Replacing a resigned board member

Is there a time limit on which the board has to replace a board member who resigned? My understanding is that we have had people volunteer to fill the spot but they are holding off until a future date to fill the spot. Thank you for any advice or information.

Not really, but if you have people interested in the spot, why hold it off? This is particularly important if you have an odd number of board members - by having the right number, you avoid ties. You might also avoid postponing meetings if someone else has to miss a meeting, endangering your quorum in order to hold the meeting in the first place.

If you're on the board, point this out and ask the folks who are interested to attend the next meeting. You can spend part of it having each one give a 3-5 minute presentation, telling you how long they've lived in the community, background, what they'd bring to the board, etc. The board should also have a few questions to ask each candidate (there are old conversations on this website regarding questions you might ask).

You don't have to make a decision that night - at the following meeting, discuss who was most impressive and then vote by ballot. Contact that person after the meeting and tell them to be ready to attend the next one. Before they show up, it would be helpful for someone to sit down with them to present an overview of how the board works. If you have some sort of board member handbook, that's even better - have them read it.

Length of time until the next election meeting may play a part in the decision to replace (appoint) or not. I know it did for us.

In our case, we were more than mid way through the year. And we had the option to appoint a Board Member, not a requirement to do so. If we were to appoint someone, they were only guaranteed to serve until the next election meeting . . . at which point the owners would vote on a permanent Board Member. For the existing Board, it was more work to appoint someone, bring them up to speed, allow unlimited access to HOA documents/contracts/financials/legal dealings/etc., only to potentially have to do the same in a few months when a new person was elected. For us, there were more drawbacks to filling the position than there were to leaving it vacant . . . so we left it vacant until the next election.

In my small HOA, no one ever runs for the Board. Our owners tend to be apathetic or unable to look past what they can see from behind their own window shades. Willing to offer corrective instructions based on likes and dislikes, but never justifying their grievances by relying on our organizing docs except to say "it's in there" or "that's what I was told when I bought my house."

Recruiting is a full time effort. So, we would gladly take anyone interested no matter how short the remaining time. There will be no competition at the next election. Even if she decides not to run at the next election, we benefit from having a better informed owner.