Am I a board member if...

You are a Board member but not legally a member? Boy, we surely need more than this. Are you management, developer seated?

My most dependable answer:

It depends. . .

It depends on what your governing documents say about the membership requirements of board members (directors of the board) in terms of who is eligible (or "legally" a member).

My documents do not require that directors/board members be either residents in the community or members of the Association.

It depends on what your governing documents say who can and can't be officers and whether they have to be board members or not.

If the Secretary of the HOA is also a board member, that person may most certainly vote on all association business that comes before the board. That person can also make motions, second motions, and vote on those motions, including motions to accept or deny contracts.

I have to admit one thing, however, I have no idea what you could possibly mean by this particular statement:

and not be involved with the elections process part only?

What does that mean? What is the "elections process part only" and what sort of "involvement" would an officer or board member have in it to begin with?

Hello,

I rent in the community, and serve as Secretary, I assume that I'm not a director?? Which means that I'm limited. The Bylaws seperate the officers and directors section. The officers have assigned duties, in which mine is to record minutes of the meetings. The directors it says has to be a member and shall have only 1 vote per lot owner, so I assume only members can vote during the election process only. But what I'm most unclear on is if I can make decisions for the community: in relation to contractors, changes in community and providing information to homeowners that include my input?

Yeah, my HOA's Bylaws do not require Directors to be Members.

Also, the Secretary and Treasurer are not required to be Directors. However, the President and the VP "shall at all times be members of the Board of Directors". I take this to mean that the Pres and VP must be selected from among the sitting Directors (but the Sec and Treas can be anyone who volunteers and can do the job), and if the Pres or VP resigns as Director, 'e cannot continue as an officer of the Association.

Rich,

Not to be mean but if you don't know the answers to these questions you should not be on the board let alone serve as secretary.

I'm not worried about voting or my resume; I'm trying to do make sure I'm no longer in violation of the rules. I used to vote and be called a director. Now I'm the secretary or an officer only, I believe that will suffice to serve. But the board member name confuses me and I want to be clear that it is not the same as a director. I've served incorrectly for some time and no one on the board realized it, not even me. Our bylaws are outdated and I was begged by the homeowners to help when I was at one of the meetings. I joined and have been making a difference. When I'm in my community I sacrifice my time to make sure each homeowner is happy, that's my only goal. It seems that some of you find it hard to believe that I do it because I enjoy making a difference and contributing my time. There was one director in my subdivision when I joined. Now there are more. Progress is the concern. I don't see any reason why I should leave now. I'm needed and I don't want to see the place that I live in suffer if I can help.

Thanks to those who have a purpose in helping and not hurting. Those are the people that deserve apprecitation.

Thanks to all that have tried to help me with this complex issue and not be negative. Keep doing the right thing.

Good day

Rich,

Are you certain that you have read and understood your covenants and by laws. It sure doesn't sound like you have.

It is the same. A member of the Board of Directors is a Director. Anyone who is not a Director is not a member of the Board (even if they attend Board meetings and serve their community in other ways).

I still think it depends on your documents.

What does it say about voting?

My association is required to elect four (4) Directors to the Board. All Directors are required to be owners/members. All Directors vote on all BOD issues. Some of our Directors (me, for instance) are appointed by the BOD (ourselves) to serve as officers of the association.

For us - President and Vice President are required to be Directors. Treasurer and Secretary can be Non-Directors, simply officers. Also, Treasurer/Secretary is the only "office" we have that can be combined, and we can't have fewer than THREE officers.

Current Composition of my association (all proper according to our documents):
4 Directors
- Me (on the title of my unit)
- Mr. "Smith" - Owner (on the title)
- Mr. "Smith" - Owner (on the title) - Brother of the above Mr. Smith
- Mrs. "Smith" - Mr. Smith's wife (on the title) (our documents do not disallow spouses in any way shape or form)

Our Officers:
President - Me, appointed by BOD
Vice President - Mrs. Smith from above.
Secretary/Treasurer - My husband, not a board member.

If it's a BOARD Meeting, my husband does NOT vote, since he's NOT on the board.

If it's a MEMBER Meeting, only one of us would vote as the "member". (One unit = One vote, no matter how many people are on the title).

If it's a management issue, deciding a contract, etc, then it would depend on if it were a BOARD meeting or something else.

Rich, I really think you're doing good trying to make sure you're all legal in your association. Double and triple checking to make sure you're staying within the boundaries of your position is a GOOD thing. I need you in my association...willing to move to Colorado?

Thanks Peter for bringing this up

ANYONE can be asked/appointed to take minutes of the meeting, and it does not have to be a member.

This person would not be the Secretary, but rather a minute-taker. Period. May or may not have membership voting rights or board member rights.

Our condo has a BOD (Board member, director by definition)

Our Board has document authority to appoint members as Officers.
The are not Board members, they do not vote, they are assigned special chores by the Board and serve until chore is complete.

Now what this tells me is you better know what your documents say.

Rich says his documents are old and outdated. Bull, unless they have been amended dissolved or stricken by the court, that is your documents and until you change them you have to abide by them.

This gentleman, as well meaning as he may be will not read and understand what his documents say. How can we possibly cover his association with our documents? We can't.