Don't shoot the messenger

Started by TerriS6 • 39 replies • 540 views

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TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

I moved into an HOA 5 years ago whose board had never heard of Davis-Stirling. Soon found board was harassing certain neighbors for things not violating the CC&Rs yet ignoring other neighbors who were violating them.

When I saw serious problems such as illegal assessment increases, I would write to the board but never received responses. Even friends of directors could not get them to investigate or respond. I felt my only recourse was small claims court so I have filed and won 4 claims and the board has been fined 9 times. Some of the beneficial results to our association are: 1) reversal of 4 illegal assessment increases, 2) we now have election rules, 3) we now have a reserve account, 4) some invalid/void assessment liens have been released (not mine), 5) we now have Open Forum on the agenda 6) agenda items are described, 7) policy statements are now sent annually (we still don't receive a notice of assessment increase), 8) secret meetings are now executive sessions (so they say), and in general, the board now has at least a token awareness that they are operating under consumer protection laws.

The association is over 40 years old. Assessments weren't raised for decades (an average of $6./year for 40 years. So the association was underfunded for a long time.

BUT now it's my fault because we can't pave all the roads at once. Directors regularly bash me at meetings and allow a few neighbors to regularly bash me at meetings. The president lied at the recent annual meeting and said "it's with a heavy heart I have to announce the court ordered us to release a lien worth $29,000." which was a complete lie. The lien was for one year but it was void so it was worth zero. The liened member is in her 90s. Another director showed attorney invoices for a case still open claiming that is why no road work is being done but refused to give me copies after I requested them after the meeting (the director waived privilege by showing them to the audience).

A lot of good has come from my cases but the messenger gets shot on a regular basis.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 4,420

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/25/2023 7:51 AM
I felt my only recourse was small claims court so I have filed and won 4 claims and [the HOA has had to pay for various legal costs?] 9 times. Some of the beneficial results to our association are: 1) reversal of 4 illegal assessment increases,
...
The association is over 40 years old. Assessments weren't raised for decades (an average of $6./year for 40 years. So the association was underfunded for a long time.

BUT now it's my fault because we can't pave all the roads at once.

It is at least partly your fault.

I think a majority at this forum think requiring membership approval for assessment increases is dumb.

Of course you are right that the board is supposed to follow the law. But California law is set up so that HOAs land in precisely the position you describe above: No assessment increases for decades. Now a huge assessment increase is needed, but statutes tie the hands of the board.

If you were the board, what would //you// do to obtain enough money for paving?

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By ElleN on 05/25/2023 8:02 AM
... snip ...
I think a majority at this forum think requiring membership approval for assessment increases is dumb.

Of course you are right that the board is supposed to follow the law. But California law is set up so that HOAs land in precisely the position you describe above: No assessment increases for decades. Now a huge assessment increase is needed, but statutes tie the hands of the board.
...

Yup. I refer to statutes like this as "licenses to commit financial suicide". I've also commented that in states with such provisions, communities can dig themselves into a financial hole that they may not be able to climb back out of. Finally, these laws undermine owners' ability to hold the board accountable when this happens. Boards have a duty to act in the best interests of the association. Homeowners have no such duty. When lawmakers move the final decision making authority onto the homeowners, the real accountability goes with it regardless of what the law says. If the board is now blaming the owners for the mess they're in, they're not wrong.

I think it borders on criminal that lawmakers are able to tout such laws as "consumer protection" when in fact they amount to handing uninformed homeowners enough rope to hang themselves. If consumers are lucky, they'll be stuck with dirt roads or something. If they're not, the buildings will fall down.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

It's not at all my fault. Otherwise I would have lost. The court ruled the board at fault every time. Is it the eyewitness's fault who testifies about an accident they saw that the accident happened?

Our roads are in very good condition. One director wanted all new blacktop to match his driveway. He came up with the figures.

I would have a real reserve study done unlike ours, a funding plan, then survey all the members with that information to ascertain how much they are willing to pay if we have an election then take it from there.

