Can't attend meetings - posted by BillindaN

Billinda,

I can understand your frustration.

First a couple of questions:

1) Is the Association under control of the builder or the membership?
2) What are the terms of the directors (how long between elections)?
3) When is your next general membership meeting?
4) You listed a lot of issues, is there one specific issue that you see as a root cause of the others?

Typically, there is no State or Federal government agency that can be contacted to gain assistance. Therefore, it's up to the membership to take care of the issues themselves.

In general, the CC&Rs (deed restrictions) are considered a civil contract between all owners of the properties that have the same deed restrictions attached. Associations are formed to maintain and/or operate the common area and fulfill any services (trash/recycling, snow removal, street lighting, etc.) required by the CC&Rs. Per the CC&Rs, the Association is also given the authority (in addition to the owners) to enforce the covenants, restrictions and conditions of the deed restrictions (contract). Typically, Associations are incorporated (usually as a nonprofit) as this provides them certain advantages. As a corporation they must comply with corporate laws in addition to any HOA/COA laws.

As you know there are civil laws and criminal laws. Criminal laws are usually enforced by the State. Civil laws are usually enforced by the individuals involved and they do this through the court system. Since contracts, hoa/coa laws and corporate laws are considered civil laws, there is typically limited governmental authorities to "oversee" or enforce those laws.

Sure the State corporation commission may fine for not filing the annual report on time. The IRS will certainly go after the Association for failing to file taxes. The District Attorney will prosecute if criminal laws are broken (example embezzlement). However if the Association doesn't comply with the Bylaws or a civil law, it's up to the membership to hold the Board accountable. The easiest way would be to recall the board or not reelect them to the Board. The more expensive option is to go through the court system.

This is why it's imperative that the members remain active in the development and actually take an interest in how the Association is governed. If apathy sets in (and, unfortunately it does), it becomes that much more difficult to change things when issues are discovered.

Oklahoma doesn't have many State laws for HOAs. They do have the Unit Owner Estate Act (which I believe applies to condominiums). If your Association is incorporated (most are) then your State Corporate laws would also apply. Typically this would be the Oklahoma Nonprofit Corporation Act (part of Title 18).

Typically when there are issues, the best thing a member can do is read and understand the governing documents (CC&Rs, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, resolutions) and applicable State laws. This why they can identify if the issue is real or perceived. If the issue is real the easiest way to address it is to approach the board about it. If they are not listening, the next easiest is to vote the Directors off the board either by recall elections or at the next scheduled election.

Hope this helps,

Tim