Attitude of Hoa President

The day our boards 1st meeting the person elected made it mandatory that all 5 of us board members must sign in , put in the time and if we did not we would be fined. I have been on 5 boards and never heard of this. It is my opinion that any rules for the board must be presented to the board and voted on before one person, makes them law.

Typically the HOA Members elect the Board, and the Board (among themselves) select the Officers (Pres, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, etc.), some of which may also need to be Board Members while others may not have that requirement. Most typically the Board Members also serve as all of the Officers.

Not sure how your Pres came to be Pres, but if this is a sign of all things to come, the rest of your Board Members should be able to band together, remove this person from their Pres position, and select a new Pres. This person wwould still be a Board Member, but no longer power hungry with the Pres title. Further, Pres typically carries the same decision-making ability as the rest of the Board Members (one single vote on decisions to be made) . . . meaning the Board as a group make the decisions, not anyone in particular even if holding Pres position.

Rules that govern directors would usually be in the bylaws or in a contract between the HOA and the director in connection with the director's services as a director. Same for officers.

If those documents do not have any rules regarding signing in or paying fines, then the president would have no basis whatsoever to require such things. If the president wants to impose those rules, then the bylaws or other contract would need to be amended in accordance with their terms, and such an amendment would typically require owner or board approval (or both).

It's troubling that the president does not indicate a basic knowledge of HOA governance.

As for me, I'd refuse to sign in or follow specific time requirements and would call her bluff when she tried to impose fines for that.

As many might know, California requires that all associations have a set of election rules. The vast majority don't. In 2012 while working for a management company, I wrote a complete set of election rules and form (23 pages), and vetted by an attorney who worked for the law firm that we all used to cite California HOA law. Included was a pledge, required to signed by a candidate who wanted to be included on a ballot.

Pledge by Nominee for Election to Board of Directors

As a nominee for election to the Board of Directors, I have read our Homeowner Association’s
Bylaws, CC&Rs and Rules.

If elected to the Board of Directors, I pledge to do all of the following:

Comply with the Association’s Bylaws, CC&Rs and Rules as they exist unless
superseded by law;

Obtain the advice of experts, if and when appropriate, including attorneys, construction
experts and others;

Read the Davis - Stirling Act at least once each year when the yearly amendments
become available and to comply with the law;

Read the management agreement in effect between our Association and management
company so that I am aware of the management company’s contractual responsibilities
and those areas where it has no contractual responsibility;

Pay my assessments before they become delinquent and strictly comply with the
governing documents of our Association;

Attend all board meetings and homeowner meetings unless it is absolutely not possible to
attend;

Accept no compensation from the Association, members of the Association, or vendors
and contractors providing goods and / or services to the Association;

Comply with the Open Meeting Act as set forth in the Davis - Stirling Act;

Make certain that agendas are posted and / or distributed to all members in advance of
Association meetings and that minutes are taken and maintained of all meetings as
required by law;

Hold annual elections for the Board of Directors according to the Association’s Rules,
Bylaws and California law;

Provide members of the Association with an email address so that members can make
direct contact with me, if required;

Obtain a reserve study from an expert in the field every three years, and to review and
adjust it annually between reserve studies as required by law;

Avoid conflicts of interest with the Association if possible and to recuse myself from
voting on a matter where a conflict or the appearance of a conflict exists;
Adopt realistic annual budgets each year in order to avoid the hardship and liability
associated with special assessments;

Honor my fiduciary duty to the Association at all times by placing the Association’s
interests above my own personal interests;

Read all written contracts with contractors and vendors so that I am aware of their
obligations as well as the Association’s obligations; and

Treat other board members, homeowners, vendors, contractors and Management
Company representatives with professional courtesy and respect at all times.

I have carefully read and understand this pledge and promise that if elected to the Board of
Directors of our Association, I will honor it.

_
________________________________
Signature
_________________________________
Print Name
_________________
Date

this is good stuff

You answered your own question.

Attached is rights and responsibilities chart put out by CAI. CAI proposes that Boards sign a resolution to adopt this document.

CA takes it further by making it a law that Board members sign a document individually.

Given the choice, I think that I prefer the CAI approach. It created the opportunity to discuss, accept or reject, and then set a standard for the community.

But then again, people sign things all the time without paying attention.

I see Florida requires either signing such a document or taking a course. See Florida Statute 720.3033:
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.3033.html

But do you know where this is in California's statutes?

For the equivalent requirement for Florida condos, see Florida statute 718.112 (2) (d) 4. b.

I suppose the number of boards who follow this is probably about the same as the number of boards who follow their own covenants and the rest of city, state and federal law.

Some property management firms, too. A quick internet search shows all attorney's recommending the "training" course over the signed statement. A couple of hours isn't enough time to cover even 10% of what board members should be aware of. The self-signed statement is no better and probably worse, but both are adequate in the eyes of the law. The whole requirement is sort of fluffy in my opinion. Yes absolutely I'd like my board members to get some sort of training, but I think the reality is what's required by law fails to prepare them in any way.

We had a board member appointed to fill a vacancy last year at the end of May. He then went on vacation for 4 months and didn't return until early October. Aside from the question of why someone would want to be on the board just in time for them to go on a 4-month vacation, this man failed to attend a course and didn't sign a statement. As per the statute, he was suspended from the board at the end of August. This set off a firestorm in the community. His fans claimed that the law was a technicality and it didn't matter that he had fallen afoul of his responsibilities.

Finally, the HOA attorney told the board that when the guy came back he should not be allowed to participate in any sort of board meeting unless and until he attended a course or submitted a signed statement.

(The best part is that by the time the man submitted his statement so the suspension could be lifted, he had fallen over 90 days past due in an assessment that became due in July. According to the statute, by operation of law he had abandoned his seat on the board and was no longer a director. Not suspended, mind you, but completely off the board. That was fun!)

We've had a 50% turnover in homeowners in the last 5 years. About half of them have "traded up" from their former trailer park residences. They see the HOA as the landlord with themselves as tenants. It's what they were used to and it's very hard to educate them that that's not how it works in a mandatory HOA.

The director that was removed "by operation of law" when he fell more than 90 days delinquent came from such a community. Most of his supporters also came from the same community and were "supporting him" because he was their pal from the mobile home park. They didn't see any good reason to point out that he had abandoned his seat. They thought that was rude and mean and concocted a couple of conspiracy theories about who "wanted him off the board" and why. A dozen different homeowners asserted that scheming board members wanted him off and used "that silly law" as an excuse to do it. Instead of becoming educated they preferred to remain ignorant and loudly ask what the rest of the board was trying to hide. And then, predictably, none of them ran for the board themselves in January.

The situation would be comical if it wasn't so serious. It's more than a little scary at times.

Here we use "the Bylaws" because most don't know about the other documents. After (gently) correcting people 300 or 400 times I gave up and just rolled with it. Turned out to be a great time saver.

Attendance Role call at the beginning of the meeting is pretty common. It also confirms the meeting’s quorum - and notes when board members are absent, excused or not.

Done at the beginning of the meeting.

That is a bit childish for a BOD. All the Secretary has to do is note what BOD Members are there or not.