Annual / Regular Meeting Conflict (Tonight)

Started by StanM4 • 8 replies • 1376 views

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StanM4 (California)
Posts: 26

Posted:

Ca Senior Community Condo. Tonight we're having our Annual/Regular meeting. Per Bylaws the annual meet is held 1st to elect 3 new BOD. Also, at the annual meet members are to receive the new budget. A new budget has not been discussed/approved yet. Some BOD and Mgmt have decided to have the regular meet 1st to approve a budget before the annual meet and before new BOD are elected.

3 out of 5 BODs will fight to have regular meet 1st. What options are there if the meeting can not be held as per Bylaws.

I'm new to the game and am running for the Board. Thanks in advance for your input.

Stan

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062

Posted:

I see this as one meeting with two items on the agenda:

1) elect directors
2) approve/disapprove budget

OR, are you saying that there will be:

A) a membership meeting to elect directors

B) a Board meeting to approve the budget.

If the issue is 1/2, I don't see a problem as nothing changes, the membership still has their say.
If the issue is A/B, I don't see a problem as the new Board can revisit the budget and approve a different one.

StanM4 (California)
Posts: 26

Posted:

There are 2 separate meetings. Annual to elect new BODs & review budget. Regular meeting for normal business to follow. At the Annual meet , BOD is required to present approved budget. BOD/Mgmt has failed to approve new budget. Bylaws state Annual meet 1st, Regular follows. Some BOD and Mgmt want to do their own thing even it violates Bylaws. We're hoping to get new BOD elected tonight. We have a mess here.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

I don’t know why the management company is weighing on this at all – they work for the association, not the other way around, so it’s not their call as to which meeting goes first.

Does the board HAVE to vote on the new budget the night of the annual meeting? It may be better to use it to present the budget, discuss its highlights and give people a chance to respond. A deadline for sending in written comments can also be issued in case people can't attend the annual meeting. Better yet, if there's a website, the board could post the proposed budget on the day of the meeting with a summary of its highlights. Two or three days in advance would be even better so people have some time to review it in detail.

Good luck to you on running for a spot. Should you win (and even if you don't), this is a great opportunity to review previous years' budget, if you haven't done so already to see which line items have gone up faster than budgeted, and then find out why. Sometimes unexpected events throw an item out of whack - or the budget was set too low in the first place and needs to be adjusted. A deeper dive would have you looking at contracts to see if renegotiating terms or finding a new contractor would be warranted. Don't forget the reserve budget - have you have a reserve study? How closely is the board following its recommendations? Is a review of the reserve account necessary to find other savings plans that can yield more in interest without threatening the principal amount, etc., etc.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

I'm not sure about CA, and certainly not your docs, but it's possible there is a notification requirement where the proposed budget has to be delivered to the members more than 5 minutes before the members meeting.

My association docs say the budget has to be supplied to the members at least 30 days before it takes effect, I don't know offhand if we have any other requirements.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062

Posted:

Stan,

As the meeting was last night, can you give us an update?

Tim

StanM4 (California)
Posts: 26

Posted:

We had several things going on at the meeting. It all started when mgmt. stated that the current BOD would appreciate a break since they devoted their time for several yrs. Three of us (M) applied for the 3 vacant positions opening. I assume that mgmt freaked out and the next thing I knew 2 of the BOD applied again – the 3rd decline to run. The 2 re-applying were able to get another member to apply (F) who has never attended 1 meeting after 3 yrs. It became obvious that mgmt. did not want the 3 guys as BOD.
Mgmt always ran the meetings. BODs just set at the table raising their hand to either make a motion and to 2nd it. Members never rec’d a copy ( or have it read) of the minutes nor an inc/exp report. If we wanted a copy, we had to request a copy from mgmt. We meet quarterly. Meeting ended usually in 15-20 minutes with maybe 10 members attending.
Annual/Regular meeting: In the past, the annual meeting was held 1st per CC&Rs. Unannounced the BODs/mgmt. decided to hold the regular meet 1st. Reason…..to select inspector to count votes and approve next year budget. CA law states inspector(s) to be selected when all candidates are approved and before ballots are mailed.
3 BODs/ mgmt. knowing that this was going to create a problem, they invited the Assoc attorney and mgmt. co VP. Bottom line, there wasn’t much we could do.
Voting: there are 60 units in the Sr, complex. Normally there are about 30-35 votes rec’d. This time there were 54 votes. Amazing! The lead inspectors and I requested at the meet to look at the ballots and outer envelopes. We were told no. We would have to request such an inspection and we were NOT allowed to examine the envelopes, only the ballots. (I’ll ask for a clarification on this in another post).
Vote results: none of the 3 guys were voted in. One BOD term was up & the other resigned.
We’re not done yet. We lost the battle but not the war. We don’t want to lose the Sr. complex. It was noted that our reserve acct is about 14% of where it should be. They raised the dues this yr by $200/yr and stated no increase next yr. However, we found out there will be a special assessment next yr. that is kept secret. Also, it’s believed that approx. $30k can’t be accounted for. No audit has been done in about 3 yrs.
Hope the above helps. There’s more to the story…a lot more. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll try to answer them. Sorry it took so long to answer. I needed some time off.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

I'm sorry to say, Stan, that I can't follow your writing.

Can u you please maybe give us the results of the annual meeting? Is there a board of directors?

Did none of you homeowners ask the HOA attorney how the election could possibly be valid when the inspectors only were chosen that evening?? did none of you ask the attorney ANY questions??

How many votes did each known candidate get? And each other candidate? This tally must be published in CA within, I think, 15 days--should be in the newsletter, web site or bulletin board.

What the heck is the "Senior Complex? Is it separate HOA somehow?

Btw, it's not unusual for PMs to basically preside over the meetings especially if boards are lazy, uninformed, etc. I dislike that, but it does happen.

Draft board mtg. minutes must be made available to Owners 30 days after they're written. Request them in writing. There's no requirement that Owners be supplied with inc/exp. statements in CA.

StanM4 (California)
Posts: 26

Posted:

Hi KerryL1....Sorry for any confusion. I tried to give a little history. Now to answer your questions…..
1.There is a Board. The 3 were re-elected, 1 new, 1 resigned. Total 4 BODs out of 5
2.1 had 32 votes while the other 5 had between 23-28 votes (?)
3.Yes, attorney was questioned, sited violation. Board president, mgmt. and lawyer (mgmt. lawyer) do what they want.
4.True about the 15 days. Patiently waiting. If the notification is anything like the one for voting on CC&R back in July…..it probably won’t occur. Another violation.
5.Senior complex…. maybe I should have called “senior community.” We have 7 bldgs – 60 units. This is another upcoming challenge. Mgmt lawyers have identified the community as aPD vs a Condo. They were built in 1963. 1st as apartments, shortly thereafter to condos. That’s another challenge that I’m working on.
6.Yes…we have a lazy board that meets quarterly, likes to do their own thing and spend $$$$.
7.Minutes…carbon copies of the last meeting. Nothing specific.

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