Board mandating trash provider without covenant/bylaw clause

If county roads, why would the HOA maintain them?

If they are private roads with HOA maintenance, the number of trucks could certainly matter.

Hello George.

County roads, but they are 30+ years old and have been cracking for years. The HOA has an asphalt company come in every other year to seal the cracks with hot rubber in an effort to delay the county forcing an assessment to replace them. The roads are far from impassible and are actually in pretty good shape.

I can understand working to prolong the longevity of the roads before expensive replacement, but my concern is that by using vague "for the roads!" language in the absence of a bylaw or covenant - and mandating homeowner expenses which are NOT part of the annual dues - sets the stage for future abuse.

Thanks,
Zach

I can't imagine they can legally cancel contracts between owners and trash companies, which is what they are essentially doing. I believe many states have free-trade laws that would prevent this also.

I would speak to an attorney. I'm sure you can find other owners who would join you.

My community moved trash pickup into our monthly assessments at the request of homeowners because the group rate was significantly less than what we were paying as individuals (roughly 60% decrease). Our area is served by two different companies, so as individual customers we used both. One of the results of that was that pickup occurred on different days of the week, so it sometimes felt like there were always trash cans sitting out (especially around major holidays when schedules were thrown off).

I didn't experience any difference in service between the two companies. If a company were particularly bad or hard to deal with, I expect they'd put themselves out of business pretty quickly, leaving any remaining companies to be pretty comparable in service.

Our CC&Rs do have a restriction regarding trash disposal, but it only addresses hazardous materials and storing cans out of sight. Our bylaws give the association the right to include utilities in our assessments, and it mentions the possible effects of doing so - but they do not mandate it one way or the other. We're also a condo community with private streets, and wear and tear on roads is something our board pays attention to.

So it's likely that the OP's board is looking at the potential cost savings and convenience for homeowners as well as minimizing the noise and congestion resulting from multiple collections per week. All of these seem like good things.

However... I think the governing docs have to at least allow the inclusion of utilities in assessments, otherwise doing so may not be lawful even if it does provide a benefit to the community. Would have to do a deeper dive into the OP's actual governing docs as well as Michigan law to determine one way or the other. If the governing docs do allow it, it's always smart to get buy-in from the community ahead of time, though.