Board Members

Can a husband and wife both hold a place on a Board? The state is Arizona.

Sandy,

The answer would be in your bylaws. There is no state law addressing this issue.

We've discussed this many times on this forum. The concensus of opinion seems to be that there is only an "appearance" that this not right. Some people think it shouldn't happen because only one vote per lot is allowed in elections and this should also apply to board meetings.

If it is not addressed in your bylaws then it's up to the board to decide what they think is best for your assn.

The one thing that would certainly prevent it from occurring is if your by-laws state that only owner(s) of record in good standing can be a member and board member and vote, and only the husband or wife is an owner of record. Otherwise it's a matter of judgment if it's a possible concentration of power. Personally I can't imagine why any household would want 2 on the same board. After all, someone has to have a life.

Sandy,

I don't see why it would be a problem for both husband and wife to serve on the Board if they do not make up the majority (ie. if there are at least 5 Board members). It may not look "good" to have both of them serve, but that does not mean they cannot execute the job of director ethically. It is just assumption that they will vote together.

*They only have one vote when ALL them members of the HOA are asked to vote on items.
*They both would have a vote with regards to Board only decisions.

I can tell you that we don't have many people willing to serve on our Board and it may eventually come to a point where my husband will need to step up. We do not always agree on everything and he is certainly willing to disagree with me.

I think the most important quality in a Board member is honesty and integrity, not whether they are related, friends with, or married to another Board member. It's all just preception.

It is my understanding the one vote per household rule applys to votes or elections property wide.

You have 100 units IF everyone votes the vote total should be 100.

Simply restricts multiple votes from a single unit.

This does not apply to the situation asked about by the OP.

Can two members of the same household hold a position on the Board? If the documents don't disallow it then why not.

While the Board may have some say in whether they might seek office, depending on the documents for that property, the unit owners would have the final say under the terms of the election. If it is thought they might do a good job then they might get enough votes. If not then the owners have the right not to support them.

If and when they were elected EACH would have a single vote just like ANY other member of the Board.

The single vote per household rule does not pertain to elected members of the Board. Nor should it.

There is nothing inherently wrong or bad or conflict of interest with two members of the same household serving on a board together (even a 5-person board), if the organization's governing documents and state laws do not prohibit it.

Since yours do not prohibit it, then it's perfectly okay.

The "vote" per lot does not pertain to the administrative functions (the day-to-day business) of the board of directors.

The vote-per-lot only applies to votes that the entire membership vote on, such as CC&R amendments, board elections, etc.

Board members vote on motions that come before the board dealing with things like which landscaping company to hire, how many flowers to plant at the signature entrance, etc. The membership has no vote on these issues, only the board does, so the "votes per lot" designation does not apply.

I'm still seeing nothing inherently wrong with this. A "unit" doesn't "control" anything that the membership doesn't allow them to control, and certainly nothing more than the governing documents allow them to "control."

So my answer to both (each? all?) of your questions would be "no."

Let me put it this way, I've been on the board for umpteen gazillion years. I "control" nothing. Even if my spouse were on the board with me, we would "control" nothing. We enforce violations. We address emergency situations (the fence broke or a tree fell). We collect assessments. The budget is based on whatever expenses are required to take care of the things the HOA is mandated to take care of.

What the board is doing is called work. In some cases, when a management company is involved, they "manage."

But they don't "control." The governing documents "control."

If any board, regardless of the make up, is making decisions about things like which landscaping company to hire, what color to paint the fence, whether to plant pansies or daylilies, etc, that the membership doesn't like or approve of, the membership can remove the board members.

How does two board of director members coming from the same unit work as a detriment to the organization?

It doesn't, as far as I can tell. Now, I've seen directors who are very close friends, who both worked on the board, and a third friend who was appointed to the ARC committee end up doing some unethical things. They "approved" each others ARC projects that were counter to our CC&Rs and ARC guidelines.

When we (the other board members) and the rest of the community saw what they were doing, we voted one of them off, the other ended up resigning in a snit and the ARCH committee head never came back.

There was a brief period of years where we had a husband/wife both on the board. Granted, this is pulling from my admittedly faulty memory, but if I recall there were very few times when the couple actually voted alike.

