Recalling Board

Heather,

What do you mean.."YOU" want to start to recall your Board. My best advice is to go a different way. Elect differnt members but you cannot imagine how much time, energy and money this is going to cost all of you.

Here is the Statute.720, 303 (10)

"(10) RECALL OF DIRECTORS.--
(a)1. Regardless of any provision to the contrary contained in the governing documents, subject to the provisions of s. 720.307 regarding transition of association control, any member of the board 4of directors may be recalled and removed from office with or without cause by a majority of the total voting interests.

2. When the governing documents, including the declaration, articles of incorporation, or bylaws, provide that only a specific class of members is entitled to elect a board director or directors, only that class of members may vote to recall those board directors so elected.

(b)1. Board directors may be recalled by an agreement in writing or by written ballot without a membership meeting. The agreement in writing or the written ballots, or a copy thereof, shall be served on the association by certified mail or by personal service in the manner authorized by chapter 48 and the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.

2. The board shall duly notice and hold a meeting of the board within 5 full business days after receipt of the agreement in writing or written ballots. At the meeting, the board shall either certify the written ballots or written agreement to recall a director or directors of the board, in which case such director or directors shall be recalled effective immediately and shall turn over to the board within 5 full business days any and all records and property of the association in their possession, or proceed as described in paragraph (d).

3. When it is determined by the department pursuant to binding arbitration proceedings that an initial recall effort was defective, written recall agreements or written ballots used in the first recall effort and not found to be defective may be reused in one subsequent recall effort. However, in no event is a written agreement or written ballot valid for more than 120 days after it has been signed by the member.

4. Any rescission or revocation of a member's written recall ballot or agreement must be in writing and, in order to be effective, must be delivered to the association before the association is served with the written recall agreements or ballots.

5. The agreement in writing or ballot shall list at least as many possible replacement directors as there are directors subject to the recall, when at least a majority of the board is sought to be recalled; the person executing the recall instrument may vote for as many replacement candidates as there are directors subject to the recall.

(c)1. If the declaration, articles of incorporation, or bylaws specifically provide, the members may also recall and remove a board director or directors by a vote taken at a meeting. If so provided in the governing documents, a special meeting of the members to recall a director or directors of the board of administration may be called by 10 percent of the voting interests giving notice of the meeting as required for a meeting of members, and the notice shall state the purpose of the meeting. Electronic transmission may not be used as a method of giving notice of a meeting called in whole or in part for this purpose.

2. The board shall duly notice and hold a board meeting within 5 full business days after the adjournment of the member meeting to recall one or more directors. At the meeting, the board shall certify the recall, in which case such member or members shall be recalled effective immediately and shall turn over to the board within 5 full business days any and all records and property of the association in their possession, or shall proceed as set forth in subparagraph (d).

(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.

(e) If a vacancy occurs on the board as a result of a recall and less than a majority of the board directors are removed, the vacancy may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this subsection or in the association documents. If vacancies occur on the board as a result of a recall and a majority or more of the board directors are removed, the vacancies shall be filled by members voting in favor of the recall; if removal is at a meeting, any vacancies shall be filled by the members at the meeting. If the recall occurred by agreement in writing or by written ballot, members may vote for replacement directors in the same instrument in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the division, which rules need not be consistent with this subsection.

(f) If the board fails to duly notice and hold a board meeting within 5 full business days after service of an agreement in writing or within 5 full business days after the adjournment of the member recall meeting, the recall shall be deemed effective and the board directors so recalled shall immediately turn over to the board all records and property of the association.

(g) If a director who is removed fails to relinquish his or her office or turn over records as required under this section, the circuit court in the county where the association maintains its principal office may, upon the petition of the association, summarily order the director to relinquish his or her office and turn over all association records upon application of the association.

(h) The minutes of the board meeting at which the board decides whether to certify the recall are an official association record. The minutes must record the date and time of the meeting, the decision of the board, and the vote count taken on each board member subject to the recall. In addition, when the board decides not to certify the recall, as to each vote rejected, the minutes must identify the parcel number and the specific reason for each such rejection.

(i) When the recall of more than one board director is sought, the written agreement, ballot, or vote at a meeting shall provide for a separate vote for each board director sought to be recalled.

