Committee Members asked to sign New Advisory Policy or be terminated

Sounds to me more like a dictator than a president. It never ceases to amaze me how some presidents assume they have authority they don't have.

Your president's authority comes from two sources (state laws aside): your bylaws and the board. The only authority your president has is the authority stated in your bylaws under the description of the president's duties. Other than that, your board may grant the president authority to perform specific actions, but it is the board that really runs the show.

Often, the president has the authority to appoint committee members and can remove them at will. But, it is highly unlikely that the president has the authority to change the nature or the function of any committee. In other words, I don't believe your governing documents give the president the authority to change any committee to an "advisory committee." Your committees likely answer to the board, not the president. The board needs to let him know that.

As for your "second amendment rights," that has to do with the right to bear arms and has nothing to do with this situation.

Jeri

Our Bylaws say (editted version): """""Committees are appointed by the BOD and are authorized to perform specific tasks as designated by the BOD. Committees report to the BOD and can be disbanded by the BOD""""".

Remember that the BOD was elected, not the committees. BOD's run the HOA, not appointed committees.

Even though our BOD has the power to disband any committee, doing so would certainly raise questions in my min as to why.

One of the nastiest HOA battles I ever saw concerned a rogue ARC committee who thought they were in control. The majority of the BOD was on their side. The committee became the center of attention in electing new BOD members. Long story short. Several new BOD members were elected so the BOD then "fired" all the committee members, redefined the committee direction/goals, and appointed new committee members.

Hope this helps.

Jeri,

Request a meeting with the Board to discuss this issue.
It's possible that the board is supporting such actions OR that they are unaware of it.

As others have pointed out, typically individuals serve on committees at the pleasure of the Board. That would be the whole board and not just one individual. Therefore, unless the committee members resign, the board must go through the process of voting on an individuals removal.

Question: what is in the policy that you believe violates your right to bear arms?

With the expectation that the policy says that members should not bring weapons to committee meetings, I would think that this policy would pass the common sense test and protects the liability of the Association.

It certainly wouldn't prevent you from owning a firearm or carrying a firearm on your person (providing it's in compliance with Federal/State laws). It's your option if you want to meet the rules/regulations adopted by the Board and serve on the committee or if you want to keep your weapon on you and not serve on the committee.

This would be similar to you having a parent teacher conference at your child's school. Federal/State laws prohibit you from carrying the weapon onto school grounds. If you insist on carrying the weapon, that is your right. It's your option if you want to leave the weapon at home and meet with your child's teacher or keep the weapon on you and either not meet with the teacher or be willing to pay the price for violating the law.

Similar to having the option of working to change a law you don't like, you have the option of changing this rule. It's actually easier than changing the law. You need to get yourself and others who believe as you do elected to the board OR solicit support and amend the CC&Rs or bylaws to prohibit this requirement to serve on committees.

Hope this helps,

Tim

All HOA Committees should operate under an "advisory" status with all final decision making being conducted by the elected Board of Directors. The president was smart - if the board agreed - to eliminate any committees that possessed binding authority not addressable by the board of directors, who the property owners have selected to represent their interests.

The premise underlying this discussion is that all board committees are good, efficient and effective. I've found standing committees to essentially serve to issue "complaint reports" without solutions. That's a waste of time from my experience as a president.

I dropped our standing committees - which were created as temporary committees and "stuck." Instead, all directors were told to keep their eyes open and we'll discuss the various property divisions. It works better. Otherwise, an apathetic committee has nothing to report and the other board members simply don't pay attention because someone else is handling a particular phase of operations.

Disclaimer: We are a master association without much of the hands-on grind faced by condo boards, etc.

And where do you think you get such authority?

KellyM,

You didn't answer my question. I'll put it another way.

What provision in your bylaws do you believe gives you such authority?

Bruce,

You're correct. Committees created by board vote are only disbanded by board vote and that's what I did after all. Presidents can create small working groups to help the overall board research a possible policy or procedure, but those are limited and serve to supply information. I was confused. This was all discussed at our annual meeting among all board members because our long term committees had really ceased to operate w/ any functionality.

But, we're low key as a board, overseeing a park and pool (3 months per year). Condos and town homes could not afford this approach.