Record request vs Harrassment

HOA Treasurer - South Carolina

Apologies if this has been hashed multiple times.

I am curious to better understand the definitions or criteria that other board members may use to determine if a record request is valid or harassment. In our state as I understand it, there is a requirement that any request be (and I paraphrase)

done in good faith
specify the purpose
specify with detail the documents requested

I am currently struggling with both a disgruntled homeowner and confrontational board members that seem to be focused on "finding fault" with previous boards. The entire board of nine was recently elected as the previous board all resigned, mainly due to antagonism from a faction of the community that used social media to attack and accuse the previous board of wrong doing. This group of course is led by the disgruntled homeowner mentioned previously. I currently provide a Budget vs actual expenditure report each month that is available to the homeowners and a Monthly P&L also available to the homeowners. I understand the value of transparency.

My questions are:
How do others handle either extensive or repeated requests for financial information from residents?
How do I handle the fact that information may not be available from boards prior to my involvement (but the same fiscal year due to election timing). I cant show what doesn't exist. What is my liability?
How do others feel repeated and antagonistic requests from fellow board members should be handled.

(ex. send me the receipts for a particular transaction that was listed in the board meeting report). Should copies of individual receipts be supplied simply because a board member asks? ( i have made myself available for them to review the current and/or previous monthly records that include the receipts but none have asked. they appear to want copies, i believe to share with the disgruntled homeowner (who has a "go fund me" to sue the HOA)

Just an observation, with the expansion of social media and digital photography, how is it ok for a resident to be able to make copies of all associations records? My belief is that any member should have the opportunity to see, review, ask questions however copies just provide an opportunity for information to be shared publicly without the control of the board. Are we in an age where we should just give everyone read access to quickbooks and post copies of all documents online. What is the purpose of a record request? We have had record reviews that resulted in copies of checks being posted online without removing banking information, accusations made without full knowledge of the fact or the complete picture, and neighborhood division. all by a small group of residents and their board member friends

Thank you for your time

Same answer as Geno, you have to give them if they request them, they don't need a reason. You could try a viewing and copying fee schedule resolution. If they find wrong doing in the previous board, then let them spend the money to sue, that is their right.

They can use social media all they want as long as they state facts and even if they don't state facts, record it and answer it at the appropriate time with consent from all board members. You state may not be available due to the fiscal year or election, then to them it would mean you do have something, so you have to let them see it and copy it. You ask, how do you handle extensive requests? You do things by the book and properly then you should have no issues giving copies of items allowed under the law.

Receipts should be provided, especially to a a board member if requested. They are allowed to make copies at their expense. Yes, a resident can make copies of anything available on the list of documents under the law. You can black out the identification information.

Seems like your previous was guilty of something if they all resigned, you'll probably be in a bit of a mess for a few months, it will pass.

Viewing and provision of copies has long been a real pita for Secretaries and Treasurers.

My view, believing the need to be utterly transparent, is simply to scan and post all records possible. This requires some form of online storage, but, in the end, may save everyone time and effort.

The concept of paying for copies seems a bit out of our time.

Do not work for a management company.

On the Board in the neighborhood where I live, but not an officer. Am on the Board and the Secretary for a neighborhood where I have rental properties - if you do a search you can see my path of discovery with this rental neighborhood - lot of older folks, and they needed help, so I jumped on board to try and fix their issues.

I was on the Board of another neighborhood from 1997-2007, was President for 5 years, and Secretary for three.

I have average computer skills, and, while dependent on the size of the neighborhood (current rental neighborhood has 189 single family homes and no management company), it would, I believe be very easy to just scan those things that aren't already electronically developed and presented and then put them on the neighborhood website (with proper protections to ensure only members have access).

Is it a different concept than most Bylaws discuss - i.e. no one has to make appointment to view anything - everything is open and free (except for the cost of the website and the time of the volunteer putting the info on the website) - yeah, kinda hard to get ones head around it.

For large neighborhoods this won't work with volunteers - and, the level of effort required for a management company would need to be negotiated for the contract between HOA and MC.

That brings up another aspect of my situation. You obviously are "missing" documentation that you cannot make "appear". What is your response to a homeowner that says "why don't you have XXX"?

It just doesn't exist, not my problem? I joke, but how do you get homeowners to understand that it has happened in the past, and I am not responsible for the past, only correcting things and moving forward.

I researched the records, searching higha so low among anyone with anything. Found out three presidents back, the fellow died unexpectedly and his family came and threw everything the didn’t want away within 3-4 days. Everything from 1996- 2012 or so is gone.

