Does a vacancy have to be filled?

We had 3 officers and 4 directors on our Board. One of the directors resigned (due to moving). With the exception of one officer, the rest of the Board would like this seat left vacant until the next Annual Election.

The Florida Statues say "Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, any vacancy occurring on the board before the expiration of a term MAY be filled by an affirmative vote of the majority of the remaining directors". Our documents use the word MAY as well.

Since it says may, as opposed to must, does a new director have to be chosen or can we leave it as it is for now? Additionally, our documents do require an odd number on the Board. If it is possible to not fill that vacant spot, can we remain at an even number (until election) or should/could we have 1 of the other directors resign to bring us back to an odd number?

Sorry, missed the 'odd number' portion of your post.

Seems obvious then if the docs. so state.

Remember not to fall below a minimum number if so stated as well.

Our by-laws are pretty basic; nothing in there about homeowners electing if we don't fill the seat.

It's hard enough to solve problems with 7 on our board and get schedules worked out to set meetings; we've always had a 5 member board until this year and it's caused far more problems than I have time to type due to 1 member with a bad attitude that doesn't play well with others. So, it would be probably better to not fill that seat and let the 1 director resign as well (she suggested it).

Our next election won't be until November.