VA. ARTICLE IX ANNUAL DUES ?

SECECTION 1: Annual Dues. The Board of Directors shall determine from time to time the amount of initiation fee, if any, and any dues payable to the corporration and shall give appropiate notice to the members. My question is the last time our fees were changed was in 1989 and it was done as an amendment to the restrictions through a vote of the majority of the members. the by-laws do not state this as i see does the BOD have the right to increase the annual dues with only a vote of the board!

Donna,
How would you interpret the reason the change requires notification to the owners or members?

If the Board can do what they want why notify the members?

I contend this really means that the owners are asked to have input into the decision to change the fees.

Our coindo requires approval of the members 2/3rds I believe.

I am at a lose as to why the Board will feel otherwise. If they can substainiate a raise(and well they can if for no other reasons that over the years the fees have remained the same) why would they not put it before the council. Suppose when they notify the owners, over fifty % say they disagree, what then my friend. Is the Board going to force this down their throats? I never objected to any raises so far and our members don't care one way or the other, but, neither of these things should matter. The process of placing the increase before the members should be worded to allow for objections.

Your Board operates well apparently, which is great, what of all the Boards we read about thaty don't operate their business or their responsibility correctly?
The members, in the end, must have the final say.

DonnaS,
Since I have taken office I have come to understand that the homeowners no nothing about the BODS responsibility or powers. Articles IV and XII of our by-laws clearly state our position but if you tell a homeowner this they go wild and say you cant change anything without a majority approving it.I can not find this reguarding the every decision having to be approved by a vote of the majority

DonnaS,
I found my problem it is in an amendment to restrictions: WHEREAS,PARAGRAPH 5 of said Restrictions state" Each lot shall be subject to to the payment of an annual assessment of the of $35.00, which shall be subject to increase to not more than $75.00 per year by a majority of the owners of the lots in the subdivision signing, ackwowledging and recording an instrument for that purpose from time to time";and WHEREAS, by majority vote of the lot owners at a meeting of the Association held February,1989 the yearly assessment for each lot was increased to $75.00

This vote was done in February 1989 but was not legally changed and recorded with the clerks office until July 14th 1998 and this is the only reffrence to any vote needing a majority of the owners.

TomK,
It is funny how things get interpreted by different people. You say the first sentenence says it all, we have to follow the docs. But what would happen if the owners get to vote on the budget and vote it down every time and never give a thought that if this really did happen, when an unanimous vote is not required, the voters would be at fault. You must have some preconceived notion that the Board is always right and the majority of owners are always wrong. We all come from budget conscience bases (homes), we know what a budget is, we live under it every day, we know food goes up and gas and nearly everything, but for some reason we have a mental block about our HOA budget.

I don't expect the members to make the budget any more than you would expect the members of your church to make the budget. But in our HOA's we expect and deserve accountability. The members should formally endorse the budget. If all you are concerned with is the few that you can't please, then you have no problems getting an endorsement from the members.

I certainly am not questioning your right to make the budget and the Boards right to approve it, but I do question what you put in that budget and how you report the expenditures of that budget. If you have a habit of hiding things in the budget and not setting aside reserve funds and spend too much on salaries, etc., then, I have an absolute right to question your budget and if the required persentage as described by the documents is obtained, they have the right to stop your budget.

My experience has been that most people don't have any interest in the budget and get in line to pay when called upon. Certainly this dosesn't indicate that boards are going to become sterile from owners fighting the board.

Don't you believe that if the owners don't question the boards decisions and actions, the HOA suffers. I am not talking about chronic bitching, but I am talking about folks like Bruce.

Bruce,
Let me start from the fact this is not a new problem and to answer your last question.
Of course the time is now.

To this end, let's review a few things.
1. No one bought there not having the official docs made available to them, did they? You have records to verify this.

2. If this is true then these people certified they would uphold the documents, agreed?

3. If you have all this information available and your association is registered in the court house and licensed as a non-profit and are current with your filings, you need to get this together.

4. You will need some means of individually notifing them of a Mandatory meeting of the association to discuss your road concerns.
Don't worry about the fact you can't make it mandatory, the point here is to go on record that great pains was taken to advertize the meeting.

5. What ever the discussion at the meeting it appears to be that you much seek approval of the Board or the owners to address the situation. You need a mandate from the people.

6. I would us this mandate from your owners to start at the local political level and go up the ladder until you find someone that will help or tell you how to solve your problem. It sounds like your association is in dire straits if you all can't provide the services required under your documents. That is the BIG ISSUE.

7. You are probably going to have to go to the state level, but it is important to take the other steps and make a record.

8. Your association is going to have to decide. It does not look like you can handle the job without a ton of money and even if you did get the road situation all settled, you all could not afford to maintain it. By trying to maintain the roads you may be doing more harm than good. You need to get out from under this impossible situation.

9. I also would do my damdest to find out all the documents that were used to transfer control over to the association. If this was not done right, the developer may still have some responsibility.

10. Not a pretty picture and a lot left out and maybe some things I got confused, but, to continue the way you all have is plain and simple, not very smart. If you find you are in a hole you dug, best to stop digging and look for ways out.

Use this site as you go along, and I can't say it enough, keep records of what you all decide. This can be either solved or contained, but it seems obvious that whatever the Board there has done in the past, they need to stop, and take hold.

BruceC2: To make a change or amendment to official docs, of which Bylaws is one, requires a percentage of members to vote yes to pass.

Your statement, from the bylaws, certainly gives authority to the Board to determine an initiation fee, if any, and any dues payable, AND shall give appropriate notice to members.

Certainly the Board has a fudiciary duty to the assn. members to consider income through fees vs. expenses the assn. is incurring. The Board would be shirking its duty NOT to ensure that the fees are providing adequately for assn. needs.

CriagB1,
Thanks Craig I dont know how close your subdivision is to 460 the quarry there at the Botetourt/Bedford line is closing down one of there pits by spring. crushn run and pug mill that goes for $240.00-260 for about 18 tons you can get this stuff called non- scheduled for about 160.00 its great comes in wet and packs like cement. I dont have a problem on our board about using special assessment we are 100% it`s explaining the options to the members thats a problem. I plan on posting a couple more of our articles reguarding the voting and hopefully by the time the lawyers contact us i will be ready and not waste my questions.

Sharon,
Smarten me up a little about Virginia Law. How can the members override a decision made by the Board, it this particular issue. The Board has the fiduciary reposibility to protect the property. The Board was elected by the members. In this case if the Board does not do something they are exposing themselves to legal action. If the Board feels strong about their duties, and they should, the only way their decision can be voided is for the members to recall the Board and get a new Board. If the new board don't take steps to solve this problem they can be charged for not upholding Fiduciary responsibility.

Dont think that you live in a society where the majority rules, you don't. The board serves the people, the President serves the Board. Service to the people includes strict responsibilities, one is Fiduciary.
Sure it's nice to ask for a vote from the owners and it's nicer to accommodate the majority, but the Board rules by the election of the people. If a decision by the Board is unpopular, and the members want to scream about it, they can pressure the board to change their decision but they cannot force the Board to violate their elected legal obligation.