Board Members Duties to homeowners

Jack first start with the "laws" for your community which are the Arts of Inc, Declaration, Bylaws, etc. From there you should be able to answer most of your post's questions. Most if not all state's laws referencing HOA's are different in some manner - as this forum is made up of folks nationally, it would be next to impossible for us to give information/advice, without first YOU knowing what your governing documents state. From that point of information you, and members here, can point you in the direction of local/state laws/codes which impact upon your particular state, or municipality.

The Articles of Incorporation are filed with the State. That usually refers to your status as a Corporation. It can be Non-Profit (most are) or For-Profit. This is only if your an incorporated HOA. There's always the possibility your not which is still legal.
The Convenants and Restrictions are filed at your local COUNTY courthouse. They should be available for review upon request and go with the deed of your home. Matter of fact, these should have been read prior to purchasing your home. Many don't know that or don't care. The CC&R's are the overriding documents/rules in the HOA.
The By-laws are the everyday rules of the HOA. They can be filed with the CC&R's in some states but are usually just maintained by the HOA itself. They are similar to the CC&R's but can be overriden by them. They are also the easiest rules to change and should reflect the rules the HO want.
There could be Archectual Review (ARB) or Archectual Control Committee (ACC) documentation/committee. They are responsible for the oustide appearance of the property. They work with the board and have their own set of rules that coincide with the CC&R's. The ARB/ACC is optional for some HOA's or the only thing they have.
You sound pretty new to all of this. It's pretty overwhelming at first. However, you came to the best site for real information about HOA's. Many other websites the owner's are more into complaining than actually getting educated. Read over other posts in here and it should help you. There are many posters here that are very good.

Who do I contact to get access to the records here involving money? I have owned 11 houses, (built 6 of them), but never was in a hoa untill we moved to FL. It has turned out to be a fiasco for the owners.We sold & left. We looked for a house here for a year and bought this out of desperation. It turns up there is an HOA here, but it is not active. My primary concern is finding out if everyone pays their dues and if not what can you do. The President said they are working on it. They hired a lawyer. I asked who and was told it was not in order for me to know. My dues pay his fee, to some degree. The treasurer will not talk about it either. These people are not as old as my children. Is that a consideration?

Jack, in answer to your questions:
1) The duties of the Board members to the homeowners are to act in good faith, manage the affairs of the HOA, and (hopefully) they will be available and responsive to members.
2) Not necessarily required to take phone calls but it would be nice if they did.
3) The laws regarding their responsibilities normally are in the By-laws of the HOA. These should be provided to all owners. If you don't have them request a copy in writing from your Board of Directors. Also, if Incorporated there are state laws regarding requirements of corporations with which the HOA needs to comply - such as availability of records to members and conduct of meetings.
4) Homeowners do have the right to know who is delinquent in their assessments WHEN a written request is made given a justifiable reason for knowing. These records should normally be maintained as confidential.
5) The Board is not required to place a lien on a property.
6) The primary document controlling your HOA is the Declaration of CC&Rs which is available from your County Clerk's office. Next look to the By-laws for organizational structure and function. Your HOA may have Rules and Regulations. Also, there can be City, State and and Federal laws which apply.

Jack, I'm sure he just means that there is no "requirement" to do so, but that they CAN if that is one of the options they have available for collecting past dues.

Frankly, we have had numerous attorneys tell us that collection agencies are not the optimal way for HOAs to go in collecting past dues. Liens are about the cleanest, although not immediate.

But for HOAs that only have annual and not monthly dues, liens are a good way, but not the ONLY way to go.

Thanks to all you concerned people. I am getting a lot of input. Keep it coming.