I hate this job and I am not even getting paid!!!

So, I am now on the BOD. It took a lot to get where I am now and to be honest. I HATE IT!!!

OK enough of my complaining, now on to the good questions.

1. President cares nothing about the pool, landscaping, common grounds, the gate, and anything else that involves spending money. All he wants to concentrate on is getting dues that are in the arrears paid up. He has said “we will do nothing until we are back in the black.” Meanwhile, the spa is not heating, the gate is creaking, the pool furniture is falling apart and I am getting bitched at every time I walk outside from my neighbors asking “Can you PLEASE get this fixed.

2. Our PM does NOTHING!!! BUT, our President Loves him and does not want to get rid of him. Over the past three months since I have been on the BOD, I have gotten 4 sets of bids, which is very time consuming they were asked for by HIM, for jobs that are needing to get done and once I present them to the other BODs, our wonderful Pres says “I said nothing gets spent until we get back in the black.” I have not answered my phone or emails from anyone from the HOA in a week and today I got a nasty email followed up by a phone call saying “you have to answer me, if you are not cut out for this, maybe we should replace you.”

3. One of the promises I made to the community when I ran was better communication and transparency. I was hoping to achieve this by starting a website. I typed out a few questions to ask our attorney, which I feel they are rhetorical, but never the less, when I sent them to our PM to send to our attorney, he said that this must be approved by our President. REALLY?

Here’s the list of questions… what do you guys think and what should I do???? Help???

1. We are playing with the idea of setting up a website and if we do,
to help with the cost and being a "not of profit" can the association
charge for advertising on the website? Would it be a conflict if BOD
members wanted to advertise their own business? What about vendors
that are under contract to service the community? Our goal is to make
the website cost neutral by offering advertisement opportunities.
However, could we take more money in for advertisement over the amount
it cost to run it can we put it in our general fund? Or would this be
"making a profit" at that point?

2. Our covenants allow for "telecopy" for notices. Is this the same as
email in the legal world? Would we be able to sent notices to
Homeowners via email if they so desire?

3. Would homeowners be able to vote for amendment changes online, via
email or online voting system?

4. Could our paper proxies, that are sent out for our annual meeting,
be sent and returned from the homeowner online, either as an online
fill-in form or another online voting/proxy system?

Heather, I don't know the answer to your questions, so I'll leave them to others to answer. No matter, how many times HOA Boards are touted as quasi-governments the one thing a Board president does not have is veto power. If the majority of the Board votes to spend money (provided you have it)then the president cannot stop it from being spent. Same thing for changing PM's or for that matter unless your voted into a particular office (rare but there are CC&R's that mandate that)the Board can remove him as president and elect someone else to that office. NOTE: The Board can't remove him from the Board, just from the office he holds.

And yes it is customary to have a "chain of command" for communications to the HOA attorney and other vendors. Otherwise you have a plethora of people giving countermanding orders or asking for redundant information.

Heather
How is it that you don't know the HOA is in the "red" and thus, can't fix creaking gates and old furniture?

Study your financials!!

The next time someone asks you why can't things be fixed, say, "We have to set priorities. We can't spend what we don't have."

Hi Heather:

Just as it took a lot of effort and time to get where you are now … keep in mind it will also take time to potentially fix issues and see certain changes. I understand why you might hate it at this time, but with patience and effort it can get better. Remember it is the entire board voting on these issues to fix, not just the president’s decision as others have stated above. When anyone gripes at you listen, empathize (this generally diffuses anger) with something to the effect of “I understand why you may feel that way”. Then politely inform them you are only one member of the board and for any major concerns, please submit a request to be added to the next board meeting agenda where they can be addressed at a proper meeting. Let them know the entire board must vote on decisions and you as one person cannot make any decisions alone.

Per your questions:

1) As Tim stated yes you can charge for advertisements, to avoid any potential “conflict” issues make sure everyone is charged the same and that especially no BOD members is given any free advertisement space. Conflict comes into play when anyone receives any special benefit. Non-profit corporations can earn a certain amount of income to pay for expenses. You might check with your tax person to insure what your state laws are with regards to state taxes and they will also know the IRS regulations. Checking on this up front will help insure you stay within any needed boundaries. Think about it this way other organizations such as Girl Scouts, Cancer Society, Elks Lodge, etc. are also non-profit corporations.

