Gifts

LisaN1 (Florida)
Posts: 12

Posted:

Hi, maybe someone can help me with this one.

Previous board gave a gift of $150 to the property manager last holday season and used the association's money. Can they do this? Aren't they only supposed to spend money on expenses of the associaton? They never told us about this (membership) we, the current board, just happened to stumble upon the e-mail (and check stub) while going through the associaiton's boxes.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Lisa, some HOAs do give a holiday bonus to their property manager. I do not concur with that policy. But perhaps ....

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

Our board one time took up a collection among themselves to give the MC a Christmas "bonus." Just the one time tho, I think. No HOA funds were used whatsoever. This whole tipping thing really gets dumb. To Insure Prompt Service. Yeah, right.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

Is there a line item in your budget for gifts or employee bonus?
How was that figure arrived at?
Did the Board pay for it, or was it donated?
If purchased, what category did they post it to in the ledger?

These are questions I'd have.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

Lisa, yes they can do that. You elected them to run the association business, and they have the power to spend association money in furtherance of that cause.

elected officials can do a lot of things with the power we let them wield. That's one reason we should treat them like babies, and change them often.

LisaN1 (Florida)
Posts: 12

Posted:

Wow, I guess they have a lot more power than we think they do. I serve on the board now and we won't do ANYTHING that seems just a bit unethical.

We just hired a new property manager and we made sure that they can't spend anything more than $100 without our approval, as the previous manager was able to spend up to $1,000 and, well, you can only imagine where that took us since the property manager was also the maintenance company, the landscaping company and the irrigation company.

HaroldS (Arizona)
Posts: 906

Posted:

"That's one reason we should treat them like babies, and change them often." Absolutely love it Brian! In addition, like babies, they need constant attention and watching.

NoelleC (California)
Posts: 23

Posted:

We just had a weird incident here at our HOA. No, you can not use community funds for anything other than maintenance, upkeep and such. Read the 2008 Davis Steriling Act...

Our HOA President tried to give away a free months worth of dues in order to entice homeowners to a meeting... and she was a little miffed when I quoted the Davis Sterling Act..

NoelleC (California)
Posts: 23

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By NoelleC on 02/19/2008 8:04 PM
We just had a weird incident here at our HOA. No, you can not use community funds for anything other than maintenance, upkeep and such. Read the 2008 Davis Steriling Act...

Our HOA President tried to give away a free months worth of dues in order to entice homeowners to a meeting... and she was a little miffed when I quoted the Davis Sterling Act..

1) The board of directors shall not expend funds designated as reserve funds for any purpose other than the repair, restoration, replacement, or maintenance of, or litigation involving the repair, restoration, replacement, or maintenance of, major components that the association is obligated to repair, restore, replace, or maintain and for which the reserve fund was established.. giving a gift of that amount of money is insane. I would not of approved that and I do beleive it against the law to use community monies for such.

NoelleC (California)
Posts: 23

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By NoelleC on 02/19/2008 8:04 PM
We just had a weird incident here at our HOA. No, you can not use community funds for anything other than maintenance, upkeep and such. Read the 2008 Davis Steriling Act...

Our HOA President tried to give away a free months worth of dues in order to entice homeowners to a meeting... and she was a little miffed when I quoted the Davis Sterling Act..

1) The board of directors shall not expend funds designated as reserve funds for any purpose other than the repair, restoration, replacement, or maintenance of, or litigation involving the repair, restoration, replacement, or maintenance of, major components that the association is obligated to repair, restore, replace, or maintain and for which the reserve fund was established.. giving a gift of that amount of money is insane. I would not of approved that and I do beleive it against the law to use community monies for such.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

Those are funds designated as "reserve funds".

I believe they are talking about the General Fund.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By NoelleC on 02/19/2008 8:04 PM
We just had a weird incident here at our HOA. No, you can not use community funds for anything other than maintenance, upkeep and such. Read the 2008 Davis Steriling Act...

Our HOA President tried to give away a free months worth of dues in order to entice homeowners to a meeting... and she was a little miffed when I quoted the Davis Sterling Act..

Noelle with respect Davis Sterling only applies to CA; if you look closely the OP lives in FL.

Lisa if the practice is not prohibited in your CC&R's or by the FL statutes then yes the bonus was probably legal no matter how inappropriate.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions