Conflict of Interest

Our Master Assc property manager is married to the landscaper who now has taken over a majority of the landscaping contracts in majority of associations. Worse part of this is the landscaping company is horrible. They get a majority bad ratings online. I suspect the reason his company underbids all other landscapers is because the "Sealed bids" are not secure. He makes up for the under biding by charging high prices for all sorts of "extra" services(for which there is no proof)What can be done as the board does whatever the PM recommends as they are all "buddies".

In my experience, the best HOA/condo/co-op attorneys advise that by far the quickest, least painful way of correcting this situation is to campaign for and elect to the board a majority who feel as you do. It will be a lot of work. It might take years or, if you do not have people who feel as you do, might not be possible.

This forum can offer much advice on how to run an effective campaign. First rule: Run a positive campaign.

A majority of the homes are rentals and many homeowners that live there are just oblivious and would rather be left alone. SMH!!

About "conflicts of interest" --

-- first there's what you, I and others think is an ethical conflict of interest. I agree with you there appears to be an ethical conflict of interest here.

-- second, some states do have statutes that define what a conflict of interest is and how a HOA board is supposed to respond when they do arise. It is possible that a law is being broken here. But it is not guaranteed. In some states, if the conflict of interest is disclosed and the person with the conflict does not vote on the award of the relevant contract, then there's no violation of the law. For New York, here's an introduction to conflict of interest law: https://independentamericancommunities.com/2018/01/26/new-conflict-of-interest-disclosure-law-affects-ny-condos-and-co-ops/

-- third, New York HOA/COA/Co-Op/nonprofit corporation statutes are no picnic when it comes to laypeople getting a handle on what law is relevant here. Googling can turn up articles like the above. Still so far I think the best solution is as given above: Replace the board.

Is this a condominium?

Have you read Florida statute section FS 617.0832? The latter speaks at some length about what a conflict of interest is (under Florida corporate law) and how to handle it. You can read this statute section here: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0617/0617.html

I think it's debatable as to whether the director in question has a financial interest (as described in the statute section).

What is more problematic is that the director may have disclosed to the competing vendor details of the current landscaper's contract. These details might be "proprietary." Per statute, certain contracts are supposed to be done through competitive bidding. Obviously a HOA director who reveals details of one vendor's bid (or current contract) to another vendor is acting so as to defeat the competitive bidding requirement.

If you are not on the board, then handling this is complicated. Also you would have to have proof of the wrongdoing here (if any). One should not make accusations that might be defamatory.

The best approach might be to rally your neighbors to get new directors on the board. This is often a lot of work.