Newsletter Committee

I would think that if they are spending their own money, then they would govern the content.

I would consider it an unofficial newsletter, unless the HOA endorses it or there is something in writing that expressly grants the HOA authority over this project.

Alex, Kevin and Michele,
Have to know first if this Board approval was an official assignment of a committe. Also have to know what agreements were officially reached conditioning the editorial content of the Newsletter.

I will guess and say this was some agreement of a few people.

If true and the Newsletter receives absolutely no support from the Board, the Newsletter is personal correspondence and opinions......nothing more.

Again if true, it can be helpful to the association if that is the purpose. The Board has no editorial authority and can not expect any.

But, what a good idea gone bad if the two fractions are spatting. I personally see nothing wrong with a Board endorsing and supporting a Newsletter and not even wanting to have editorial of management control. Interactions between the two....sure. Agreements between the two.....sure. Compromises and civility and integrity.......sure.

Please tell the fractions the Prize (information) is bigger than both of them.

Is the committee provided for in your docs or is it an ad hoc committee appointed by the Board? If so, the Board can establish guidelines and/or appoint new members to produce the newsletter.

When you say that the committee has been paying for its own expenses- is that through solicited advertising or do the committee members pay for it themselves? If Joe's Pressure Wash is paying for an ad in what he believes is an official newsletter of the assn., then, IMO, it should be sanctioned by the assn. Anyone can create and distribute a self-published newsletter. However, if ads are being solicited, they should be cautioned not to give the impression to businesses that the newsletter is affiliated with the HOA. I would also suggest that a disclaimer be included on the newsletter itself that it is not an official newsletter of the association. I have seen this done on unofficial HOA websites.

My personal feeling is that official assn. newsletters should contain dissenting opinions from members. I like the idea of a Letters to the Editor area for this. That said, I strongly believe that Board and committee member dissention has no place in an assocation newsletter. As a body, issues are debated in open meetings, consensus is reached and, once reached, the body speaks with one voice.

As to the Board being restricted on what can be included- my feeling is that there should be regular columns for the president and treasurer. Maybe a From the Board column that could be more generic in terms of what the board is working on, kudos to committees or individuals who have contributed in some way, etc.

The association newsletter is the face of the community, often all that most members see and read to keep up with what is happening within a community. It should be informative and upbeat, while encouraging input- good and bad-from members in the form of Letters to the Editor. I'm sure that someone on HOAtalk must have guidlelines for a newsletter committee that would be helpful.

Patti,
Good logic for the most part and I agree no Official endorsement should be made or hinted, the opposite is required.

A little item caught my attention. How many associations do you suppose, that have Oficial websites or Newletters, allow for an interactive open discussion without editorial censorship, usually by the Board.

If what is posted here is representative of the whole, that real number will be small.

I appreciate your thought process about an official Newsletter, but you seem to pull back just as you approach "Freedom of Speach."

Donald,
Now that I know you suffer from the same effects of dying synapses in the brain, I think I can understand your post more.

I don't think I used vicious at all did I.

My read on your post was that you welcomed open exchanges as long as the Board set the rules. Now, that would not be an open exchange, would it.

I was not being harsh, just passionate.

Alex,

I understand you to be saying that these members formed their own committee to publish a newsletter. This is NOT a board-appointed committee. By using their own funds to keep this newsletter alive, IMO, they have the right to determine what articles can be printed and restrict any info they so choose. I would also suggest that the name of the assn not be the title of the newsletter, i.e., do not title it the "XXX Homeowners's Assn Newsletter". That way the newsletter has no real connection to the HOA and any info printed therein cannot be construed as coming from the BOD.

Alex,

Thx for the clarification. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the board approved the formation of this committee but did not designate it an official assn committee, right? I agree with your plan action but I suggest you make it clear this is not an assn committee.

Alex,
You didn't start a thing. We just do this, that seems to be our M.O. It can get confusing no doubt and sometimes the reason for the thread gets lost. But reality is reality and this Board Discussion board moves so fast, about the time something gets sorted out, there is a new Gal on the block. Don't take it to heart.

We did much the same at our condo with a website. It caused all kinds of accusations to fly around, nearly all false, about the website. Momentum moves and we now have a Board approved website. Some (me included) are not happy with the complete results but it was in effect, a great victory for the members in more ways than one. So, like the lions cubs of the pride, we took our bite, and now wait until we can go take another bite.

If your Board does a good job of informing the owners and does not build walls instead of bridges, your independent Newsletter will either settle into "sports" reporting or will fade away.

That means you all on the Board will decide the fate of the Newsletters.

I say great, Democratic action in action........roughly of course.

In my (not-vast) experience, finding anyone to put a newsletter on any regular basis is very difficult. It would be great if you could be the voice of reason and turn it around so that the existing committee could be the official newsletter for the association.

(You will note that I have nothing to contribute in regard to HOW to accomplish this, however! It's hard to bring factions together once there has been a split.)

Did you make a typo?!?

We never see typos here.

In fact, I think the site has a plug in that makes typos invisible to other users. . .

So, not to worri!

Robert,

I never learned to type so my fingers just hit any keys that they want but usually my jist gets thru. As Michelle said, non of us is here to test each others spelling and typing skills, at least I hope not because I will flunk. For some reason, I know what you are saying and meant to say so are we on the share a brain program?