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HOA appointment

Started by TomM15 • 10 replies • 1587 views

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TomM15 (South Carolina)
Posts: 8
Posted:
My HOA Board od Directors appointed the President's wife to a vacant position on the BOD even though members of the community had run for the position. The BOD didn't have a quorum at the yearly meeting and so they appointed the President's wife. This appointment gives this one household 40 % of the BOD voting power (2/5 votes) is this legal. Our BOD only appoints new BOD members once vetted that have the same view as the President and he can manipulate. All 5 BOD have never been appointed for lack of quorum by have appointed each other year after year.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Tom,

Although appointing more than one individual from the same household to the Board is something I disagree with, it's typically not prohibited unless your governing documents prohibit it.

It appears that the underlying issue is the need to obtain a quorum at the annual meeting. This can be done by proxies (if your governing documents allow for proxies). You obtain proxies through hard work (mailings, knocking on doors, etc.).
GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491
Posted:
Tom, While most posters agree that it is a bad practice to have members from the same household serving on the Board at the same time, unless your CC&R's prohibit it, it is allowable. I've seen husbands and wives that were in lockstep and others who disagreed about everything. While it may seem more incestuous, it is really no different than two best friends serving. Since your HOA can't seem to stir itself to meet quorum to hold an election, it would seem that the majority of your members don't care who serves on the Board.
Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions
CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563
Posted:
Yep, Tom, I'm with Tim & Glen. Your real problem is a membership that refuses to be active citizens of your HOA. Perhaps you & some likeminded owners can coalesce an bring about positive change. Rally them to gather proxies, as Tim suggests, also might work.

You also might try circulating a petition to amend your docs so that only one member per household can serve on the Board simultaneously.

As you can see though, any of these options require a strong core group of supporters. That takes effort.
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
Tom

I agree with others. I do not like it either.

If I read your numbers correctly, the remaining BOD of 4 voted to allow her to fill the 5th spot vacancy. Typically the BOD must agree/vote to approve filling a vacancy so she got at least 3 of the four to agree.

As I said, I do not like it but if done properly it is what it is.

DaveD3 (Michigan)
Posts: 796
Posted:
You said APPOINTED to a vacant position.
Was the position vacant due to someone resigning? If so, then it's likely in your documents that it's the board's responsibility to fill that spot. Others can "run" for the position, but it's solely up to the board to actually appoint someone to fill the remainder of the vacant seat's term.

I for one, see nothing wrong with a husband and wife serving. I know that's not a popular opinion though.
FrankS10 (Kansas)
Posts: 276
Posted:
"Since your HOA can't seem to stir itself to meet quorum to hold an election, it would seem that the majority of your members don't care who serves on the Board."

That may be the case for this HOA, but not for all. A typical reaction I have observed for a dysfunctional HOA is for most people to want to avoid conflict as opposed to being drug into it. In fact I believe if most people were comfortable standing up for what is right we would not have too many discussions on sites like this. Whether it is con-artists or bullies, they prey on people and a human weakness to not want to be unpopular by being seen as a trouble maker. Phrases like "bury your heads in the sand" were born because they accurately describe human behavior, IMHO.
JH3 (Maryland)
Posts: 67
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By TimB4 on 09/18/2013 3:19 PM
Tom,

Although appointing more than one individual from the same household to the Board is something I disagree with, it's typically not prohibited unless your governing documents prohibit it.

It appears that the underlying issue is the need to obtain a quorum at the annual meeting. This can be done by proxies (if your governing documents allow for proxies). You obtain proxies through hard work (mailings, knocking on doors, etc.).

I completely disagree. Typically this is prohibited in almost every association, to prevent this exact scenario. You only have one vote per unit, the husband and wife can both vote, but only one will count.

If you dont have a quorum, you dont have an annual meeting, and the board can appoint someone to the position regardless of who ran for it. However, you need to hold a reconvened annual meeting since quorum requirements were not met, and then state laws come into play. Some states allow you to elect board members without a quorum, others do not and require you to hold elections until you do have a quorum (good luck).
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JH3 on 09/21/2013 12:29 AM
Posted By TimB4 on 09/18/2013 3:19 PM
Tom,

Although appointing more than one individual from the same household to the Board is something I disagree with, it's typically not prohibited unless your governing documents prohibit it.

It appears that the underlying issue is the need to obtain a quorum at the annual meeting. This can be done by proxies (if your governing documents allow for proxies). You obtain proxies through hard work (mailings, knocking on doors, etc.).


I completely disagree. Typically this is prohibited in almost every association, to prevent this exact scenario. You only have one vote per unit, the husband and wife can both vote, but only one will count.

JH,

The one vote per unit is certainly typical. However, that applies to general membership meetings and votes by the membership. It does not apply to meetings of the Board of Directors or votes by Directors.

Directors get one vote each. Directors only vote at Board meetings.

Members get one vote per lot. Members only vote at general membership meetings.

Officers of the Association have no voting rights.
CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563
Posted:
JH3, many many HOA's were never updated after developer turnover. Developers often have no qualifications in the original doc (often the bylaws) about director qualifications.

Tim is correct about the votes per unit.
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
TOM

Several things.

Proxies are allowed under SC Corporate Law. Your Covenants/Bylaws may ban their usage but if not, proxies are allowed.

Our SC ByLaws say: The directors shall be Members or spouses of such Members; provided, however, no person and his or her spouse may serve on the Board at the same time.

Hope this helps.

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