First Hearing as a Director

Well, this should be interesting, was notified that a resident has requested a hearing before the BOD. I do not have any information regarding this hearing, other then when it will be.

Is there anything I should do before the day arrives to prepare?

I understand that it is not a criminal hearing, and is more along the lines of a fact finding mission, and the evidence will be what is used to make a decision, but I feel as though I should research this before hand, or is that not something that should be done in all fairness to the resident/owner.

Thanks for the insight,

Randy

Take a look at your associations rules and regulations to see if you have policies related to hearings. In Colorado, we are required by law to have policies on the conduct of hearings in connection with covenant and rule enforcement.

Randy, it is heartwarming to see a new Board member as conscientous as you. Many of your questions should be answered in your Declaration, Bylaws, and Rules & Regs. However, one question can lead to another and then another. I highly recommend Orten and Hindman's series of free seminars for Board members. Their attornies provide valuable information and they are very good about answering individual's questions. Also, their web site, ortenhindman.com, provides numerous articles.

With regards to the life span of an HOA the Declaration often sets them up for perpetuity. Some of the older HOA's have "died" because the Declaration was poorly written; or they have no manditory assessment and/or the members fail to comply with or fail to enforce the controlling documents.

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to say Thank You to everyone for your insight.
We made it through the hearing, it seems that in this case the fine schedule will not be enforceable.

The violations that were issued lacked proper wording, mis-quoted times, and gave the resident absolutely no information as to where to locate the rule which was violated. Overall, lacked professionalism, so in ordere to be fair, we (the panel), will issue a stern warning that actions of this nature will not now or in the future be tolerated withtin the community.

I see it as time for accountability, not only for those that violate the rules (and the excuse of I didn't know, don't work). Knowing the rules & regs is something that each resident must know, ignornace in these cases will not be enough to excuse.

Requests are forthcoming for action to ensure this professionalism jumps to a level that we as the board want to see exhibited in all areas of management.

Reading through the forum here really has been very helpful.
it seems that the BOD's of the past (in my location(not all)) have been rather apethic exhibiting lack of follow-up. Not no more! We are starting the process of following everything, and I'm Gnatt charting about everything that has a time line or end date, this to better help the board memberes and the members of the HOA, thhis way it is easy to convey information to others without becoming tongue-tied and without feeling that anyone has been talked down to, again that fairness thing, I respect the memberes of the HOA in thier decisions to whomever they elect to the board, however they do not always know how the individual works or doesn't work with others. Sometimes, some let a simple title work like a gas of sorts and things like ego's and heads tend to get big, making some individuals just impossible to work with. No room for ego's or grandstanding, the community values and the members of that community are priority. No room for personal likes or dislikes, I believe in the BOD being able to communicate, and to function as a team, no room individual John Wayne's (IMHO), no decisions without the entire board knowing of it and a discussion on the topic.
Harmony on a BOD, would seem to me, to reflect in the community as well, or at least I would like to hope anyway.

Sorry got off track there, anyway, with the chart idea, the HOA as whole can look to see where things are and then can focus on other questions rather then wondering about certain items and the time frame for them.

I hope I'm not sounding like a hardass, that is really not the case at all. Organization is the key, most would agree. If I was able to offer advise to someone, who is like that of myself, first time to be on a BOD. I would have to say, read everything (a couple of times), ask questions that allow for more then a simple yes or no answer, and most of all be an effective listener.

Looking forward to my first class at O&H on the 30th, hope to learn a lot, and bring that back for my other board members to learn from.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and your insights. extremely helpful indeed, your expereience is a great learning tool for those like myself. Thank you for taking the time to share.

Randy