Open Board Meetings

Linda,

Do your docs have any advice, such as meetings in general of BODs specifically? Ours are silent as to Membership attendance at and notice of BOD meetings, so we keep them private.

Forgot to mention:

If one or more HOs asked to attend a BOD meeting, we'd be happy to have them join us if they had some comments or concerns to share with us. Maybe even let them stick around for anything we discussed until it came to any "sensitive" matters we felt weren't appropriate for outside, inquiring minds.

no, they should not be open to the public. the only people who should be there are the board members, other elected officials, representatives of business/vendors with a need to be there (management company, landscaper, attorney, etc.) as needed, shareholders/owners, and invited guests (as required). Jane, Joe, and John Q Public have no rights to be there. Why should they be allowed? What purpose does it serve to let the public in?

Linda - let's confirm terms:

Members do not = general public i.e. guy off the streets.

Members = homeowners and members of the associattion.

Having Members observe and/or take part in Board meetings is sometimes done. Often there is a time for member input at board meetings. I have even heard of Members participating in debate time when ther is a motion on the floor.

Some boards do not allow any Members present. The Members elected them and trust them to do the job. It is not "mass rule" it is "governance by a board.'

What do your bylaws say?

Roberts Rules says that only the members of the assembly should be in attendance of their own meeting. That would mean the Board only has Board members at its meeting - unless others are invited.

"Public Meeting" would only be required of your HOA if you were in discussion and/or voting on an issue where the municipality or lcoal governmental entity had an interest, i.e. deainage ditch or sewer line gouing thru HOA prpoperty.

Hi Linda,

Check your state laws and governing docs. In IL, BOD meetings are open to the members (owners) – except as described below. In addition, Master Association BOD meetings (comprised of condos and single family homes in my situation) are also open to all owners (Sec. 18.5 of IL Condo Act, below).

Our meetings are not open to the general public nor to renters.

Bonnie

See pg. 17 from:
http://www.ksnlaw.com/resources/documents/IllinoisCondominiumPropertyActJune2008.pdf

(IL Condo Act)

(9) that meetings of the board of managers shall be open to any unit owner, except for
the portion of any meeting held (i) to discuss litigation when an action against or on behalf of the
particular association has been filed and is pending in a court or administrative tribunal, or when the board of managers finds that such an action is probable or imminent, (ii) to consider information regarding appointment, employment or dismissal of an employee, or (iii) to discuss violations of rules and regulations of the association or a unit owner's unpaid share of common expenses; that any vote on these matters shall be taken at a meeting or portion thereof open to any unit owner; that any unit owner may record the proceedings at meetings or portions thereof required to be open by this Act by tape, film or other means; that the board may prescribe reasonable rules and regulations to govern the right to make such recordings, that notice of such meetings shall be mailed or delivered at least 48 hours prior thereto, unless a written waiver of such notice is signed by the person or persons entitled to such notice pursuant to the declaration, bylaws, other condominium instrument, or provision of law other than this subsection before the meeting is convened, and that copies of notices of meetings of the board of managers shall be posted in entranceways, elevators, or other conspicuous places in the condominium at least 48 hours prior to the meeting of the board of managers except where there is no common entranceway for 7 or more units, the board of managers may designate one or more locations in the proximity of these units where the notices of meetings shall be posted;

Linda,

Certain states such as Florida do have open meeting laws also called the Sunshine Law.

I'm in Connecticut and we are a small community of 56 units. We have no such law.

Board meetings used to be held at a board member's home. This made it uncomfortable to have owners present. Of course the board back then also made owners feel uncomfortable. It was like, "State your mind and get out!" Not a good way to do things.

Fast forward to this year.

A) We kicked that board out.
B) We have meetings in the clubhouse of a nearby association.
C) The times of meetings are very well publicized.
D) Any owner is invited to board meetings
E) The first fifteen minutes of the meeting is for owners to state their peace.
F) After that they can stay but they can't say anything.
G) The minutes are very informative now. I also send out letters from the President to explain things going on.
H) No owners come now because they don't feel the need to. We answer all their questions.

Linda, if you make it look like your hiding something than that raises the red flag. You now have "2" curious owners that aren't getting answers; how many more would you like?

What info are these owners not getting? They are not the enemy. (Although at least one of the two might be your association nut job, we all have one of those.) What have you got to lose by letting them come to meetings? For one thing your meeting will (should?) be more professionally run with an audience.