I tell anyone who asks exactly what happened.

If you don’t know what happened, I would first try and find out the circumstances and then explain you expended significant time and effort and found x, then more from y, but that is all there is.

If anyone wanted to give me grief, I would ask them to from a search committee to try and help find more.

Witch hunting has always been a problem and will always bee a problem with HOA's. It's like dating that person who keeps insisting you have cheated on them and you haven't. No convincing and you keep going in circles.

It's really in the way you take it. Be patient and be open. Don't argue over it. Some answers will never be good enough. Accept that criticism but don't take it personally. Your basically in the complaint department of your HOA. They want records, then they have to pay for the copies. They want to hear the backstory, then they should have been more involved.

Sheila,

I would like to indicate that you are making a very broad statement regarding my desire to do my job. Indeed, I take it very seriously and have implemented a very thorough record keeping process. I am committed to the time necessary to do the job to the best of my abilities. This is far from a "its too hard" approach. My questions revolve around the balance between being open and being a door mat. To be expected to jump whenever a person has a request, regardless of how frivolous) is not appropriate especially from other board members. Just to be clear I already do provide regular reporting for the residents that is freely available. I have nothing to hide.

I do not work FOR the board I work WITH the board.

I appreciate everyone's responses, yes openness and transparency is appropriate, allowing the information to be available is good. Creating a fair and consistent process is key.

I have created a committee that includes homeowners to discuss and create the procedures to insure fair and reasonable requests by residents. As many have stated I expect to have a "price per page" as that seems to me to be a fair and appropriate method of minimizing the frivolous nature of some requests.

Kerry,

It is very general, "records of the association" language. Our bylaws are clear that the records are available for review, SC non profit - and recently passed HOA bill indicate that the have access after providing a reason with specificity, specific documents requested and done in good faith.

Its again vague in the details of what a record is, as well as whether it can/should be copied.

I again have no desire to hide anything, and believe that members are entitled to know how the money is being spent. However, keyboard warriors that fail to even make the effort to show up at board meetings, where questions would be answered and information discussed, that demand copies of things with the statement simply of "because I am entitled" in my opinion are a bit much.

Again, every homeowner is entitled to get any questions they have answered, and be provided documentation when appropriate. I look forward to the feedback from the committee being created to review and put procedures in place.

I know that any one person, no matter who they are, is subject to a bias that will influence their decisions. I want to insure that the a group makes decisions, not just me. After all, the homeowners really have the power. Then whatever the outcome, its simply a matter of following established guidelines consistently.

Indeed we have been watching HB 3886. Just went into effect

A245, R245, H3886

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Crawford, Ryhal, Hamilton, Sandifer, Fry, Putnam, Clemmons, Yow, Anderson, Johnson, Hardee, Huggins, Hewitt, Duckworth, Bowers, Sottile, Crosby, Felder, Bennett, Thigpen, Whipper, Brown, Hixon, Taylor, King, Daning, Spires, Henderson, Pitts, Kirby, White, McCravy, Hill, Gagnon, West, Wheeler, Davis, Murphy, Hayes, Ott, V.S. Moss, Lowe, Jordan and McKnight
Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\19130wab17.docx
Companion/Similar bill(s): 82, 104, 122, 576, 3301

Introduced in the House on March 2, 2017
Introduced in the Senate on April 4, 2017
Last Amended on April 26, 2018
Passed by the General Assembly on May 1, 2018
Governor's Action: May 17, 2018, Signed

Short and in my view, rather useless.

Having a litany of issues with current HOA-
1). Our by-laws state ‘The books, records, and papers of the assoc shall at all times during reasonable business hours be subject to inspection by any member or his/her agent , attorney for any proper purpose.
A) I asked the president and his response was he didn’t have them and it would take a month to obtain them. I informed him this was in violation of the bylaws. Yes, he was upset at me.

The reason I asked for them was to determine the validity of any bylaw changes and CCR changes since the previous HOA boards may not have been conducting business properly.

We have been in the HOA since the inception but lived out of town prior to building which was finished 1 year ago and the lack of consistent enforcement in a variety of areas is concerning.
Basically, the wording in some CCR rules is poor and the current Hoa board is tired of discussing them.

Probably. I became sidetracked. OP regarding records inspection and frustration with that then cascaded from there. My apologies.

Not at all useless.
It REQUIRES that 'rules and regulations', in addition to CCRs, be actually RECORDED as public documents to be enforceable at all.
This prevents a lot of the annual BS of constant change at the whim of the BOD with 'input' from committees.

Overall, AN EXCELLENT START.

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