But, to be honest, even though we meet monthly, there are very very very few items during the course of a meeting or even during the course of a year where the board "votes" carry any huge impact -- by that I mean, our expenses are what they are. Our capital plans are what they are. A budget vote isn't likely to get very contentious.

We rarely have an opportunity to make rules and regulations, and when we do, they must be in line with our deed restrictions in any case. Is a single "unit" going to suddenly vote that everyone except they are to get an assessment increase? I just don't get it.

If a board only has 5 or 3 members, and no one else is stepping up and you get two members from a single unit (married, related, or not) to invest their time, talent and energy into helping make the organization run, I still see nothing inherently wrong with that.

Are there cases where two people would or could behave unethically? Absolutely.

But that they happen to be from the same unit is not a predictor of that.

So to automatically presume some unethical or inappropriate action is, to me, misplaced.

I would disagree with anyone that says multiple individuals from the same unit or lot should be allowed to sit on a board.

Take Jon's scenario of 100 units. Each unit represents 1 votes or a 1% majority. This unit's vote in the grand scheme of things and with how current governing documents are written, along with owner apathy now days, really doesn't mean a thing.

What does scare me is that because nothing is said in our governing that would disallow such an event, you could have a unit control:

1) 40% control if a 5 person board or
2) 67% control if only a 3 person board.

This much control over the everyday operation of an association.

Remember, it's not about a husband and wife team, it could be 4 people that invested in a home and are renting it out. You maybe able to speak of your own association, but who speaks for the other 300,000 associations out there.

Oh really

Would you allow me the opportunity to use your association's funds to defend myself in a threatened lawsuit for which I did nothing more than question the procedures for conducting an election. I have always paid my dues on time, never had a fine, never caused any damage to association property, have always volunteered and participated in community events, yet my own homeowners dues are going to be used to sue me.

"The board's mission is for the most part administrative. They aren't kings. They aren't despots. They aren't even big shots. They are lackeys to the governing documents."

You really believe that's true.

Having a husband and wife team on the BOD is far more likely IMHO to damage the marriage rather than the Association. Can you imagine having a disagreement over a vote with another Director and then having to go home and sleep with that Director? Our rules do not prohibit it and the wife of one of the Directors chose to run, she was soundly defeated however when her husband chose not to run the following year she was elected. At the end of the day whether they realize it or not the homeowners have the ultimate power in an HOA.

Seems to me this is much to do about nothing.

As an owner you get one vote by virtue of your buying property. Every unit owner gets the same single vote.

As a Board member you get one vote by virtue of the support from the unit owners you were elected by, if elected. That's why we have elections.

Two separate roles arrived at under two separate set of circumstances.

To fear in some imagined set of circumstances two people who own a single unit may plan to seek Board positions in the hopes of taking "control" of the operations of their property is not on my radar as the most pressing issue facing most properties. Then to suggest 6 people from the same unit now are running is a stretch. They would still need to be voted in.

The wonder of the homeowners vote.

Husband and wife, neighbor and neighbor, friend and friend whatever the relationship my bottom line is what type of job they do in whatever position they hold. Perhaps the husband and wife might actually be GOOD Board members.

The real answer is IF they were to prove problematic you then vote them out.

Case closed and problem solved.

HB,
Given our posted (by many) evaluation of the membership as a whole........apathetic, disinterested, could not can less, anti association vocalizations, non-volunteer, no attendence at the association meetings, and totally ignoring any association business, what pool are we going to draw these exaulted perfect board members from? Would you consider this group as we describe them to fit the criteria as you have stated is necessary to be a Board member. To top that off, we are also going to allow for some concentration of the Board power to be assigned to anyone that can do the job, in our membership, which we roundly condeem, and rightly so, in my view.

Have you ever run across any board that at one time or another was not quilty of personal agendas, or any member that at one time or another did not display one or more of the traits that would eliminate them from your qualifications? Didn't someone question the pool of zero being capable of producing any candidate, not to mention your description above.

Fran it’s only prohibited if there is something in the CC&R’s that prohibits it. While there is only one vote per home, that is for things such as CC&R changes and HOA election voting.