Repealing Rules and Amendments

There can always be a need to amend due to poorly written controlling documents, new laws, and desires of the members. Ee have helped associations amend all their controlling documents including the Declaration, the Articles of Incorportation, the By-laws, the Rules and Regulations, and Architectural modification request form.

JoeW,
The assessment was for the expense of a mamagement company that they decided to hire half-way through the year. Our fiscal year runs from January 1 to December 31. They hired the company in June. This expense wasn't in the budget for 2006.

Our documents list 3 forms of acceptable assessments:
1. General - these are are annual fees due on March 1.
2. Special - Identified as only being applicable to emergency repairs or captial improvements to the common areas.
3. Deliquency - For penalizing individuals who chronically disregard rules and regs, fail to pay dues, etc.

Hiring of a management company doesn't fall into any of those categories.

Are you sure the special assessment is identified as you presented? Following is part of our CC&Rs which would allow the Board to hire a management company.

6. Special Assessments.
In addition to the annual Common Expense assessments authorized in this Article, the Association, with the approval of two-thirds (2/3) of a quorum of Association votes cast by Members voting in person or by proxy at a meeting duly called for this purpose, may levy, in any fiscal year, a special assessment applicable to that year only, for the purpose of defraying in whole or in part the cost of any construction, reconstruction, repair or replacement of a capital improvement upon any portion of real property for which the Association has repair and/or reconstruction obligations, including fixtures and personal property related thereto, or for repair or reconstruction of any damaged or destroyed Improvements located on said real property, or for the funding of any operating deficit incurred by the Association.

Ee was a typo error, should have been We. Sorry but often I do not edit my posts due to limited time and many responses.
You can amend (change) any of the controlling documents. It just requires the approval level following the amendment procedures specified for that document. Last year we amended the By-laws of three associations with a total rewrite of them.

Penny,

I've worked with a number of asociations that wanted to amend or update their documents. This seems to be the process that has worked the best:

1. Make a list of the sections you want to add, change or remove
2. Write out, in simple english, what you think the changes should say
3. After each one, add an explanation and the reasoning behind it.
4. Sit down with an attorney who knows association law and go over them with him or her. At this point,the attorney may suggest more changes or additions, relative to state laws that the documents should conform to
5. When you think you have the chanes pretty well set, send a copy to the owners, and invite them to attend a meeting to discuss them, or to write you with their thoughts. Do not call a vote at this time. You wnat to find out where the objections might be, or to see if the changes might cause some problems you weren't aware of. Better to find out aout them before a vote comes up. Keep the meeting low-key and focused on proposed changes. Do more listening than talking
6. When you have all of the comments, sit down with the attorney again, and make final changes. Turn all this over to the attorney at this point so they can be put into final form. Ask the attorney for a checklist of things you must do from that point on, i.e. how many days notice, handling proxies or absentee ballots, voting percentage required, etc.
7. Get the vote
8. If approved, have the attorney record the changes and then send copies to every owner.

You want the owners to be a part of the process so that they "buy in" to the changes, and not feel as if they have just been forced on them.

Joe

Roger,
In your quote of #6 Special Assessments to Peny's question --pardon my confusion--where does this address expense of hiring a mgmt. company. I only note repair, replacement of capital improvements, etc....and funding of operating deficit.
I'm not thinking that hiring a mgmt. company falls into either of these. Pls. define this for me. Sorry I'm not following you.
PaulM

Read again the words "FUNDING OF OPERATING DEFICIT". The Board has the authority to hire a management company and since you said this was not in the annual operating budget there will be a deficit. Your post did not include this. Did you fail to include it? If not, your Board probably could made an adjustment to the annual budget and increased the annual assessment.

Roger,

There are no provisions in our documents for funding an operating deficit. I suppose the developer (who put the Declaration in place)decided that those who would be approving the budget would try to keep routine expenditures within the amount approved. There was no "emergency" that would require a management company to be hired.