Statutes are designed to tie hands. Davis-Stirling was written to protect homeowners.

The state does not require membership approval for increases. Board can increase 20%/yr regular assessments and 5%/yr for special assessments without a vote of the membership as long as they follow all the noticing requirements.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

In California, membership approval is not required to increase assessments annually unless the increase is over 20% for regular or 5% for special.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 4,420

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/25/2023 7:51 AM
BUT now it's my fault because we can't pave all the roads at once.

Is this or is this not due to the board's not being able to increase the assessment //sufficiently// without an owner's vote?

Boards retaliate. You seem to have got the board to improve its compliance with the law and covenants. But there is a price. I am not saying this to be nasty. I am saying it to suggest one should recognize the reality of how egos work.

How come you could no change the board make-up to get what you want? Could it be the bigger enemy is a membership that was fine with the status quo?

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Board makeup; I recognized the reality that one couple runs the association and controls who gets on the board.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By ElleN on 05/25/2023 8:02 AM

I agree allowing members to vote on a dues increase is foolish. In our association the BOD can raise the dues as much as they want once a year on or before 12/01 and it becomes effective on 01/01. Owners could call a Special Meeting to turn the increase down but 51% of ALL OWNERS would have to vote YES to turn it down. If that happens we revert back to last years budget with an automatic 5% increase.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

California boards can increase regular assessments by 20% every year without member approval and special assessments by 5%.

LizD3 (California)
Posts: 200

Posted:

I feel your frustration. And anger. Because I am embarking on a similar path.

I'm not new to condo ownership. But I believe the bulk of my other neighbors are. And don't understand (or care) that they are obligated to abide by the CC&Rs, Corp. Code, etc.

So, like you, I am the pariah for complaining about violations (no, a non-owner can’t be on the Board, can’t have signing authority, can’t be gatekeeper of HOA banking credentials). So, like you, I am kept out of the loop (surprise! some of the common area was landscaped – no one discussed it, voted on it, authorized it, and I don’t know who arranged for it or if the HOA paid for it and I have no way of finding out). And so on.

Where I am:
- Advancing to arbitration is costly (lawyer advised $100k+/party)
- Receivership has enormous repercussions (thanks, all, for your insight)
- Complaints to the AG are toothless (https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/homeowner_assn)
- IDR pointless (Board refused to sign what they had negotiated and agreed to – isn't that negotiating in bad faith?)
- Property management would greatly increase assessments and I doubt any property manager has the authority to get the Board to comply with CC&Rs, etc.
- Small claims being researched

So, best of luck Terri. Keep us apprised.

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Sitting on the sidelines doesn't effect change. Yes, you took the board (Association) to court 4 times and won. But what have you really accomplished? Why haven't you chosen to become a part of the solution? Since you didn't mention a PM, have to assume your Association is self-managed. Having the ability to raise assessments or create special assessments is not the answer, having financial smarts is.

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By LizD3 on 05/25/2023 11:33 AM
I feel your frustration. And anger. Because I am embarking on a similar path.

I'm not new to condo ownership. But I believe the bulk of my other neighbors are. And don't understand (or care) that they are obligated to abide by the CC&Rs, Corp. Code, etc.

So, like you, I am the pariah for complaining about violations (no, a non-owner can’t be on the Board, can’t have signing authority, can’t be gatekeeper of HOA banking credentials). So, like you, I am kept out of the loop (surprise! some of the common area was landscaped – no one discussed it, voted on it, authorized it, and I don’t know who arranged for it or if the HOA paid for it and I have no way of finding out). And so on.

Where I am:
- Advancing to arbitration is costly (lawyer advised $100k+/party)
- Receivership has enormous repercussions (thanks, all, for your insight)
- Complaints to the AG are toothless (https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/homeowner_assn)
- IDR pointless (Board refused to sign what they had negotiated and agreed to – isn't that negotiating in bad faith?)
- Property management would greatly increase assessments and I doubt any property manager has the authority to get the Board to comply with CC&Rs, etc.
- Small claims being researched

So, best of luck Terri. Keep us apprised.