2) Telecopy = Fax Copy … “Telecopy” was derived from the fact that the telephone system was being utilized to send a copy image to another entity via facsimile machine. LOL you either have an older HOA or an old timer did the documents to utilize the old word telecopy instead of fax, I have not heard that word used in many years. How notification to members is provided should be stated in your By-Laws. If the By-Laws allow electronic notice for association business and meetings then yes. The following HOA statute states:

 720.306 Meetings of members; voting and election procedures; amendments.—
 (5) NOTICE OF MEETINGS.—The bylaws shall provide for giving notice to members of all member meetings, and if they do not do so shall be deemed to provide the following: The association shall give all parcel owners and members actual notice of all membership meetings, which shall be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to the members not less than 14 days prior to the meeting.

3) Maybe … IF your Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws allow. Per FL HOA state statute:

 720.306 Meetings of members; voting and election procedures; amendments.—
 (1) QUORUM; AMENDMENTS.—
 (a) Unless a lower number is provided in the bylaws, the percentage of voting interests required to constitute a quorum at a meeting of the members shall be 30 percent of the total voting interests. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, decisions that require a vote of the members must be made by the concurrence of at least a majority of the voting interests present, in person or by proxy, at a meeting at which a quorum has been attained.

4) If the HOA governing Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws allow for electronically transmitted material, then you can email the information to the members. However, the member must return with “signature” on the document. Potentially the member would then need to print, “sign”, and then scan in order to email back to the association secretary a proper proxy for voting at the annual meeting.

 720.306 Meetings of members; voting and election procedures; amendments.—
 (8) PROXY VOTING.—The members have the right, unless otherwise provided in this subsection or in the governing documents, to vote in person or by proxy.
 (a) To be valid, a proxy must be dated, must state the date, time, and place of the meeting for which it was given, and must be signed by the authorized person who executed the proxy. A proxy is effective only for the specific meeting for which it was originally given, as the meeting may lawfully be adjourned and reconvened from time to time, and automatically expires 90 days after the date of the meeting for which it was originally given. A proxy is revocable at any time at the pleasure of the person who executes it. If the proxy form expressly so provides, any proxy holder may appoint, in writing, a substitute to act in his or her place.

Have patience and tackle one thing at a time. The most important issue per your statements at this time will be getting the financial situation under control. As Susan stated you need to study your financials and determine with fellow board members how best to approach the problem. The board is going to potentially have three choices 1) increase assessments, 2) cut costs being spent, or 3) as Tim stated potentially consider a special assessment. The members need to understand you cannot spend money you do not have.

Until the financial situation is under control the board might get those who complain together with other volunteers to form a committee and have a community fix up party. Individuals will have partial cans of paint around they can donate and some may have experience in certain areas to take care of minor fixes. Maybe you can give old pool furniture a painted face lift and tighten some screws, take care of minor landscaping issues, take a can of WD-40 to creaking gate, etc. Make it fun with maybe a potluck and music while working as a community effort.

I kind of agree with previous posters in as much as being a new member of the Board, it is up to you to get a handle on the relationships of the Board, the management company, contractors, and financial institutions. First, start with the annual budget, the reserve accounts, and the monthly expenditures. I believe all Board members must be familiar with where the money is, where it comes from, and how it is spent. DO NOT accept a pat answer that "we have to be in the black". If the community is really going broke, then that must become known to every homeowner: and now! Once you have a foundation in the financials, that knowledge will leverage itself into everything else.

From another post from the same op I believe she states the amount owed to the property is equal to 40% of the property's annual budget. That's quite a bit of money which will do nothing but increase if left unaddressed.

IMO that might be reason for concern rather than communications and transparency with the property owners.

Collections would be my main concern.

Heather, you can start a web site with Google's blogger.com in about 5 minutes, for free. Add 1 update about the current situation, then add some more, then add your docs, etc. The more you add, the more people will visit. You dont need to make this a bigger project than it is. Advertising is a waste of time in my opinion.

Your time would be better spent working on HOA projects vs getting people to advertise.

Donna,

I think we all thought something like that at one time or another. Then, like Heather, found out the realities of the situation.

I know that what I found after being elected to my board was far more then what I thought I knew when I was member prior to being elected. It had me take a hard look at what I wanted to accomplish and the sense to realize that I couldn't do all I wanted (I really hated admitting that to myself). Therefore, I prioritized and singled in on one goal at a time.

I concur that reading and understanding the governing documents and State statutes are a must and should be done first (and continued while within any Association). Once that knowledge is gained, then a look at how things are being done vs. should be done coupled with finding out why they are being done that way needs to be completed. Then one can identify what can be fixed now and what needs to be fixed later and prioritize.

Tim