RayD3 (Nevada)
Posts: 10
Posts: 10
Posted:
Can emails between Board members working on Board matters be released to the general membership(not violation or Fine related)?
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Started by RayD3 • 6 replies • 1432 views
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SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202
Posts: 5,202
Posted:
Do your bylaws allow conducting board business over email??
Discussions and issues need to be in open discussion. That's called debating the issue.
Discussions and issues need to be in open discussion. That's called debating the issue.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Ray,
Technically yes. However, that is provided that they are kept and filed with the Association. My Association uses e-mail to send info back and forth but do not discuss it until the meeting. At that meeting a copy of the info (like a contract or proposal) is attached to the minutes.
Tim
Technically yes. However, that is provided that they are kept and filed with the Association. My Association uses e-mail to send info back and forth but do not discuss it until the meeting. At that meeting a copy of the info (like a contract or proposal) is attached to the minutes.
Tim
TinaD2 (Delaware)
Posts: 2
Posts: 2
Posted:
Hi: The board I am on votes on things via email and in the meetings, so therefore not everything is reflected in the minutes as it should be. They also make decisions via email and phone without including one of the board members. I would think that any decision or vote reached via email vote should be counted as public record. Any thoughts on this?
RayD3 (Nevada)
Posts: 10
Posts: 10
Posted:
I am not being clear. All agenda items are deebated during our scheduled open meetings.The HOA oversight,daily operations,and preliminary/initial Policy matters are discussed by email In some cases the interaction gets hot and heavy.Those are the emails in question.
MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 388
Posts: 388
Posted:
Ray,
In AZ the board cannot conduct any business via email communication as that would be a violation of the open meeting law. I suggest you check your state statutes to see if open meetings are required and if email communications would be a violation. Also most states have laws stating what assn records may be viewed and/or copied by the members and there may also be a bylaw provision addressing this. If these emails are considered records of the assn then you may be authorized to have access to them. Your questions should be answered by state law and your gov. docs.
In AZ the board cannot conduct any business via email communication as that would be a violation of the open meeting law. I suggest you check your state statutes to see if open meetings are required and if email communications would be a violation. Also most states have laws stating what assn records may be viewed and/or copied by the members and there may also be a bylaw provision addressing this. If these emails are considered records of the assn then you may be authorized to have access to them. Your questions should be answered by state law and your gov. docs.
DennisT (Ohio)
Posts: 109
Posts: 109
Posted:
Email is tricky. Not so much from the standpoint of whether or not members have a right to view them but rather how they exercise that right when they do. If your board is like most other boards everyone is using their own personal email accounts. I highly doubt they have @yourhoa.com email addresses where messages pass through association computers.
The association cannot produce what it does not have. If you're trying to obtain the emails that were sent using the personal accounts of two or more board members good luck getting them. If they really wanted to dig in you'd probably have to take them to court to force them to divulge their personal email files. That's expensive and the association (aka you) would likely have to pay for the board's legal expenses since the controversy arose from their actions in a board member capacity.
On a related note this is one reason why my employer expressly prohibits the use of any email system other than the company system to conduct company business.
That being said, how did we do it? We had our property manager set up an email box on their email system for the association. Generally we avoided discussing things by email but when it was necessary to do so we CCed that email address. Otherwise we limited the use of email to one way communications, such as sending agendas and financial reports. The documents were already being archived as association records and email was just a mechanism to get them into everyone's hands quickly.
The association cannot produce what it does not have. If you're trying to obtain the emails that were sent using the personal accounts of two or more board members good luck getting them. If they really wanted to dig in you'd probably have to take them to court to force them to divulge their personal email files. That's expensive and the association (aka you) would likely have to pay for the board's legal expenses since the controversy arose from their actions in a board member capacity.
On a related note this is one reason why my employer expressly prohibits the use of any email system other than the company system to conduct company business.
That being said, how did we do it? We had our property manager set up an email box on their email system for the association. Generally we avoided discussing things by email but when it was necessary to do so we CCed that email address. Otherwise we limited the use of email to one way communications, such as sending agendas and financial reports. The documents were already being archived as association records and email was just a mechanism to get them into everyone's hands quickly.
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