Legal meeting or not?

I just became the President of our Association. The management company needs to transfer all documents to me and get signature cards made for the new board members. After the election we all agreed to meet in a week, as a board, to discuss what needs to be done. There are 8 members on the board. Is this an illegal meeting without notifying the homeowners? Should I meet with the previous President and the managagement company to learn what projects are going on, and find out who our contracts are with, and get all the financials without the entire board having to meet? What is the law on closed door meetings and would ours be considered a closed door meeting?
Newbie

Erin,

Is the meeting legal? Yes. If you fail to inform the membership it doesn't make it an illegal meeting. It means that the Board failed to inform the membership. Correct that in the future.

If the meeting hasn't taken place yet, post a notice on a website, distribute fliers, post it on the bulletin board, etc. If the meeting has taken place, mistakes happen and we are all human. Now you know for the future and won't repeat the same mistake.

Tim

Robert,

I agree that if there is time to publish (even if it's not the allotted amount of time) it should be published. This is why I had suggested posting a notice about the meeting if it wasn't held. However, I don't agree that the meeting should not be closed (aka an executive session).

Tim

Thanks for the advise.

Please folks from states other than Florida, stop advising a Florida poster to "go into executive session" or hold closed or confidential meetings. It doesn't exist here. Any time a quorum of the board meets to discuss association business (unless it is with an attorney, or a few other specific reasons) it must be open and noticed.

Carol and Anna,
You both are from FL, why not just post the laws that would apply in this situation and also post the exceptions that do allow for a closed session?
Any ES in nearly any state has very specific rules that must be followed and if there should be a lawyer present, then it appears to me this is a pretty good example of that.
The poster says he has been elected president. Who elected him if they never had a meeting of the new board.
Keep in mind as far as we know anything about this election to appoint him president appears suspect and so does the Annual meeting. If he attempts to engage in any Board decisions such as to spend money.

Why do you need signature cards?

Having a board meeting to get to know what you want each to tackle is important. No this is not illegal. I was told even if you meet in the street to talk about HOA stuff it is considered a meeting so be careful.

When you want the board to meet like you are saying, it is called an executive meeting.

Make sure you ask the secretary for a copy of the board minutes from previous meetings to update yourself with what was going on when you took over?

You will see your financial company (management co) will be your back bone and will be able to answer all your questions. The management company can tell you
who your contracts are with and should send your board monthly financial reports. They may charge you for supplies but should be in the budget.

Do your own spreadsheet to help you understand everything. That is how I could answer all the questions from the HOA members.

Don't pass info out from the financial reports to anyone out side of the board because there is usually Board confidential stuff in them. That is why your board should be insured so if a HOA member wants to sue the board for he said she said, you would have all your meetings with minutes your secretary takes.

YES, the secretary should attend any meeting for audit purposes. Your closed door meetings are called executive meetings. Other board meetings, any HOA member can sit in on. If they are on your agenda, they can speak, if not, they are to just listen. It gets hairy if everyone wants to have the floor at the same time so make sure they know the rules when attending your board meetings or you won't get anything done.

Okay, I have to jump in here.

Robert, Myself and other Florida people have posted a hundred times that no meetings whatsoever, when there is a Board quorum, can be closed to the members. The only exception is when the association attorney is meeting and discussing litigation, pending or future.

Tim and Robert and a few others. There are NO "Executive Sessions" allowed in Florida unless you want to call the attorney/Board meeting that.

Erin, As I said earlier, The organizational meeting should have been held immediately after the elections. That way it was posted and most folks just leave because they are tired by then and don't much care who will be who on the Board. In Florida, elections elect Board members, not Presidents, V.P.s and such. The Board members themselves decide who will hold which position.

Carol, Thanks for jumping in here. We always need verification to the Statutes as they are confusing to non Florida people as well as to ourselves.

Erin,

For what the purpose of your meeting, certainly does not require a noticed meeting. Gads, just one or two at a time sign the cards with the P.M. Not everyone needs to be there at once. If we called meetings for every time that we needed a signature or to look at something, soon the members would ignore the request for a meeting. You do need to conduct business and to wait until another meeting is not functional.