History.--s. 35, ch. 92-49; s. 54, ch. 95-274; s. 1, ch. 97-311; s. 1, ch. 98-261; s. 46, ch. 2000-258; s. 12, ch. 2003-14; s. 3, ch. 2003-79; ss. 2, 18, ch. 2004-345; s. 15, ch. 2004-353.

1Note.--As amended by s. 18, ch. 2004-345. For a description of multiple provisions in the same session affecting a statutory provision, see preface to the Florida Statutes, "Statutory Construction." Subsection (2) was also amended by s. 2, ch. 2004-345, and that version reads:

Good reply Carol,

No one thinks about the concequences of recalling a Board. Are they prepaired for the neighbor against neighbor syndrome? Are they prepaired to have a new Board in line, ready to step in? Are they ready to be involved in the recall process for a very long time and to pay, and pay, and pay some more for the lawyers?
Will they guarentee that the replacement Board will do a better job or just fumble their way thru another Board learning process? Does anyone really get all of this? I know that I don't

Hi Heather:

What I would recommend is first review your documents and determine the exact procedures that needs to be followed for the board elections. Then I would send a letter to the Board signed by all concerned residents stating that proper procedures have not been followed (if this is true); therefore, they need to give proper notice following the HOA guidelines (list the proper procedure in your letter). If proper procedure is not followed then the HOA members will take necessary steps to protect their rights as stated in your By-Laws and Covenants ....

This will then put them on notice that most of the residents do not appreciate their actions. They will most likely turn around and follow the proper procedure. If they do not ... then you could consider the recall.

As stated above ... certain items like recalls or lawsuits should be your absolute last resort.

Thank you Janet,

I will take your advice to the others that are concerned.

However, at this point the only people on the ballot for the upcoming elections are our current BOD. But, given the advice you just gave maybe we can demand that they add the people wanting to run. Also, our current bylaws do not have anything about how to add your name to the ballot. All it says is that the election for the BOD is at the annual meeting of members and the way you vote (by ballot or by present) and a quourm must be present.

Yes you are correct in saying we have a young HOA, which is what I said. However, we have and from what I understand from the residents that have been here, there has always been a great deal of support for our HOA. Our current board has been in place since the turnover 3 years ago, and people have gone in and out of the committees because of the way the board has treated them. They belittle them, disrespect them, and are down right rude to them at the monthly meetings. Also, when a committe member or chair has a question or concern and tried to call or email the board... it goes unanswered. I could could contuine, but you get the point. Our HOA is run by the MOB!!!

Like I said, I am blessed to live in a great community with wonderful neighbors that have been and are now willing to step up to the plate. I know that we will grow from this experince, and we will get over this hump. I know in 5 years I will look back on this and laugh. However, some of our concerns about how our current HOA is being run is very serious, and can impact us for many many years.

Thank you for the advice,
H

Heather ... to double check ... between now and February I would also recommend that you post the exact verbage from your documents regarding your Board of Directors elections. This way we can be sure about possible nominations from the floor at the meeting. This is how most are done ... but let's make sure.

The 720 HOA legislation in FL (NOT the 718 condo legislation) requires that nominations from the floor be accepted at the annual meeting. I am assuming that you are a true 720 community, not a 718 condo community.
This particular state requirement can be found in 720.306 (9).

ELECTIONS AND BOARD VACANCIES.—Elections of directors must be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the governing documents of the association. All members of the association are eligible to serve on the board of directors, and a member may nominate himself or herself as a candidate for the board at a meeting where the election is to be held or, if the election process allows voting by absentee ballot, in advance of the balloting. Except as otherwise provided in the governing documents, boards of directors must be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by eligible voters. Any election dispute between a member and an association must be submitted to mandatory binding arbitration with the division. Such proceedings must be conducted in the manner provided by s. 718.1255 and the procedural rules adopted by the division. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, any vacancy occurring on the board before the expiration of a term may be filled by an affirmative vote of the majority of the remaining directors, even if the remaining directors constitute less than a quorum, or by the sole remaining director. In the alternative, a board may hold an election to fill the vacancy, in which case the election procedures must conform to the requirements of the governing documents. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, a board member appointed or elected under this section is appointed for the unexpired term of the seat being filled. Filling vacancies created by recall is governed by s. 720.303(10) and rules adopted by the division.