FYI, management companies CANNOT increase assessments, only the Board or the Members can do that. You are correct, a management company cannot require a Board to comply or enforce the governing docs. We do though, have the ability to walk away from a non-performing Board.

BillD16 (Texas)
Posts: 973

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/25/2023 7:51 AM
I moved into an HOA 5 years ago whose board had never heard of Davis-Stirling. Soon found board was harassing certain neighbors for things not violating the CC&Rs yet ignoring other neighbors who were violating them.

When I saw serious problems such as illegal assessment increases, I would write to the board but never received responses. Even friends of directors could not get them to investigate or respond. I felt my only recourse was small claims court so I have filed and won 4 claims and the board has been fined 9 times. Some of the beneficial results to our association are: 1) reversal of 4 illegal assessment increases, 2) we now have election rules, 3) we now have a reserve account, 4) some invalid/void assessment liens have been released (not mine), 5) we now have Open Forum on the agenda 6) agenda items are described, 7) policy statements are now sent annually (we still don't receive a notice of assessment increase), 8) secret meetings are now executive sessions (so they say), and in general, the board now has at least a token awareness that they are operating under consumer protection laws.

The association is over 40 years old. Assessments weren't raised for decades (an average of $6./year for 40 years. So the association was underfunded for a long time.

BUT now it's my fault because we can't pave all the roads at once. Directors regularly bash me at meetings and allow a few neighbors to regularly bash me at meetings. The president lied at the recent annual meeting and said "it's with a heavy heart I have to announce the court ordered us to release a lien worth $29,000." which was a complete lie. The lien was for one year but it was void so it was worth zero. The liened member is in her 90s. Another director showed attorney invoices for a case still open claiming that is why no road work is being done but refused to give me copies after I requested them after the meeting (the director waived privilege by showing them to the audience).

A lot of good has come from my cases but the messenger gets shot on a regular basis.

I have to ask: why aren't you on the Board?

> BUT now it's my fault because ...

Well, yeah:

1. In many jobs, it's not "what have you done for me?", it's "what have you done for me *lately*?"

2. Reading between the lines, it sounds like you've used the courts to *force* your Board into complying with certain things. People really hate it when that happens, and as a result they often have a very low opinion of whoever is responsible. And as a part of that, it seems like you're being used as a scapegoat.

I don't have any magic answer for you. But if you care about getting bashed, you can always walk around your 'hood and meet your neighbors and talk to them and let them know your side of the story. You may encounter people who buy into the Board's story. But you may also encounter people who think you're doing God's work.

I think it's simply a fact of life that when your actions begin to affect other people, it's impossible to get 100% acceptance. But if you're actually making life better for people, not all of them are idiots and at least some of them will recognize you for doing good.

Craig

HOA Board ex-President
Austin, Texas USA

“You can’t put too much water in a nuclear reactor”

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Max, If one’s governing body does not have financial smarts but raises 20% every year, then what?

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/25/2023 3:15 PM
Max, If one’s governing body does not have financial smarts but raises 20% every year, then what?

I call it irresponsible.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Not to mention, when they hired an attorney to revise the CC&Rs, they made the board liaison the director who cannot stop talking - ever.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Wisdom. Thank you.

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/25/2023 4:26 PM
Not to mention, when they hired an attorney to revise the CC&Rs, they made the board liaison the director who cannot stop talking - ever.

GUILTY

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Terri, you've written elsewhere that you think about half of the owners agree with your approach to your Board. Can you get some of them to attend open board meetings and in the required open forum offer you some kudos OR ask the board to refrain from talking smack about any owners??? And you certainly have NOT sat on the sidelines. You've learned a whole lot about CA statutes that do, indeed, protect owners. You've been very active, but as Bill points out people do not like to be ordered to

And, you are absolutely right, in CA the Board could have raised dues over the years up to 20% withOUT owner approval, but probably didn't raise them anywhere close to that. Their hands were not tied by CA statutes. Not sure what statutes in CA "like these" Cathy is referring to.-perhaps she'll clarify? Or let it go?

