Open Meeting Act

Steve,

That depends on a number of things.

First - Are you in an Association which has an applicable open meeting act (if I recall correctly, the NM Homeowner Association Act doesn't take effect until 2015, and that's if it was signed into law)?

If not, then the answer is no.

Second - Is it a meeting of the Board or a meeting of the Public Official?

If it is a board meeting and there is an open meeting act, then yes.
If it is a meeting of the public official, probably not. However, a report of the meeting should be included in the next Board meetings minutes.

Third - Are other requirements met?

What I mean is, Is board business being discussed or simply a group of board members gathering information for the next meeting? Are decisions being made? Is the topic of discussion protected under any applicable laws for executive sessions? Is there a quorum of Board members? etc. etc.

Thank you Tim,

Here is a very short version of a very long story...the HOAs are in Santa Teresa, NM. There are six or more HOAs. Some are active. Some are not.

Santa Teresa has two golf courses, a commercial pool and tennis courts owned by Mr. Collins. He also owns the main roads into his clubhouse and courses. The golf courses, and everything else, has been shut down due to lack of money. His roads are in dire need of repair. All streets within the HOAs were abandoned during the Phyllis Crowder Bankruptcy Case.

Representatives from these HOAs have been having meetings to discuss their options; such as, get the county, state or the city of Sunland Park to take ownership of our streets; get annexed into Sunland Park; etc. Only representatives from each HOA are allowed to attend. Those inactive HOAs have no representation.

Our state Senator, our county commissioner, Sunland Park mayor have been attending these meetings.

I will have the answers to your questions later today.

Thanks to everyone for your help. Steve

Just a wild guess but if the meetings are with elected officials then state open meeting laws, if any, may apply. In that case, homeowners would have notice of the meeting(s) through whatever means the state normally requires notice be given.

One other thought: I have long advocated that board members should not serve as officers of an association; the officers should be appointed by the board. Officers who are not also board members can meet whenever they need to and discuss whatever they wish without complying with the open meeting statutes. But if the officers are also board members, then they must comply with the open meeting laws.

Just what world is Matt living in? So now Board members need to be directed by Board officers and most properties can't find enough folks to seat a full Board!

Here's an idea do away with the nonsense of open meeting laws and the silliness that no Board can meet unless all owners are there too.

Here CAI offers several yearly seminars and trade shows. Over the years on occasion all of our Board attended. In some states that would require an open meeting notice. And when you attend a CAI trade show guess what BOARD issues do in fact come up. Now in open meeting land where the Boards can't function without all the owners being invited that might violate the required notice and open meeting.

Now in our case you have dozens of Board members from different properties ALL discussing HOA issues. And since in fact these seminars charge a fee to attend how then does the HOA make this an open event? Pay for everyone??????

Common sense would tell some folks you elect a Board to operate the property. You don't need nor does it serve the property to have every owner present for every discussion or session ever held.

In the OP's case I would like to know if they are on the Board or they simply wish now to be invited to a meeting where everyone else holds a Board position because they can. My guess they might be legal issues involved and negotiations that IMO property owners should have no role.

Happily, I can attend any meeting, attended by whomever and discuss whatever, without the fear of ending up in San Quentin due to violating someone's idea of how things should be done when in practice it serves no positive purpose.

If you really feel everyone should be involved then cahgne your By-Laws and make everyone a Board member, 50, 100, 800 people strong and everyone gets to vote on every decision whether they wish to or not. Now that should work just fine..................................

Everyone,

Thank you very much! You have been very helpful. This talk forum is a great idea!

Senate Bill 497, Homeowner Association Act Bill, was passed and sign by Governor Martinez. The effective date of this bill is July 1, 2013. New Mexico has an Open Meetings Act (NMSA 1978, Sections 10-15-1 to 10-5-4).

These meetings are not HOA Board meetings. A committee was loosely formed by individuals within our six HOAs to try to determine resolutions to issues related to all six HOAs. The committee is not a HOA and is not a legal entity.

The committee has a spokesperson that sets the agenda; time and place of the next meeting. The committee discusses options and course of actions to resolve issues related to all six HOAs.

A state senator, a state representative, county commissioner and a mayor has attended these meetings. These individuals gave a speech, offered ideas for a solution or said nothing.

When too many people attend these meetings, it becomes chaotic. It becomes a gripping session. Noting gets accomplished. So I can understand why the committee wants to limit the number of participants.

However, our HOA does not have adequate representation. Neither does those HOAs that are inactive. I am just trying to get my foot in the door.

As always, thanks to everyone for your input. Steve

I am not a Board member. I am a homeowner in a HOA. I do not hold an elected office and never will.

Our Board does have a representative who, in my opinion, does not keep other homeowners in our HOA adequately informed about the results of these meetings.

For many years, I have been an advocate for child victim rights and mentally disabled children. I know how to fight for anyone’s rights if I know the facts. I have no problem being an advocate for any of the six HOAs in our community whose rights have been violated.

Thanks to input from this forum, I now have enough information to get my foot in the door.

Thanks again to everyone. Take care. Steve

Actually, we had hired bookkeeping services for over 30 years. It ended this last year when I, as treasurer, volunteered to absorb those duties as I saw it as silly to pay $4,000 to check the mail, track payments and make deposits when that money could be used to address other issues. Now when someone else serves as treasurer, the bookkeeper may be rehired.

Paying for services is a great idea. However, problems can occur when the Board becomes lazy and allows the contractor to do everything without any or with limited oversight.

We actually hired someone to serve as the Architectural committee when there were no volunteers. That lasted for three years. This person, be it because of lack of oversight or certain members using the contractor to enforce non-existent rules, caused so many issues it almost brought legal action into the community. I will say that the side benefit was we actually had 70% participation at the meetings because everyone was demanding that the individual be fired.

I agree that their are benefits. However, there can also be problems when hiring property managers or other contractors. There is no one size fits all and everyone must do what they believe is best for their own Association and members.

Jon,

In the corporate world, few board members are ever paid for their services. But they also do not try to run their companies as they often lack the skills needed for day-to-day operations. Their function is strategic in that they set the long-term goals and measure management's performance against those goals. The officers and staff have a more tactical role in implementing the board's policies.

I have yet to see CC&R's that prohibits the board from hiring others to operate the association and/or paying non-board members for the services they provide.

Thanks for the chuckle suggesting that an association's Architectural Committee is on the same level as the Supreme Court.