Pay for use fee / optional fee

Many homeowners in our community would like the HOA to pay for snow removal in their driveways and sidewalks, and a couple of board members are pushing the idea. I think at least half the residents would not want to pay for this service. Personally, it seems like a budget nightmare - since the money needed each year could vary widely.

Is it possible for an HOA to provide that service as an option, with people who opt-in paying an extra assessment just for snow removal?

I would avoid getting involved in having the association do things that are not defined as responsibilities in the governing docs.

Some potential problems I see:
How do you handle people who sign up, but then don't pay? Since this is not an assessment as defined by your governing docs, I'm not sure the normal enforcement mechanisms are available.
Potential liability for damage caused by the snow removers, or injuries sustained by them.
Owners who don't sign up but then start complaining when they see the association clearing other owner's driveways and sidewalks.

I would suggest that if there are savings to be had by having multiple properties in your association done, then the owners who are interested should just join together and contract with someone to handle their properties. Leave the association out of it.

Are all driveways owners separate interest, i.e., their private property? If so, I like Douglas' approach. I think having the assn. put out the word that the service is available is a nice touch as Tim suggests.

We've done something similar in our condo buildings. An owner found a vendor that could install more pop-out windows (Developer did NOT put in enough). The Assn. advertised it and many Owners signed up so we got the bulk rate.

Similarly, although the assn. paints the exteriors of the buildings, including within our exclusive use common area balconies/patios/decks, the walls in the latter get dirty far sooner than the building stucco. So about every five years, Owners can sign up with a paint vendor to have theirs done. The PM basically just keeps the list. Others do their own.

David

Keep the association out of it.

Check with the PM first to find out how the billing would work and the fees, so you can let your homeowners know about the cost of overhead of the HOA providing the service.