Robert you might try actually reading the O/P’s post. Signature cards are what she specifically asked about. She doesn’t claim a contentious election and in a later post she specifically states that they held the organizational meeting where she was appointed president. She wanted to know if having all the Board members meet with the MC on a strictly work session without notice to the Community violated the FL statutes, which it apparently does.

720.303 Association powers and duties; meetings of board; official records; budgets; financial reporting; association funds; recalls.--

(2) BOARD MEETINGS.--

(a) A meeting of the board of directors of an association occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business. All meetings of the board must be open to all members except for meetings between the board and its attorney with respect to proposed or pending litigation where the contents of the discussion would otherwise be governed by the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this subsection shall also apply to the meetings of any committee or other similar body when a final decision will be made regarding the expenditure of association funds and to meetings of any body vested with the power to approve or disapprove architectural decisions with respect to a specific parcel of residential property owned by a member of the community.

(b) Members have the right to attend all meetings of the board and to speak on any matter placed on the agenda by petition of the voting interests for at least 3 minutes. The association may adopt written reasonable rules expanding the right of members to speak and governing the frequency, duration, and other manner of member statements, which rules must be consistent with this paragraph and may include a sign-up sheet for members wishing to speak. Notwithstanding any other law, the requirement that board meetings and committee meetings be open to the members is inapplicable to meetings between the board or a committee and the association's attorney, with respect to meetings of the board held for the purpose of discussing personnel matters.

(c) The bylaws shall provide for giving notice to parcel owners and members of all board meetings and, if they do not do so, shall be deemed to provide the following:

1. Notices of all board meetings must be posted in a conspicuous place in the community at least 48 hours in advance of a meeting, except in an emergency. In the alternative, if notice is not posted in a conspicuous place in the community, notice of each board meeting must be mailed or delivered to each member at least 7 days before the meeting, except in an emergency. Notwithstanding this general notice requirement, for communities with more than 100 members, the bylaws may provide for a reasonable alternative to posting or mailing of notice for each board meeting, including publication of notice, provision of a schedule of board meetings, or the conspicuous posting and repeated broadcasting of the notice on a closed-circuit cable television system serving the homeowners' association. However, if broadcast notice is used in lieu of a notice posted physically in the community, the notice must be broadcast at least four times every broadcast hour of each day that a posted notice is otherwise required. When broadcast notice is provided, the notice and agenda must be broadcast in a manner and for a sufficient continuous length of time so as to allow an average reader to observe the notice and read and comprehend the entire content of the notice and the agenda. The bylaws or amended bylaws may provide for giving notice by electronic transmission in a manner authorized by law for meetings of the board of directors, committee meetings requiring notice under this section, and annual and special meetings of the members; however, a member must consent in writing to receiving notice by electronic transmission.

Glen,
Was the transition meeting of the new Board ever notoiced. Was the old meeting of the elction meeting ever closed? Was the meeting of the new board even opened and closed?

OK Folks,
Here's the deal(sounds a bit like Ross Perot). The election was legal and above board. 70 people showed up and cast their votes. The newly elected then grouped together, while many of the residents were still there. The entire board was overturned except for two who remain on the board but are no longer officers. I became President fairly and legally. All I wanted to know was if this meeting that the management company said we should have to tranisition to the new officer was legal. She asked that all board members be there. I am finding out that the entire board meeting or assembling for any reason regarding HOA issue must be open to the homeowners. We did not notice the homeowners. And yes, we could notice them but it is being held at the previous President's house, which is small, and I doubt she wants the public at large in her house. Our meetings are usually in a rented hall across the street. We did not rent out that hall for this meeting. I am comfortable going with the advice that the board cannot meet as a group and I am going to ask that only the new treasurer and vice president come to the meeting with the management company to sign signature cards. I appreciate all the responses, but it seems to have gone of track a little bit. This is a great forum and as a new president, I have a lot to learn about laws and procedures. I will continue to seek your advice if you don't mind, you are all very knowledgeble. As my father would have said, "Everything will work out". You folks are great.
Erin

Jimmy,
Here I am, over behind the tree, please kind sir when I say your By-laws are where to go to look for how elections are conducted, don't start swinging at me. I doubt anyone could just step in and run your association, not unless they had a death wish, you would probably put so many holes in them, they would look like a sieve. Stay with one thread for one subject Jimmy, we all hear you.