So what WAS the illegal dues increase, Terri? Is the Board saying that if they'd ben able to carry out that particular increase, all of your roads wouldn't have been paved??

At this point, you need to rally owners to get enough of you to run for the Board at the next election like another CA poster is doing.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Kerry, board just sent an invoice with higher amount due. No budget, no budget report, no notice of increase in advance and no annual policy statement. In a declaration our treasurer stated the members don’t care about the budget.

Supporters do speak up from time to time but I would never ask a neighbor to get involved in a controversy.

And the roads are fine. We will probably have an election re assessments.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 4,420

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By KerryL1 on 05/25/2023 5:58 PM

And, you are absolutely right, in CA the Board could have raised dues over the years up to 20% withOUT owner approval, but probably didn't raise them anywhere close to that. Their hands were not tied by CA statutes.

Terri's first post observes:

"... we can't pave all the roads at once."

Terri said she successfully sued to stop certain illegal assessment increases. It appeared to me that //now// the reason the roads cannot be paved all at once is because California statutes tie the board's hands with regard to certain large assessment increases.

Terri has now changed her story and reported that the roads are fine.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

ElleN, it was one director who wanted the roads "paved all at once." It's not something we ever needed. The roads have been well maintained over the years. The first post was paraphrasing what the director was saying. He is the one who gave the calculations to the reserve study company who never made a site visit to observe our roads. That's why our reserve study is inadequate and should not be relied upon for financial planning.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Considering how current board members, especially the leadership, have put the association at risk, I can't imagine why anyone would subject themselves to such liability by seeking a board position.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 4,420

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/26/2023 7:37 AM
Considering how current board members, especially the leadership, have put the association at risk, I can't imagine why anyone would subject themselves to such liability by seeking a board position.

None of the directors had to personally pay anything as a consequence of the small claims lawsuit you brought, correct?

I would just be happy I had successfully forced the board to follow the law on a number of points. Fuggetabout their attempts to slight you. Unless of course you run for the board, in which case California statutes require that you be given equal time to campaign using HOA resources.

May I ask: Did you pay an attorney to help get the results in small claims court? If not, terrific.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

ElleN, no director paid anything from his personal funds.
On the first case I paid $150. to a very good real estate atty who is a part-time small claims judge in a county far away. That was reimbursed in my costs.
On the 3rd case I paid $400. for one hour of HOA legal advice. That was also reimbursed in my costs.

Now I am waiting for copies of all the legal invoices the board showed to the membership at the annual meeting May 6 (waiver of any privilege) that they claim are my fault but they refused to turn over when I asked for them.

JamesB37 (California)
Posts: 351

Posted:

Terri - I certainly sympathize with you and your uphill battle

Regarding your private roads, we are in a similar situation. Reserve study with onsite inspection was completed last year. Specialist noted our roads were generally in good condition but recommended a follow-up with an expert. Roads are 20 years old and specialist estimated a 28-year life span.

HOA hired an engineering firm that came out and took a number of core samples (drilled into the pavement) and made recommendations. I should note the HOA has paid for 'slurry sealing' every four years as recommended. Even thought over half of our roads were deemed in good condition and only needed sealing and crack repair, the Board voted to have every road in our community ground down and repaved at a cost of over $6 million! The project started last summer and has been hampered by problems. Has only progressed about 1/3 of the way.

Who would have thought a petroleum based product like asphalt would be in short supply due to the cost of oil... Some of the streets that have been repaved are already showing other problems and the PMC is blaming it on new government regulations regarding asphalt or something. It's a real mess. I guess the point I am trying to make is your HOA should hire a firm to access the condition of your pavement and make recommendations.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JamesB37 on 05/26/2023 5:30 PM
Terri - I certainly sympathize with you and your uphill battle

Regarding your private roads, we are in a similar situation. Reserve study with onsite inspection was completed last year. Specialist noted our roads were generally in good condition but recommended a follow-up with an expert. Roads are 20 years old and specialist estimated a 28-year life span.

