Three committees in townhome HOA, same Chair

ChrisM29 (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

We live in a 26 unit townhome association. The president nominates the same board member to chair the ARB, the Landscaping Committee, and the Painting Committee. Any suggestions who to alter this? I don't think Florida has a law against this, but fairness is one matter. The lack of any committee meetings or responses to emails from committe members is another.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

Chris is there a line of people wanting to sign up for these committees? It sounds to me like you have an active board member that wants to help keep the community in good shape. I bet they would love to get support from others. You live in a very small HOA and it ain't easy to get volunteers.

I live in a Community that has nearly 1500 homes and we struggle to get volunteers for even our Social events. This is usually the easy Committee to be a part of in HOAs.

ChrisM29 (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

Yes, we are lucky to have many people willing to serve. For example, 4 serve on an ad hoc pet policy committee. I know what it's like when you don't. The trouble with the same person running all three major committees is this individual prefers to work alone. At the annual meeting, this individual made a 30-minute AV presentation of paint colors without ever having held a single committee meeting (other than meeting with the prez). A paint committee formed as a result of this presentation to give some input, but again, no meetings have been called yet since annual mtg 8 months ago. So no homeowners are getting to give input in key areas except this one individual. There are members on committees. We are simply not contacted, invited into discussions, or asked for opinions.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

Chris,
Thanks for the updated info. You might want to check your CC&Rs. I always thought a Committee has to have a minimum of 3 members and a max of 7 members. That may be a State by State law so if I am wrong I am sure someone will correct me. I always requested a Board member to be on every committee just so that the boards guidelines are followed and they don't get too far off track with their committee. Normally at the board meetings the Chair person or a representative gives a report to the board.

If I were you I would keep an eye on this person but also understand that they are not getting paid yet providing a service to the HOA.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

We have the board appoint members of a committee (basically, anyone who volunteers), and the committee elects who will be the chair.

ND (PA)
Posts: 792

Posted:

In my opinion, there should be a Board Liaison for each committees (a Board Member more involved in the committee's activities than the other board members), but the chair of a committee should not be a Board Member unless unavoidable. I always saw committees as a way to lighten the load on Board Members as well as allow for non-Board Member input on things. Having a Board Member be chair puts too much burden on that Board Member to accomplish Board duties as well as do bulk of committee coordination. Also, different Board Members should be liaison for different committees, further distributing workload and also allowing for different perspectives and styles.

If the committee is not being convened and members not being contacted, have one of the committee members take the lead on preparing an email or letter to the entire Board expressing your thoughts, concerns, and desires to be involved. Copy all committee members on the email or have them sign the letter. See what happens.

I also think you have too many committees for such a small HOA. Consider combining some of them and broaden their scope. A "pet policy" committee could instead become a "rules and regulations" committee, task 1 is working pet policy. The ARB and "painting committee" should be a single committee.

ND (PA)
Posts: 792

Posted:

In my opinion, there should be a Board Liaison for each committees (a Board Member more involved in the committee's activities than the other board members), but the chair of a committee should not be a Board Member unless unavoidable. I always saw committees as a way to lighten the load on Board Members as well as allow for non-Board Member input on things. Having a Board Member be chair puts too much burden on that Board Member to accomplish Board duties as well as do bulk of committee coordination. Also, different Board Members should be liaison for different committees, further distributing workload and also allowing for different perspectives and styles.

If the committee is not being convened and members not being contacted, have one of the committee members take the lead on preparing an email or letter to the entire Board expressing your thoughts, concerns, and desires to be involved. Copy all committee members on the email or have them sign the letter. See what happens.

I also think you have too many committees for such a small HOA. Consider combining some of them and broaden their scope. A "pet policy" committee could instead become a "rules and regulations" committee, task 1 is working pet policy. The ARB and "painting committee" should be a single committee.

ChrisM29 (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

Thanks for your reply, TimB4. That's helpful.

ChrisM29 (Florida)
Posts: 7

Posted:

Thank you, ND. You've given me very valuable input and suggestions. I am very grateful and appreciative.

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By ChrisM29 on 05/08/2019 5:16 PM
We live in a 26 unit townhome association. The president nominates the same board member to chair the ARB, the Landscaping Committee, and the Painting Committee. Any suggestions who to alter this? I don't think Florida has a law against this, but fairness is one matter. The lack of any committee meetings or responses to emails from committe members is another.

You could change your bylaws, perhaps. Our bylaws say the president appoints the committee chairs. We always have a committee or two where the same person chairs both. Some require a lot of work, others require very little work. Couple that with a chronic shortage of people who are willing to be involved and do any work at all, and we're happy with that arrangement. It doesn't happen every year.

Or vote in a new president who will spread the committee chairs around to different people.