Motions at Annual Meeting

I do think it was handled correctly.

Maureen you and your fellow Board members need to understand the difference between the powers of the homeowners and the duties and powers of the Board. I downloaded the following years ago from (I think) davis-stirling.com and while there are certain items that are specific to California it is a good explanation of the differences.

Powers of Board and Membership

Associations are not pure democracies where members can vote on all issues. Instead, they are representative democracies where powers are delegated to elected representatives (the board of directors) and certain limited powers are reserved to the membership. Representative democracy is the model used throughout the Western world.

Membership Authority. The rights/powers reserved to owners are described in the governing documents and are generally limited to the following powers:
to elect a board of directors
to remove directors from the board
to call special meetings of the membership
to amend the CC&Rs and bylaws
to approve regular assessments over 20% and special assessments over 5% (CA Law)
to attend open meetings of the board
to access their property
to use the common areas
to inspect the association's records

No Veto Power. Because of the division of authority between the membership and the board, members do not have a direct veto over the board's actions (except for rule changes (CA Law)). Rather, the power to veto is indirect. If members are unhappy with board actions (or inaction), the membership can remove the board or wait until the annual meeting and elect a new board.

Board Authority. By law, corporations must have boards of directors. The powers delegated to boards generally include the following:
manage the association
adopt and enforce rules and regulations
enforce the CC&Rs and bylaws
contract for services
levy and collect regular assessments
levy and collect special assessments up to 5% without membership approval (CA Law Limit)
levy and collect emergency special assessments
pay expenses incurred by the association
prepare and adopt budgets
repair and maintain the common areas
insure the association
disburse reserve monies
invest funds
call membership meetings and appoint inspectors of election
appoint and remove officers
appoint directors to fill vacancies
establish and dissolve committees
initiate and defend litigation

Judicial Deference. Courts will defer to board decisions, even if the decisions are not the "best" decisions, provided the board made a reasonable investigation, and its decision was in good faith with the best interests of the association in mind.

thank you all for your comments and advise. I have studied our bylaws/CCR's for years, and know them, however one of our board members is a Township Manager who does not know our bylaws and is ALWAYS questioning the Board. She was talking against our board to the homeowners (including the investor) at the meeting. She knows the investor and the investor called our PM to endorse her for relection to the board. She is constantly undermining the board and calling the attorney.

I agree with Melissa.

Our attorney is only contacted if approved by the Board.
The Board actually votes on the wording of the question/s and then only one person, the President, sends the message but copies all other board members.

This minimizes unnecessary expenses and keeps individuals from thinking the Association attorney is their personal attorney.

Maureen

Tim and Jon offer sound advice.

Maureen,

In an Association, the public is different than the membership.

I agree that the meetings should be open to the members. They should not be open to the public.

I also agree that the minutes of the meetings should be available to those members (and members only) who want them. We post our approved minutes on the Associations website in the members only area (password protected). Draft minutes are typically not posted.

Don't fault that member too much as it appears the intent is good. Try to educate them on what laws are applicable to your Association.

Let me put this in perspective on the meetings/budget of a HOA...Example: You are married with 3 kids. The checkbook (budget) of your family is to sit in the middle of the dining room table open. Everyone in your family has a say in how the money is spent. Considering you may be the breadwinner and main contributor, the control falls under your control in your mind. That is what a HOA BOD feels like. They are in charge of the budget and represent the whole of the HOA, so they should be the ones in control of the money. This is why so many issues arise with people feeling the BOD is out of control with the budget or secretive. As one of the kids If the budget/checkbook is sitting in the middle of the table in the same house your in, why can't you be part of how it is spent?

If you think of your HOA budget in this perspective, then you will understand why a HOA BOD may act they way they do when it comes to the budget. It's difficult to release that kind of control if you have a 10 year old who wants an X-box and the mortgage is due...

Are you saying that this board member is constantly calling the association's attorney or that she is calling the attorney who owns the 12 units?

The board can vote to put the kabosh on her calling the association's attorney but cannot prevent her from having contact with the attorney who owns the 12 units.

she calls the attorney. The investor who owns the 12 units is an attorney but NOT the board attorney.

The association's attorney is there to serve the needs of the board and not a single board member. As consultation with the attorney generates an expense, no board member should be calling the attorney without the express consent of the rest of the board.

BTW, any time a board member poses a question to the attorney, both the question and the answer should be in writing. Never under any circumstance would I accept the word of a board member who reports, "But the attorney told me . . ." It's not a question of honesty but rather a question of understanding. If the board member does not fully understand the advice and the legal reasons behind it he/she will report back with a muddled message.

Answers to legal questions usually depend upon the facts stated in the question. Change a single fact and the entire answer may change. This is why you need to know what the question was as well as the answer.