Valid proxy or otherwise....................

I’ll try to keep this short. I’ve always received some very good advice from many of you. I’m hoping this particular time won’t be any different.

As many of you may know, I’m the Vice President of our HOA here in Georgia. We have a MC who I don’t TRUST. They have not given me the advice I feel they should have given on previously important HOA situations.

We are currently pursuing to “opt” into a POA. We are now an HOA. The board was emailed the draft (18 pages), 3 page memo, 2 page information sheet w/ ballot (fore or against vote for each of the changes) and a proxy. A total of 24 pages staple together as one packet and stuffed into a larger envelope. The board felt that we would receive a better response from homeowners who don’t take the initiative to show up at the meeting (27th) or mail the proxy back to us, to include a self addressed envelope with this packet, giving them no excuse.

Having prior sales background, I felt that the packet we mail to homeowners should all be in one envelope as was suggested by our PM. I felt and still feel that all this information shouldn’t be stapled together though. I feel that the 18 pages should be stapled together. The 3 page memo should be then fastened separately. The 2 page information sheets secured by themselves and the proxy as a separate sheet and of a colored paper appose to being printed on “plain white paper”

This is where I need your advice. After making this suggestion to our president she then consulted with our (PM). He then advoced the entire board that because it was a legal document, he said that we couldn't "legally" change the color! Portfolio manager advised us to leave it white. I don’t know, I’m only a volunteer. I assumed that printing the proxy on colored paper wouldn’t make the proxy any less valid, as far as “legal or otherwise”, that doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.

Is this true?

I had taken the suggestions many of you had previously provided and figured I would certainly put them into practice, when the opportunity came to do so. Such as numbering the proxy (1of 275, 2 of 275, etc), printing the proxy of colored pager (my idea), numbering the memo (roman numerals), numbering the information sheet (again roman numerals), and stapling them separately, not as one packet!

I apologize for the terrible long post, but I didn’t want to leave anything out. I hope this will certainly help you to help me.

Thank you all
Chuck W.

Charles:
First, I applaud your persistence in wanting to be a Board member who truly serves his community by being proactive in all things.
To answer your question, we have always recd proxies on white paper but I can't imagine color would change the integrity or validity of the document. Also, a proxy is only a piece of paper and useless (color or not) until it is actually completed accurately and forwarded to the appropriate party to be used as a vote at the meeting.
I do agree with you that to give the proxy its importance it should be separate from the rest of the packet.

But, more important IMO, is the info sheet that the residents will receive. Will this info be adequate for residents to digest before they make their vote--for or against moving to a POA. A packet of info is very daunting for one to read and for the Board to expect them to actually understand the complexities, vote by proxy and return the proxy to you to be counted.

With your community's past history of resident apathy, it may be prudent for the Board to plan a door-to-door campaign to explain what is at stake here--and mostly, WHY CHANGE TO A POA?--WHAT IT WILL DO FOR YOU...and for what its worth to you...why does your Board want to change? 'Better for the community' is not REASON ENOUGH--you need to present specifics to your residents. You have already invested community monies to have this draft prepared without getting a community feel whether this will go over or not, and obviously there will be more expense incurred when and if you actually do file as a POA.

I don't want to pour a bucket of cold water on you or the Board;
however, its important to look at the whole picture and especially to have a Plan-B if Plan-A doesn't work--meaning it may come to the Board going out on foot to rally the residents. At the very least, you may want to schedule a 1 hr. discussion time on pros and cons of HOA vs. POA prior to the start of the meeting on the 27th.

I wish you great success with your latest project.
PaulM