the board any and all records of the association in their possession within 5 full business days after the effective date of the recall."

The Board cannot special assess the members without a bill that needs paying. IF this was to add to the proposed budget, then they could try to add the $25,000 as a line item, perhaps under legal fees but they cannot just pull a number from the air.

Depending on what your normal assessments are, this from 720:308 (10) might also be relevant

"(3) MAXIMUM LEVEL OF ASSESSMENTS.--The stated dollar amount of the guarantee shall be an exact dollar amount for each parcel identified in the declaration. Regardless of the stated dollar amount of the guarantee, assessments charged to a member shall not exceed the maximum obligation of the member based on the total amount of the adopted budget and the member's proportionate share of the expenses as described in the governing documents.

I suspect that both sides have completely lost their minds.

A group of homeowners threaten "nuclear war" with a recall petition. The Board returns with a "mutually assured destruction" counter-threat.

If either of you think that you can win, forget it. I predict that you'll spend $100K+ to litigate this plus all the strike and counter-strike that's sure to take place. In the end, everybody will pay a lot of money and nobody will win.

I'm sure that you can rattle off all the atrocities that the Board has committed. But, if this is really the way that it is shaping up, I'd drop out, put my house up for sale and move. Let these crazies annihilate themselves and the HOA, then go bankrupt.