Board Infighting

Started by LawrenceC1 • 18 replies • 2034 views

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LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Fellow board memebers, I need advice.

I have served on our board as Treasurer since January 2010. In that time, I have fixed a mess in the financial records, set us up on QuickBooks, and established high standards for accounting. I have also worked hard to collect dues and have achieved 100% collection in the past two years -- something done in *no* other years since our HOA was established 18 years ago. In short, I have done a good job.

I have also stepped in wherever help was needed. When a committee chairperson had to resign, I would make sure things kept getting done. For instance, this year I ran our our Pool Committee and oversaw major repairs to our pool to be ready for the opening (which happened on time last week). Since I work in IT, I built the Association web site which saved us from having to pay a web site provider. I installed wallboard in our pool house where it had been damaged by water (I have done plumbing and electrical too). For the past 18 months, the HOA has been a 10-15 hour a week second job for me.

Now the other two members of the board of directors have gone behind my back and voted to remove me as Treasurer. They let me know this when we were meeting with the Association lawyers on a completely different subject. This blindsided me, and was embarrassing to say the least. Their reason for doing this is that they feel "left out". They accuse me of taking over the board (even though I have always had just 1 vote to their 2). They think that I am doing too much. Of course, anyone can step up and take on responsibility -- they fact that they haven't is not because I *want* to do everything but that they do not have the time or inclination to do these things themselves.

They can't remove me from the board but they can and did force me to relinquish the Treasurer's job.

At this point I see having four options. (1) I could continue to contribute to the work of the Association (but not as Treasurer) and pitch in where help is needed even though I will be criticized for doing so. (2) I can remain on the board but do nothing and watch the HOA deteriorate as work doesn't get done and the books revert to chaos. (3) I can resign from the board and just walk away from it all. (4) I could take this to the membership as a whole and turn it into an ugly fight. I know that #1 is the "high road" but I'm really sick and tired of taking flack for working hard. I also hate to just walk away and let a bunch of petty backbiters win.

What is your advice? Is there an option that I am not seeing?

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

Sometimes people with choloric personality - natural leader, directed, energetic, get-done, see problems and know how to fix it - are threatening to other board members. When exaggerated, these personality traits can come off as bossy, take over, inclusive and loner.

So . . . you don't have to call the Bingo numbers EVERY time. Be sure that you know when to step back and let other people lead. Be a committee member, not have to lead the committee.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

I'm of the expectation that you are a three member board. Since most Associations require a President, VP, Treasurer and a Secretary, who is doing the rest of the work? Does you bylaws have rules that prohibit one person holding more than one officer position?

To answer you question, I would say option 1. Not only is it the high road, it's the right thing to do.

What you can do is offer to do the things if there are no objections or say something like, I've got no problem working on this issue but would need some help,(name)- are you available to work together on this?

Tim

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Susan,

You make an excellent point. The impression that I leave is clearly a key contributing factor to the problems that we are having. I agree with you that this problem is largely one of personalities and feelings.

With respect to the pool "committee" I'm it. When I say that I took over as chairperson I should have clarified that by saying I took over as chairperson and sole member. If I had not stepped up we would have missed our target date for opening, and would have had to pay a service company thousands of dollars to coordinate and execute all the work that was needed in our 18-year old pool. (And we don't have thousands of dollars lying around.)

We have had a problem with apathy over the past few years. It has been hard to get anyone to volunteer. The current board was pressed into service when no one but me stepped up at the annual meeting voluntarily. One of the board members wasn't even at the annual meeting and was elected in absentia. At the last board meeting we had only the board and the architectural review committee chairperson attend.

When my children graduated from college, and my first job started to get more manageable, I found I had time for the HOA. I am taking care of things that have been neglected for years. (The pool house had termites that were already into the ceiling rafters and there hadn't been a bug treatment for at least 8 years until I arranged to have one done.)

So my challenge always has been to get things done without causing offense. Apparently I haven't done a good job at that. My quandary is what to do now.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 05/22/2011 6:59 AM
Does you bylaws have rules that prohibit one person holding more than one officer position?

Tim,

Yes, we are a three-member board. The bylaws stipulate that any board member may take one or two officer positions, with a limitation that the President cannot also be the Secretary or the Vice-President. Also, the Secretary can be drawn from the membership and does not have to be a board member. Up until recently each one of the the board members filled one of the roles of President, Vice-President, and Treasurer with the Secretary position being filled by a person not on the board.

Since the power grab, we now have a President/Treasurer, and a Vice-President/Secretary. I'm now a board member "without portfolio", and the non-board member secretary quit in disgust.

Thanks for your vote for #1. It's where I was leaning but will need some encouragement to "suck it up" and ignore the bad treatment I have been getting.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Quote:

I also hate to just walk away and let a bunch of petty backbiters win.

