Newish Board Member - Not sure where to start

I want to start by saying thank you for all the help I have read over the last year or so lurking and reading all the advice from everyone on the forum. I really don't know where to begin, so I apologize for a long post.

Background
I am a board member "President" of a small 8 unit community in the Chicago, Illinois area. During my first year on the board I tried to go along with what the board had done in the past as the other two members have been on the board for several years and this was the first year the community had engaged a property manager. Prior to hiring the property manager the community was run pretty hands off collecting Dues, paying bills, etc. Due to poor fiscal management and a lack of care from the community we have had to raise dues each year for the last 2 years, surprisingly no one in the community batted an eye to the raises.

Current Situation
During the last board meeting (November) (3 people showed up including myself and the Treasurer) painting the community area was discussed. Due to the raise in the Dues, to help build our "Reserves," the project was sidelined. Last week the community received an email from the PM noting that the common areas was going to be painted. When I reached out the PM his response was "the Treasurer really wanted it done so it was scheduled." After some back and forth with the PM and Treasurer the response was that we were ahead of budget through January so it was scheduled. Being an Accountant and former IRS Agent I have major concerns with the accounting but have been told by the Treasurer and PM that I am wrong. For example, all the money in our bank account is considered reserves.

I am sorry for the long and disjointed post. I guess I am really looking for some advice on how to move forward, suggestions on how to broach the subject that the accounting is a mess, and really just build a strong HOA.

I would think the entire board would have to vote to approve the paint job. Having room in the budget to do it would be one of the factors in making the decision, but by itself means nothing without a board vote.

Try to get a handle on the operating budget vs the reserve budget. The operating funds should be held separately from the reserves. It's not unusual to roll over a surplus in the operating budget for a year into the reserves, but again, that requires board approval (unless it's called for in your governing documents).

Don't let yourself be steamrolled into things just because "that's the way it has always been done". And good luck to you in your new position.

Either way, "all the money in our bank account is considered reserves," doesn't sound right at all.

Thank you all for the responses. The independent views helped me calm down a little.

My understanding is that the Treasurer was complaining to the PM regarding the state of the hallway and to appease her the painting was scheduled. There have been no meetings since our last meeting (if there were I was not informed and this would constitute a violation of the recent Palm II court ruling in Illinois). The board has never had regular meetings which is something I am really working to institute as both state law and our docs require we meet 4 times a year.

The reason for the quotes around the President title is because we have been told by the PM that the titles don't matter. As far as the operating and reserve budgets go, we only maintain one budget. The HOA has never had a reserve study or capital plan performed and the reserves are not monitored against future needs just the idea that $1,000 per unit is a good starting place, which we are far below. I had high hopes that having a PM would help to enlighten the other board members but I guess that hasn't happened.

Thanks again. I will keep doing my research and presenting information to the board and community to hopefully get more involvement and care from the other owners.

Mike
You need to get the BOD to buy into having a Reserve Fund and how it is used.

Thanks for the comments and the support, and I agree with you. Now I just need the rest of the board and community on board with some changes.

The PM was hired prior to my involvement with the board and the decision to hire was made prior to my ownership in the community (18 months ago). The decision was made to lift some weight off the former president and treasurer. I agree it is not necessary but I don't believe I could trust the treasurer with our finances even though I think our current situation is not ideal.

Hopefully with a few new owners in the building things will slowly change.