Community Manager Misled Us in HOA Meeting

I am a new Board Member in our 30 home gated community in Cave Creek, AZ. Last week at an Open Meeting I heard our Community Manager deliberately mislead us in regards to a vendor we were considering and in fact voted against a short while later in the same meetings.

She said that in her phone call with the vendor he told her he didn’t know if his company offered 24/7 Emergency Services (this was true). As she was telling us this I texted the vendor who immediately texted back stating that the day before our meeting he had texted our Community Manager correcting his obvious mistake and that yes, his company DID provide 24/7 Emergency Services.

The preferred vendor that our Community Manager had pushed was voted in. My fellow board members, including the President, are not alarmed by this obvious deception.

I texted our Community Manager twice the night of our meeting asking her to please confirm or deny that she had received the text from other vendor stating that yes, they did provide the 24/7 Em Services, thereby correcting what he said during their phone call. Crickets. No reply.

So a few days later I texted telling her again….stating that the optics were not good because it looked as if she deliberately misled us in order to get her preferred vendor voted in and costing an additional $5K.

She responded by sending out a defamatory email to the entire board about me. I then received two follow up toxic, disparaging emails from the President and another board member asking me to stop ‘ripping up our HOA’.

I have proof that the Comm Mgr lied because the losing vendor sent me a screenshot PROVING he had sent it to her the day PRIOR to the meeting. How should I proceed?

The HOA board is not concerned about the obvious deception but I’m struggling knowing what she did.

Yes, I am aware my fiduciary duty is to provide oversight for my community. This is what was driving me. The meeting was recorded I believe by the Comm Mgr, so I’m thinking I should ask for an unedited copy.

What is your definition of "oversight," Kathy? From what I can see after many years of board experience, there seem to be a large number of rookie mistakes here. I am not being unkind. In fact, the opposite, What now needs to happen is: how can you become an effective board member having created quite a stir among your Board and with your PM. It os not matter that "SHE started it" with her lie. What matters is repairing the results.

First, I can see how you (and I, too) would be very, very angry that the PM lied to the Board about the duties outlined in the vendors' proposals. Your Board should have been reviewing written proposals from the vendors. The availability of Em. servce should have been in all proposals. Instead, your Board relied on a verbal comment from the PM that the one vendor "said" no E. services? Are you saying that the Board voted to choose a vendor with no written proposals?? The Board did not approve a written contract??

To me, then, you are not the only inexperienced board member.

Speaking of contracts, many with MCs do not permit board members to contact the PM whenever they wish. Often, the board president is a liaison between the PM & all directors. And accusing the PM of something disgusting. So, read your contract with your MC. Indeed, you should have contacted your Board first and never approached the PM. Without sounding scary, it is possible though unlikely, that your PM can claim a hostile work environment against you.

Over 14 years, I must say I have never ever known of a director to contact a prospective vendor during a board meeting. No way should that vendor have been further "interviewed"(with none other having an equal chance) by one board member--without Board approval. I assume the Board is plenty annoyed about that. If the proposal or all proposals are silent on emergency service, you or any directors should have motioned to postpone a decision until you have written info from each vendor about this topic. Some other board member should have know to make that motion!

Again, based long experience and my belief that you DO want to be an active effective board member, I'm thinking, and this will take courage, that you need to write some sort of apology-lite to your board colleagues, pleading your eagerness to be a good team player and strong desire to serve. Emphasize your willingness to learn.

I do think think the entire Board could and should meet in executive session to straighten these things out. The trouble is that usually one director cannot call a meeting. So you'd need to team up with your president or any other director to call such a meeting. See your Bylaws for more.

To sum up, rather than going into defensive mode about the lyin' PM-your micro and very real concern-- and PROVING that she lied, you, your Board and your community will benefit if you can make amends in a conciliatory way. Also it's totally true that if the Board majority turns against you, you will accomplish nothing and will be useless to your community.

I hope other posters have ideas and suggestions, too.