Hooray for HOAs! Yes, HOA life is a hard one, full of different personalities, most of them impacting the HOA in a negative way.

I would keep the treasurer job at all costs. Play their game. Write a letter to everyone in your HOA and cc: the board and explain how your cleaned up all the accounting records, transferred them to quickbooks, and how you appreciate their continued support as Treasurer. The board will look like fools if they get rid of you and try and have another vote for someone less competent.

Who knows, the board may want someone less competent who cant tack anything so they can hide expenditures, problem areas and possible stealing.

PeterT3 (Illinois)
Posts: 28

Posted:

I'm not sure I am qualified to give advice, but what I would do is step back and think about what made me volunteer in the first place. If circumstances changed and the reason for me volunteering are different now, then I wouldn't volunteer anymore. If those circumstances and reasons are still the same, I would continue volunteering and doing everything to improve or at least maintain the community as best as I can. That's all I can say, for anything more I would have to know your association and hear about "the other side" as well, as every story always has two sides telling it.

JeanI (Louisiana)
Posts: 112

Posted:

How large is your community? If more than 100 household, maybe you can think abut amending the bylaws to require a five or senven member board. That will hopefully get more people involved and add some diversity. It's unfortunate that some people are so threatened by your generosity. Is your community self-managed? If so , form a committee to investigate changing the bylaws to increase board membership. JMI

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Well on this one #1 is the moral thing. However, I also agree with Steve. Per your statement the reason they took away the position was because: Their reason for doing this is that they feel "left out".

Well … now they are in actuality physically doing to you what they only “claimed” they felt. It appears they do not have a valid reason to remove.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JeanI on 05/24/2011 1:49 PM
How large is your community?

Jean,

Our community is only 80 homes, and it's hard to get even three people to serve on the board. At last year's annual meeting one position had to be filled in abstentia by someone who didn't even have time to attend the annual meeting. That's why it is so ironic that the one person who steps up to help is treated so badly.

But yours is a good idea to think about Covenant amendments. One amendment might be to prohibit "actions without a formal meeting of the board" unless there is unanimous consent. The way this power grab happened is by the two other board members meeting in secret and making a decision without notice or the opportunity for discussion, minutes, or any of the other protections provided in a regular board meeting. That's now allowed in our Covenants and a clear loophole.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JanetB2 on 05/24/2011 2:30 PM
Well on this one #1 is the moral thing. However, I also agree with Steve.

Janet,

Thank you for your help and advice.

I, too, believe that even if I continue to volunteer, I should make sure that the entire membership knows what has happened. Even if I can't prevent this from happening this time, any future board members will know that they will not be able to hide their actions or motives, and they may be more careful to act in the best interests of the community.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PeterT3 on 05/23/2011 8:39 AM
I would have to know your association and hear about "the other side" as well, as every story always has two sides telling it.

Sure there's another side, but they are all wrong. :-)

I appreciate your help and I understand your point. In this case it really boils down to a domineering personality running roughshod over two less capable members of the board. While things were getting done, the other two board members felt left out and decided to hit back.

Clearly I need to work on my interpersonal skills, but taking an action to the detriment of the community rather than seeking to work things out is unwarranted and extreme.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SteveM9 on 05/23/2011 8:04 AM

Write a letter to everyone in your HOA and cc: the board and explain how your cleaned up all the accounting records, transferred them to quickbooks, and how you appreciate their continued support as Treasurer.

Steve,

This is a great idea. I don't have to be vindictive or mean -- just lay out the facts and let the homeowners come to their own conclusions.

Thanks for the advice.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

The help I received on this board has led to a resolution of our issues.

Susan's post helped me to see where I could change and softened my attitude. Tim's recommendation to do the right thing helped keep the problem from getting worse.

But it was Steve's idea to go public that broke things loose. I decided to start by sending a note to just the past members of the board still living in the community. They in turn wrote to the badly acting board members. We reached a compromise once the other board members saw that they had no justification for their actions that would hold up to scrutiny, and that they would look like fools if they persisted in their actions. All officer positions are now back as they were and I have been reinstated as Treasurer.

We are lucky that everyone involved in this dispute was reasonable and willing to discuss the issues.

As Jean pointed out, we need to change our Covenants. I will be looking into several amendments, especially one that prevents a subset of the board from going off and making plans in secret.

This HOA forum has been a real help to me. Thank you everyone for your assistance.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Quote:

But it was Steve's idea to go public ...... and I have been reinstated as Treasurer.

People actually take my advice? Wow. LOL.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

I thought it was pretty darn good ... I agreed with you.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Steve ... congratulations and best wishes!

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Sorry meant Lawrence Congratulations and Best Wishes!

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

I'm glad things worked out well.

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