What defines minimum meeting

Started by MarqA1 • 8 replies • 1871 views

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MarqA1 (Michigan)
Posts: 24

Posted:

Very dysfunctional board.

Our Bylaws state that we have to have an annual meeting which we tried over the summer but less than quorum of home owners showed up so Board said “we tried”.

Another part of Bylaws state we have to review and approve budget, which we did not, so I say a Board meeting is needed but others seem content to wait till next year.

So what defines minimum meeting, one you tried to have or one with Board?

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Welcome, MarqA. Are you on the Board? How many are on it? How many should be on it according to your bylaws?

Many states permit homeowners to mail in their votes--absentee ballots Does yours? Do your bylaws or state laws permit proxies so that owners do not have to attend the annual meeting and election?

Usually a meeting is defined something like a quorum of the Board at the same time and place to discuss HOA business, such as a budget. If your bylaws say the Board must meet annually to craft a budget, then the Board must. Do your bylaws say that homeowners must approve your budget?? Or does it require just Board approval?? What do your state laws say about HOA budgets?

How large is your HOA? Do you have a property mgr.?

sorry about all of the questions, but please fill in some of the gaps in your original post. That way, you'll get more replies.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

I am not nor do I play a lawyer.

An annual Meeting does not require a Quorum unless there are items to be voted on. No Quorum, no voting.

I also believe if a budget is not ratified, then the existing budget stays in place but I am shaky on this.

If you are you are under Declarant control, then little matters as the Declarant can generally do as they wish.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Good point, JohnC. Does the developer still control your HOA, Marq? Was your annual meeting supposed to be for the purpose of electing a board of directors?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Marq,

This question has come up before. Since our State has an ombudsman for HOA/COAs, I even posed the question to them. This was their response:

"I did a little research on your question and based on my reading, it appears that the association probably has not met its obligation until it follows through on the alternatives available under your governing documents for a lack of quorum - adjourn and reconvene, etc. Annual meetings are too important to throw to the wayside because quorum could not be obtained in one attempt."

Here is a link to that thread on this forum:

http://www.hoatalk.com/Search/ForumSearch/tabid/87/forumid/1/postid/131234/view/topic/Default.aspx

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 09/17/2014 3:11 PM
Marq,

This question has come up before. Since our State has an ombudsman for HOA/COAs, I even posed the question to them. This was their response:

"I did a little research on your question and based on my reading, it appears that the association probably has not met its obligation until it follows through on the alternatives available under your governing documents for a lack of quorum - adjourn and reconvene, etc. Annual meetings are too important to throw to the wayside because quorum could not be obtained in one attempt."

Here is a link to that thread on this forum:

http://www.hoatalk.com/Search/ForumSearch/tabid/87/forumid/1/postid/131234/view/topic/Default.aspx

Tim

Sounds like a typical lawyer/ambiguous reply....based on my reading.....

That ombudsman...based on his reading...could easily be challenged so in reality, what use is he anymore then what free advice is worth? I say nothing.

I do not believe the link gave anymore of an answer then the wishy/washy ombudsmen gave.

I do agree on following through on alternatives in ones governing documents...assuming such exists.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

I disagree John.

In the other thread, you agreed that a quorum is only a qualifier of a meeting.
The meeting was held, thus the annual meeting obligation was met. Business simply could not be conducted.

What the Ombudsman was saying that the Board has a duty to try and obtain a quorum so business could be conducted. Therefore, without at least recessing and reconvening the meeting at least once to try and obtain a quorum or simply adjourn the meeting and attempt to hold another one, the Board would have failed to do their due diligence in trying to obtain a quorum.

attached is the full question asked and answer provided from the ombudsman.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

I hit submit before I attached the document, so here it is.

It should be noted that the ombudsman is not an attorney and does not provide legal advice. They are like us, someone who has had some training and/or experience in the field and are providing responses to the best of their ability based on that training, experience and any research that they do.

Tim

📎 Attachments (1):

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📝1917225947471.doc(28 KB)

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JohnC46 on 09/17/2014 1:06 PM
I am not nor do I play a lawyer.

An annual Meeting does not require a Quorum unless there are items to be voted on. No Quorum, no voting.

I also believe if a budget is not ratified, then the existing budget stays in place but I am shaky on this.

If you are you are under Declarant control, then little matters as the Declarant can generally do as they wish.

My goal is to have us vote at the next annual meeting to be placed under the authority of the condominium laws for condominiums that were established 1984 or later. We were established in 1981. Currently our budget does not have to be ratified, but if we vote to abide by the newer condominium laws our budget would need to be ratified and if not ratified that we need to go with the previous budget.

This part of the newer laws concerns me since as a senior community many are on a fixed income and under no circumstance will they want the fees increased. But we will see what happens at our annual meeting in February.

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