HOA hired an engineering firm that came out and took a number of core samples (drilled into the pavement) and made recommendations. I should note the HOA has paid for 'slurry sealing' every four years as recommended. Even thought over half of our roads were deemed in good condition and only needed sealing and crack repair, the Board voted to have every road in our community ground down and repaved at a cost of over $6 million! The project started last summer and has been hampered by problems. Has only progressed about 1/3 of the way.

Who would have thought a petroleum based product like asphalt would be in short supply due to the cost of oil... Some of the streets that have been repaved are already showing other problems and the PMC is blaming it on new government regulations regarding asphalt or something. It's a real mess. I guess the point I am trying to make is your HOA should hire a firm to access the condition of your pavement and make recommendations.

James, how many square feet of pavement do you have?

JamesB37 (California)
Posts: 351

Posted:

According to our Reserve Study over 2,000,000 GSF

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

I thought we had headaches!

JamesB37 (California)
Posts: 351

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/27/2023 2:00 PM
I thought we had headaches!

I am stunned by some of the things are board and PMC have done...

Latest example: I previously posted that our Bylaws state that our PMC is required to have an office in our County, and they don't. They have one office and it is located in an adjacent county, about 30 miles away. Also, we have had a number of problems with this PMC, such as our experienced/certified community manager quite in 2020 and was replaced by the owner's daughter, who from what I can find out, has zero experience as a community manager.

Now, I would have thought that since I have shined the light on some of these issue, this would kind of nudge our Board into perhaps getting a new PMC or at least start following the rules and regulations. (I also posted how our contract states we are to have a community manager dedicated 100% to our HOA, but I found out that our community manager also is the community manager of another HOA in their county - double dipping)

Anyways, I was following up on this - and I checked some paperwork with the CA Secretary of State. I discovered that our HOA Principal Office was now located in our community, and that we also now had an 'onsite office' (Apparently, this was their way of avoiding problem #1)

Our CC&R's prohibit an 'onsite office' (at least that is my take on it - take a look

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Master Association shall not hire any full time employees; rent,
lease or otherwise furnish offices, personnel or other facilities, whether
located within the Properties or off-site; nor utilize any Master Common Area
as office space or other facilities for an "on-site" Manager or for performing
other Master Common Area day-to-day administrative activities. The Master
Association Manager shall at all times be a professional manager employed as an
independent contractor officed at its own place of business
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The funny part, the address for our new 'on site office' which is also listed with the SOS as the Associations 'principal office', is the small building at our community pool that has two bathrooms and an equipment room for the pumps and filters.

Lastly, this penal code section was brought to my attention:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
115. (a) Every person who knowingly procures or offers any false or forged
instrument to be filed, registered, or recorded in any public office within this state,
which instrument, if genuine, might be filed, registered, or recorded under any law
of this state or of the United States, is guilty of a felony.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There does not appear to be an actual legal definition of 'principal office', but I found this:

"principal office" typically refers to the main location or headquarters of a company, organization, or institution. It is the primary physical location where the central administration, management, and decision-making of an entity occur. The principal office is usually the place where important corporate records, such as official documents, books, and records, are kept.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

The buck stops with the board president.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

In CA non-profits--maybe in all states' non-profits--the buck stops with the board of directors. Boards who let the director who is president "run" everything and even make big decisions is just as responsible for the president's mistakes, or misconduct, as is the president. Boards, not presidents, govern HOAs.

It seems more and more to me that too many HOA owners and directors, too, believe that the prez has some sort of extra powers. IF a president behaves that way, it's because board members are too ignorant or lazy to do THEIR job.

JamesB37 (California)
Posts: 351

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By KerryL1 on 05/27/2023 4:06 PM
In CA non-profits--maybe in all states' non-profits--the buck stops with the board of directors. Boards who let the director who is president "run" everything and even make big decisions is just as responsible for the president's mistakes, or misconduct, as is the president. Boards, not presidents, govern HOAs.

