Copy of petition to oust board member!

MaryS7 - You don't need anything fancy, just a statement as follows:

We the owners of x association request the immediate resignation of the following board members: If the board members do not immediately resign we hereby call upon the president (name) to call a special meeting on x date for the sole purpose of a vote of owners for the removal of the board members named above.

It's important to know what your by-laws permit in the event of vacancies on the Board. Once a vacancy occurs, which will if you are successful with the petition, the remaining Board members may be permitted to fill the positions at their pleasure.

Removing an elected member of a Board of Directors is possible, but should be done correctly.
Right or wrong, they have been duly elected by the members of your Association to represent them.
It should always be done with care, dignity, and due process.

Has anyone talked to these board members about your concerns? What about the other board members? How do they feel about the issue? Have you asked them politely to resign?

Know your Bylaws and CC&Rs.

Example: Have they fulfilled their obligations as an officer? In one case, one officer never attended any of the meetings. According to the bylaws, after 3 missed meetings, the rest of the board had the option to remove him as an officer on that basis. Around the 5th time, we did just that.

Also: Is that person both a director and an officer in your Association? Some legal documents allow a majority of the Board to remove an officer, but require a majority of the owners to remove a member of the Board of Directors. Thus, a person can be removed as an officer but still can be a Board member.

Removal of a director must generally take place at an annual or special meeting of the HOA. That means proper notice must be given (example 30 days notice and it may require that an agenda be included, etc.) All the basic rules that govern such meetings apply: a quorum met before any HOA business can be legally conducted, the use of proxy ballots, the use of a nominating committee that will inspect and count the ballots, verifying those voting are not in arrears, etc.

Prior to the vote, due process should be given to the board member, allowing them to speak on their own behalf and address the accusations or their conduct. Both sides should be heard, though time limits will help keep it direct and to the point.

If a majority is met, they can be removed. Then nominate and vote on someone to replace them if you choose.

Hope this helps...

Kevin,
Your response helped me a great deal. I have printed it out and will show it to the other homeowners. Thank you for keeping things in check.

Are you sure of what everything your HOA is to cover? In our HOA it is NOT the responsibility of the HOA to maintain or build fences. The HOA can remove a fence that is NOT approved, is in bad condition, or a danger at the OWNER's expense. Our HOA's essentially ONLY responsibility is to maintain lawncare. You may want to find other landscapers and get bids if not satisfied with the current care. Most of the time boards just stay with the "status quo" and don't want to bother with a bidding process each year.
I can simpathize with you on the clubhouse decorating issue. I had a "Designer" who insisted we accept her bid to "decorate" the clubhouse. I told her we would entertain the idea if she came to a board meeting and submitted the bid in front of everyone. Instead she chose to go behind my back and say that I told her "No". The next election, I quit/moved, and guess who got a board spot? She then got to decorate the clubhouse spending quite a bit of our little reserves. Shortly after, the new board found out why you don't spend money on every project/desire. Unfornately, it was at the expense of all the homeowners.
The crooked board also broke the rules and made it impossible to vote them out and extended their terms to 2 years to cover their mistakes. I was able with a few other members to get them to do a few things correctly by contacting a lawyer but NOT suing. Just wanted to send them a letter with a GROUP of owners informing them of the rules and their failure to do so. It did work and they had to follow the rules a bit closer. It just cost me money to put down a retainer and pay the hourly rate to the attorney. If you pursue this option, make sure you have fellow members willing to chip in to pay. You can take this amount off your taxes in some cases if this is investment property. An option you may want to look into as well.

Hello all,
Just to let all that responded know..I am very familar with my CCR's and By-laws. I know what the BOD's fiduciary responsibilities are. I have lived here for 23 yrs. and have been very active in my community. I have also worked for our past PM. Our Assoc. does cover our vinyl siding and the replacement/repair of our fences as well as our landscaping. It is a huge responsibility. There are 325 units in our community. The current BOD has violated our By-laws and when called on it..shruggs it off. We have asked them time and again to please read the by-laws and learn our governing documents..to no avail. They just motor along doing exactly what they want. We can't even get the minutes read and approved in Roberts Rules. Our Secretary has had 2 incidents that under normal circumstances would have had her removed from the board. Our President sits in meetings with that "deer in the headlights look" and makes excuses for them all. It is the sorriest group we have had in years. But, boy howdie, they can spend money on decorating our clubhouse!! This neighborhood has always been divided as some people are very self-serving. They want on the BOD their friends that will take care of their homes and the Hell with the rest of the neighborhood. It is the "what have you done for me lately?" people.
Our annual meeting is this May. We have 2 board members up for re-election. I am thinking at this point we should get as many proxies as possible and vote at least the 2 of them out then take care of the rest by pressure. This sounds simple but I know it is not. Any thoughts on this method?
I want to thank all of you again for all your advice. I will share it with the rest of our members.

Mary:

I do agree with Roger, May is not that far off and it may be better to focus attention on getting others elected than to try a recall.

For the record I do sympathize with you, just because you ask a question on here doesn't mean you know nothing about how an HOA runs and what yours is responsible for. It is possible for an HOA to be responsible for fences and unless you are on the board there isn't much you can do about lawn care because that is a total board decision. I applaud you for trying to make a difference and going about it the right way. Good luck with your efforts.

MaryS7 - As for Robert's Rules of Order, if your by-laws don't require the associatin follow them, than your assoc. is not required to either, end of story with Robert's. As for taping a meeting, you should notify the participants in advance you would like to record the meeting. It is a bit aggressive for a non-board member or non-officer to record a meeting without anyone knowing. If the board members were not able to approve the minutes in March, what do you expect them to do to approve them other than ask the remaining board member to approve them. Asking for her to move her resignation to the night of the meeting may work to everyone's advantage especially yours because it allows a person to be elected at an election meeting!! Usually resignations aren't timely, happen mid-term, so the 2 board members can't use the excuse that they had to appoint someone right away. Gather your supporters and elect who you want at the May meeting. Are you running for one of the open board spots?

One more note of interest...the board member who moved her resignation to the night of the meeting in order to approve the minutes was a highly qualified board member. She left because of the Secretaries caustic ways. To see her resign just reinforced the need to remove the rest of them.