Getting everyone involved in the HOA

Started by MichaelT21 • 7 replies • 328 views

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MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 462

Posted:

As many of you know, I'm the workhorse for our HOA. I put a lot of time and energy into the association, and the tasks that we approve and I take on are completed, and completed well. I've found that tasks that others agree to do often don't materialize. They sound like good ideas at meetings, but when push comes to shove, they don't get carried out.

In general, I think our community doesn't have a lot of volunteers. We are a mixture of two income families and single income families with children, and energy goes into jobs and family and not into the HOA. Of the three years that I have been on the Board, few (close to none) have stepped forward to volunteer their efforts on the Board.

This is fine with me, I do it because I enjoy living in a nice community with well maintained parks, and am willing to make that happen.

Recently, we had a new board member join who has the mantra of "let's get the whole community involved" and this board member spends his/her time going around soliciting for opinions, complaints, and other comments for how we are doing. This Board member would like to see lots of homeowners attend our Board meetings (like 10% of the community) and also wants us to send stuff out to the members for voting so the members get to start having a say in what we do.

All of this is causing work and headache for me. This board member doesn't have to deal with the complaints, etc, because the PM sends them to me since I'm the one that knows how to solve them. Moving the board meetings to increase attendance will require more of my time. Sending things out to vote will create more headache, and potentially, cancel projects after I have put a good deal of volunteer hours into them.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this board member? I'm not interested in sending things out to vote, not interested in spooling up all of the HOA members, and I don't see it purposeful to get 10-20 members to attend every one of our monthly Board meetings. They aren't that interesting, to begin with, and our homeowners don't seem to have a lot of interest, so trying to make them attend isn't really purposeful.

MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 462

Posted:

PS - the homeowners that are getting spooled up are offering lots of opinions, comments, and other stuff; but not actually willing to lift a finger to volunteer to solve anything. It's all noise from the community, and all of the noise is falling onto my lap to deal with, which I don't have time or interest for.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Well, involvement isn't a bad idea.

Regarding moving meetings - say if you have to move meetings you will not be able to attend and may have to resign. That may get the other board members on your side.

Regarding the board member wanting things to occur - let that individual do the paperwork and leg work. A simple, my time is pretty booked and if you want to put things together along with associated costs for the board to consider you don't have an issue with it. Have the proposal at the next meeting and the board can vote.

OR

The project is a bit too far along for a whole lot of changes.

OR

Give them a project.
Perhaps costs and options for the hoa to host.
Provide a proposal and the board can vote on it.

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

For starters, and if the new board member wants to straw poll members, let them do the work. Designate the new board member as the "complaint department" and forward the complaints to them. Let the sender know you have forwarded to the new director, and then forget about it entirely. If they never get an answer, not your problem.

Keep doing the important stuff if you feel so inclined, but you really need to learn how to delegate, at least for the stuff that doesn't matter so much.

I doubt that you will get 10-20 members at a board meeting, and if it does happen once, it is unlikely to happen twice.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

AndrewS10 (North Carolina)
Posts: 9

Posted:

MichaelT21,

I can't blame you. Too many cooks can spoil the broth but when you are hungry and don't feel like cooking it is nice to have a cook around. I think it is natural to want to get input and feedback from the owners especially when just starting on a board. Once they learn that input and feedback is not always the best thing, they will probably change their tune. TimB4 has a lot of good suggestions. A Policy and Procedures document would also be helpful to get members on board. You just don't ever want to be in a situation where you feel you have to sell your house to get out of serving on the board.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Our board has told those with ideas many times that the idea sounds great. Unfortunately, we don't have the time available to make the idea happen. If they are willing to serve on a committee to do the work, the board is willing to take a look.

Often they say that they don't have the time. Issue dies.

When they are willing, we tell them what we need and let them go for it.

MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 462

Posted:

Regarding delegation:

I have spent 3 years scratching my head at how to delegate. Problem is, we are a volunteer organization with no consequence for failing to do work they agreed to. I called our Secretary out on not promptly doing minutes, so this person quit being Secretary. Previously, I addressed the lack of meeting minutes with another Board member, and that Board member resigned from the Board entirely. None of us get paid, of course, and we are all elected the Board. Ultimately, Board members have full freedom to participate a lot or participate not at all.

Thus, I haven't figured out how to delegate.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

I like Tim & Douglas' ideas. Ay your next meeting, have on the agenda something like "Procedures for New Initiatives," or such. The upshot will be that the person who wants, say, to have owners to vote on matters that are the board's job, needs to write a proposal stating why that should occur, with steps to take to make the happen. The board then would vote on it at a subsequent meeting.

There's no reason to write "him/her" as you need "her" in the past when you were from WA.

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