Dana

YEAH Marianne! You and I have some "righteous Karma" going on considering the distance between us. We run along the same plane.

Glad you saw the light and made the change to open meetings before you got ousted. LOL

Dana

Dana,
Just to clarify for you, The Florida Sunshine Laws DO NOT apply to HOA meetings. HOAs are exempt from Following the Sunshine Laws except in cases where the HOA and the County, City or any State governing body is involved with issues such as zoning and regulatory items which affect the HOA. There are 2 seperate statements in the Sunshine Laws which remove HOAs from being applicable to the Sun.Laws

Open meeting laws for the HOAs are listed under State Statutes 720.

I do not understand why any State or HOA Board would want any meetings closed from the general membership except where legal and personal issues are involved. As many have said, what is there to hide? Every member is entitled to know what is going on, no exceptions except the legal thing.

Dana,

This is what we are here for and that is to share info and I never intend to take anyone to task personally. This open meeting subject gets brought up regularily. I support a thought that every State should pass minimum legislation requireing open meetings for the membership to be able to know what is going on in their associations. There are other items as well but open meetings is major important.

Sunshine laws are different from State to State. Because Florida has some major Statutes for HOAs and Condos, therefore those are the governing laws for them. Some States have no laws on the books for HOAs, leaving Sunshine Laws for the State as the only guidelines for meetings.

Hi Susan, Oh, OK. Whatever it's called, it is sure working well here. I guess we could call the first hour an Executive Session? Except for the few disgruntled former board members who were voted out of office in Oct 07, residents here tell us over and over again how pleased they are with the present board's activities. Residents demonstrate their community interest by their participation in social events, volunteer opportunities, and attendance at the annual meeting (67 households out of 115 in a 55-and-older community where several residents are housebound). Of course, that is not all attributable to the member input hour. However, I think that the board's ATTITUDE of openness is key to people feeling their ideas and participation are valued.

Marianne, I don't think we qualify as sister's. I could be your brother! Even though my wife and I have our bad days I'm not quite ready for the sex change just yet.

I do feel honored that my comments on this message board seemed so intelligent that they could have only been made by a woman though.

LOL

(Mr.) Dana

Oh I love it! I actually wondered when I wrote the comment, but took the chance. I am honored to call you brother!!!!! Keep writing your insights on this board. You have much wisdom to pass along.
Marianne

DonnaS:

We are an HOA with approximately 250 homes.
Our members have been under constant attack from the Board (and officers) of "our" HOA.
I can write a book (as wordy as "War and Peace" on the questionable activities of this board.
They hold closed meetings, and fail to give proper notice to the membership.
At the last closed meeting, They put thru an $ 18,000.00 tennis court renovation.
Three proposals were tendered, (all from tennis court contractors) and awarded the contract to
the contractor with the highest bid.
The "proposal" was for $ 18,000.00 and offered a "formal" written contract (upon request).
They failed to produce this "formal" request and (apparently) proceeded with the work.
NO MEMBERS of the HOA were made aware of this project.

The "lowest" bid was for $ 12,000.00.

When questioned about why they "awarded" to the highest bidder, the president sent back an
E-Mail stating when a project is awarded, "three bids are NOT required ("by Law").
She also said "any contract" can be awarded (with-out) bids, "as long the contract is under
10% of our total budget".

My answer was WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT !

We are in Florida, and operated under Florida Statute FS720.

I am pursuing the Management Companies tactics, and am going to the DPR (Dept. of Professional Regulation) this week to address these transgressions.

Three minutes are "awarded" to members, and only one (three minute) presentation is allowed
per (monthly) meeting can you (or any other HOATalk member) give me guidance, on this subject?

As others have stated, here in Florida we are required to open the meetings up to members of the association. I also agree, that if you have nothing to hide, then this should not be an issue. With regards to allowing member input during these meetings, you should check your associations governing documents. According to our associations documents, the only time a member has a right to speak is at the annual membership meeting & election. Even then they are technically required to submit in writing prior to the meeting their desire to speak and state on what specific topic they wish to speak. The board does reserve the right to limit the time they may speak within reason and not less than 3 minutes. However, in our community we are a bit more lax on this issue. We encourage members to attend all meetings. In doing so we feel it instills confidence in those that have been elected and helps to curb any suspicions members may have regarding how the community is being run. During our monthly board meetings, we open up to the floor at the end of the meeting for member input. In doing so, this allows the board to maximize productivity during the meeting, while still allowing feedback from the community.