Board Members who are delinquent on fees

Simply do not vote for them in the first place. Many HOAs have "good standing" rules requirements to be a candidate for board election. Some do not. If you do, then that should been worked out before elections. If not, then people can vote for whomever they want even if behind in dues.

Why does being behind in dues be the only basis? It can be whatever a majority wants to vote someone out. Assigning it unpaid dues as good as any.

We don't have anything about that in our bylaws.

We don't have anything about that in our bylaws.

We do not even let them run. As far as telling people someone is delinquent it can get tricky and best avoided, at least publicly.

It does appear open records laws allow members to obtain that information, which I believe is a good thing.

However, as a board member I have been scrupulous about not offering any information about so much as a trash can violation. My wife is on the social committee, and she wanted to exclude people from attending social events if their key fob had been turned off due to violations. I told her she can't do that, because I can't tell her whose key fobs have been turned off.

It just seems that if the bylaws do not prohibit a board member from serving while delinquent, the fact that the delinquency cannot be public information is a "catch 22" that prevents homeowners from important information about a candidate. So I find myself in a moral dilemma about what to do. It's even more important to me because part of our association is 55+, and this particular candidate is openly hostile towards the 55+ side and could easily vote in ways that would be harmful to us.

You are correct - I do think if I brought it up it would backfire. For context, this particular fellow has been here for four years, and his wife serves on a committee. Which is another issue; she is not eligible for that committee but I cannot ethically tell the committee! So he isn't a newbie.

Interesting idea about brining it up by pointing out that I am up-to-date. Unfortunately there really isn't forum to do that. We had a virtual "Meet the Candidates" meeting where everyone had three minutes to pitch themselves, and the property manager has planned nothing else.

From the Delaware HOA yada act:

The executive board may not act on behalf of the association to amend the declaration or the bylaws, to terminate the common interest community, or to elect members of the executive board or determine the qualifications, powers and duties, or terms of office of executive board members, but the executive board may fill vacancies in its membership for the unexpired portion of any term.

If the OP's bylaws are silent on disqualification due to delinquency in dues payment, then the OP's HOA is stuck with delinquent owners being allowed on the board.

I raise this because, on the issue of board eligibility, things have changed meaningfully in the last ten years or so. As BarbaraT1 pointed out, in Texas, being behind on one's dues may not be used to disqualify an owner from being on a HOA board. Delaware seems to

By contrast, twenty years ago I think the line nationwide was that anyone behind on one's dues could be disqualified by the board, even if the Bylaws and statutes were silent on the point.

The revolutionaries who hate HOAs want to be able to not pay their dues and get on the board and raise havoc. Of course, not so fast, say the courts and any covenant-literate owner: Dude, now you're on the board, and you have all these legal duties, laws and covenants to follow, even if you are not paying into the HOA.

Check your documents. As others have said, many Bylaws require that board members be in good standing in order to serve, meaning assessments must be up to date and stay that way as long as they're on the board.

There have been discussions on this website about homeowners being told who's delinquent. On one hand, you're a business partner with everyone in the community, so if someone isn't meeting his/her legal obligations, it would seem people should know that. On the other hand, there's the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which states creditors cannot reveal someone's behind on bills to unauthorized people. This was enacted because collection agencies were contacting the neighbors and the person's job with this information, and you can imagine the drama that ensued.

As a practical matter, I have yet to see any instance where delinquent homeowners paid up because they wound up on a deadbeat list and everyone received a copy. And why stop with board members - put EVERYONE on a list with the payers on one side and the delinquent homeowners on the other - with the current amounts owed? Can you imagine what would happen next? Do you even want to - I don't. And will that result in the association getting the delinquent assessments? Nope.

If you're on the board and know a colleague is delinquent, you could have a conversation with that person in confidence and encourage him/her to resign because it's improper to vote on legal action against homeowners in a similar situation when YOU aren't paying your obligations either. If he/she can't or refuses to, you could request an executive session where the board could formally ask him/her to resign, but if they still refuse, the only way I can see doing it is to talk to the association attorney and threaten legal action to force him/he3r off the board. In the meantime, if that board member is an officer, remove him/her from the position immediately.

Turns out our BOD can remove a BOD Member over 30 days late on their dues:

Section 5. Removal of Directors and Vacancies. Any director elected by the Voting Members may be removed, with or without cause, by the vote of Voting Members holding a majority of the votes entitled to be cast for the election of such director. Any director whose removal is sought shall be given notice prior to any meeting called for that purpose. A director who was elected at large solely by the votes of Voting Members other than the Developer may be removed from office prior to the expiration of his or her term only by the votes of a majority of Voting Members other than the Developer. Upon removal of a director, a successor shall then and there be elected by the Voting Members entitled to elect the director so removed to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term of such director.

Any director elected by the Voting Members who has three (3) consecutive unexcused absences from Board meetings or who is delinquent in the payment of any assessment or other charge due the Association for more than thirty (30) days may be removed by a majority of the directors present at a regular or special meeting at which a quorum is present, and a successor may be appointed by the Board to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. In the event of the death, disability, or resignation of a director, a vacancy may be declared by the Board, and it may appoint a successor. Any director appointed by the Board shall be selected from the Voting Members of the Association and shall serve for the remainder of the term of such director.