It seems more and more to me that too many HOA owners and directors, too, believe that the prez has some sort of extra powers. IF a president behaves that way, it's because board members are too ignorant or lazy to do THEIR job.

Kerry - I certainly agree with your last sentence. On our board, it seems we have a President who is on some power trip/cronyism thing and I am not sure why the others even bother showing up. None of them appear to have read the 'binder' they get before a meeting.

Did I mention that last year I noticed a large part of the landscaping on a graded slope looked like it was dying and even logged a maintenance request in the PMC Web Portal to take a look at the sprinklers. The board didn't do anything, and this winter's heavy rains severely eroded parts of the slope. The repair costs are in the neighborhood of $30,000+

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

So, if the officers have no authority, why do HOAs have them????

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Officers' power and authority is determined by the CC&Rs.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

In the vast majority of community associations, the ultimate authority lies with the board. The only counterexamples I've come across were in HOAs where the ACC had final deciding power over architectural modification requests (but that's a committee, not an officer).

I'll spout Cathy's Quotes #6: If the board is not the final authority, then you undermine your ability to hold them accountable for what happens on their watch. Authority and accountability go hand in hand. If you want to be The Decider, then your butt needs to be in the sling when things go sideways. (This is something that micromanagers everywhere want to ignore.)

In addition, officers are not elected by the membership, they're appointed by the board. So homeowners have no ability to remove a rogue officer unless they also take out the board that is allowing that officer to run amok. I suspect that lawmakers did not intend for HOA/corporate governance to work this way.

It's all about the accountability, folks...

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/28/2023 5:11 AM
Officers' power and authority is determined by the CC&Rs.

You might want to check your Bylaws.

TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,284

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MaxB4 on 05/28/2023 6:58 AM

Posted By TerriS6 on 05/28/2023 5:11 AM
Officers' power and authority is determined by the CC&Rs.

You might want to check your Bylaws.

Our declaration states the board's powers include "delegation of its powers to committees, officers or employees of the Association as expressly authorized by the governing instruments."

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Regardless of what the CC&Rs/bylaws say, the accountability issue remains.

FWIW, my bylaws allow the board to delegate *tasks*. Nowhere does it say that the board may offload their accountability onto someone else. And in fact, it's pretty clear that committees, officers, and others serve at the board's pleasure and may be removed with or without cause. In many HOAs, the board members are the officers, so the issue doesn't arise. A common exception is where a board appoints a homeowner as Treasurer because the board members lack the necessary expertise.

Another potential issue arises when the bylaws allow the board to create ad hoc officer positions and appoint non-owners to those positions. Do we seriously believe that the board's accountability can or should be handed over to, say, a tenant or even a non-resident who has no financial stake in the HOA's functioning?

If your bylaws do in fact allow this accountability to be offloaded, then this is example #12,371 of lawmakers not fully thinking through how the various interacting laws will operate in practice. Which is why God invented the court system, I guess.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

From my HOA's restated Bylaws of '22, which is nearly the same as the original, ca. 2000: Section 5.5. President. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the Association and shall, subject to the control of the Board, have general supervision, direction and control of the affairs and officers of the Association. The president shall preside as chair at all meetings of the Board. The President shall also preside as chair at all meetings of the membership (unless the members shall vote otherwise). The president shall, unless otherwise determined by the Board, have the general power and duties of management usually vested in the office of president of a corporation, together with such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board or the Bylaws. The president shall use reasonable endeavors to ensure that orders and resolutions of the Board are carried out."

While the president may possibly have many powers, it's only so if permitted by the Board, so it's the Board that's accountable. This is clear in three places in our Bylaws.

In HOAs that are self-managed, I assume the president and other officers have more authority and duties than in HOAs with a full-time onsite PM. Still, the board is ultimately responsible for the president's or officers' conduct.

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