I just got my log in credentials and am playing devils advocate as your situation is more common than you might think. Community management company reps (hired help) are not in the game to play fair...they push their own preferred vendors and they push their own preferred legal. Not a point of discussion, they just do...period. Not to discount your issue as I have issues voluminous in nature stemming from rogue hired help and rogue board members who haven't read the governing documents but simply goes along with rep whatever she says. I am the burr that has lodged itself firmly into the reps backside and that of my fellow board members. I setup my account as Volunteer because that is a Board Member. I know the rules and I have a local attorney who works with HOA's that are led by such folks. But, the hired help works for the Association not the other way around. The certifications most of them like to tout mean nothing in the real world...only applicable inside their own little CAI clique. Not being rude just stating the obvious. Pull the verbiage from their contract or from your own Bylaws or CC&R's where it says the Board "SHALL" hire... doesn't say hired help hires...they are obligated under their contract to provide a list of vendors by which the Board (by majority) should vote to hire. Hired help may come back and say that's what you hired us to do. No, tell them you did not hire them to be the tail wagging the dog.... Just wanted to drop this here as I did see a topic I wanted to expound on regarding cutting low hanging branches and just "whose" standards they are quoting when they threaten to enter property to trim and bill homeowner. Misleading is grounds to vacate a contract. I have way more to add and if you like I can certainly be a springboard for you if you need additional perspective or insight. LindaG24 from Houston, Texas

To clarify…

1. I had procured the vendor’s bid WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT OF THE BOARD. I had NO prior knowledge of or had done any business with this them (let’s call them Vendor A) that I brought in to discuss and vote on.

2. Vendor A had provided an extensive ten page proposal stating 44 years in business, successful achievements, high profile happy customers and their A+ BBB rating, which is why I selected them and discarded a half dozen others. I went shopping as if I were doing so for own my multi-million dollar home. I am a picky customer and had no agenda other than my fiduciary duty for my community.

3. So when I heard our Community Mgr misrepresent them, stating they did NOT offer 24/7 Emergency Services and even driving home that particular point during our recorded Open Meeting, I texted Vendor A immediately asking him to please clarify this point as I was sure they DID in fact offer 24/7 Emerg Services for our front entry gate motor replacement. He confirmed that he had indeed clarified that in a text the day before our HOA meeting. So I spoke up during the meeting being completely transparent with my discovery and method (texting). I hid nothing. I wasn’t rude at all, merely stating the facts.

4. Community Mgr hurriedly closed the meeting after the board voted in favor of her preferred vendor. Her bias for her preferred vendor was clear in the months before we voted, and another board member told me he was suspicious of her motive for pushing her vendor.

5. I texted her immediately after the meeting, asking if she had received Vendor A’s text the day before the meeting clarifying that they DID in fact offer 24/7 Emergency Services that she denied to us. No response.

6. I immediately communicated my deep concern to the Pres of our board who pretty much dismissed me. Okay, I let it go with Mr President, very disappointed.

7. Several days later I sent a follow up text to Comm Mgr asking had she received the correction text from Vendor A prior to our HOA meeting because the optics on that troubled me. I specifically asked ‘Am I missing something here?’ I fully believe my fiduciary duty was to investigate what appeared to be deception and more especially because she was ignoring my questions on this.

8. The Comm Mgr immediately sent out an inflammatory email to everyone on the board, accusing me of having an agenda to have my vendor selected. I 100% believe her ugly email about me was being vindictive in order to deflect from her deception. And I did have an agenda…to fulfill my fiduciary by following up on my deepening suspicions.

9. Two board members bought her story and sent out follow up emails, again to everyone on the board, attacking me and my motives. One from Mr President and another long time board member who had selected our Comm Mgr last year.

10. I believe I’ve been attacked for following ‘my gut’ and in the course of that had offended the more experienced, long-term board members. I’m retired from a career in real estate and transparency has always been the hallmark of my business dealings, so I automatically default to that. In this case it seems to have worked to my detriment.

You wrote:
A "lie" by a PM (which is not proven…

Yes, it is proven. The vendor provided me with a screenshot showing the date he texted the Comm Mgr stating his company DID IN FACT offer 24/7 Emergency Services - she pressed this specific point to us. In hindsight, I can clearly see the manipulative deception she employed to get her preferred vendor voted in.

After witnessing this, I no longer trust her. I’m disgusted.

So you nailed her. What are you going to do about it?

So....Dean & JohnC: What do you think the Board should do about this "deceit?" Do you think the Board might offer Kathy some advice on her duties as a director?

In her & my open meeting states, all owners need to be able to hear the Board members and anyone else who contributes at the board meeting. Yet Kathy engaged in a secret text with a potential vendor. No one in attendance could hear this. No other prospective vendor had an opportunity to "add" information about their firm.

Another matter is that Kathy wrote that the PM adjourned the meeting. I think we all know that is wrong: Only the board of directors may make motions or adjourn a meeting. This makes me wonder if the entire Board is inexperienced?