Who approves payment plans for past due assessments

It will depend on what authority your governing documents and/or the Board gave the President.

Typically, the President is the face and voice of the Association. However, the President is just an officer of the Association and not the decision maker. Decisions are made by the entire Board of Directors (majority vote decides).

As Treasurer, our governing documents authorize me (not the President) to speak with the members about their accounts. The Board has given me additional authority to waive up to 3 months of charges associated with delinquent accounts. Anything more must be approved by the Board.

Sometimes, individuals in certain positions will overstep their authority because they either believe that they have positional authority to do something or they believe that the board will back their decision. When this happens, even if the Board backs the decision made, that individual needs to be reminded that they overstepped their authority and it shouldn't happen again. If it does, the Board should consider removing that person from the Office they hold (as Officers serve at the pleasure of the Board).

Remember, Officers (President, VP, etc.) and Directors are two different positions even if they are filled by the same individuals.

For consideration of privacy, you may request that they ONLY refer to the situation NOT by name but by the lot # of the lot. This can save some embarrassment if the person is in attendance. We discussed collections in our open meetings but did NOT reveal names or addresses. Collections was kept amongst the board and between the parties involved. No need in announcing people's dirty laundry.

I found having a portion of our open meeting just to be amongst the board members when it comes to personal and private matters. Let the members know that this portion is just for board members but they are welcome to be present. Just don't expect to participate in that portion as it may be something personal, legal, or board authorized issues.

The Board is ultimately responsible for everything but, unless state law or your governing documents state otherwise, the Board may delegate its authority to approve payment plans to an officer, the property management company, or another party.

Our entire board reviews the requests and makes a decision. We've also established certain requirements for payment plans that are part of our collection policy (distributed every year to the homeowners along with the upcoming year's budget)