Unable to receive assistance or response from President of the Board

Started by JadeyC • 13 replies • 1801 views

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JadeyC (California)
Posts: 6

Posted:

I am currently a board member and do not agree with the way our property management company is representing us; I have tried to discuss concerns with our President of the Board but was unsuccessful as she does not reply to my emails or requests. I finally drafted something in writing with board member signatures and am waiting to see if I receive any kind of response. How shall I handle an unresponsive President of the Board? She seems to be working and making decisions solely with the property management company without the other two board members knowledge. Need help; we are a small HOA so only 3 board members and very little homeowner participation. Any insight is appreciated.

BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640

Posted:

Jadey:

bring up at an HOA meeting in the open...hard to ignore you there.

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Jadey,

It sounds to me like you have one of those presidents that come along every so often who incorrectly believes that the president is supposed to make all the decisions while the board serves only in an advisory capacity.
While that may be true in a dictatorship, the opposite is true in a democratic society.

In a democratic society it is the board that's supposed to make all the decisions and it is the responsibility of the president (and other officers) to carry those decisions out.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

Was your letter acknowledged at a duly called board meeting? the board may or may not respond to it, but it needed to be noted that a letter of concern was received by you. The board is not obligated to take action on your letter, but at least it should have been noticed by ALL board members.

Get on the agenda. Compose your letter again. Attend the meeting and ask to read the letter aloud and have it attached to the minutes, for the record (keep it short, don't make personal attacks, stick to issues).

At least you will have been heard.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,047

Posted:

When ever you write the President, CC all other board members and the property manager.

This way, everyone knows you've asked a question and your more likely to get a response of some sort.

FionaC (California)
Posts: 212

Posted:

I think your communication unless something urgent can wait until a meeting. I'd also soften the blow by saying, I know your busy, but I have attempted to email you x amount of times with no response. I have decided to present this so it may become part of the executive session minutes and be addressed and then present her with the letter.

FionaC (California)
Posts: 212

Posted:

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

Then again, there are times when the best thing you can do as an HOA president is ignore someone. Depends on the situation and the backstory. I bet $100 this is not a simple inquiry.

JadeyC (California)
Posts: 6

Posted:

I understand what you are saying, but a simple response of "will check and get back to you" rather than pretending you did not get the several emails and hard copy in the mail is not acceptable. Don't be the board President if you think everything is roses; there comes a responsibility when you take on role of "President" of the board. That is my opinion.

JonD1
Posts: 2,350

Posted:

Jadey:

Just curious how long have you served on the Board?

How long has the President held their office?

What has been your relationship with the President in the past?

What concerns you about how the MC is doing their job?

Where does the other Board member fall in this matter?

Is there any reason you might be able to explain as to why the Presdient might be inclined to ignore you?

Tough to inderstand the entire situation unless all the details are provided.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Jadey,

If your next regular board meeting will be too late to address this issue, it may be possible to call a special meeting of the board. Check your governing documents to see how this can be done. It may be possible for any 2 members of the board to force a special meeting where you can discuss your concerns.

LawrenceC1 (Georgia)
Posts: 480

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BruceF1 on 01/11/2012 6:47 AM
It sounds to me like you have one of those presidents that come along every so often who incorrectly believes that the president is supposed to make all the decisions while the board serves only in an advisory capacity.

Bruce,

I'm happy to see you post this message. It can't be said too often.

The board of directors as a whole, by majority vote, makes policy. No director has more authority than any other. The officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary, Committee Chairperson, etc.) report to the board and have specific responsibilities set out by the governing documents and board resolutions. Too many people get confused, since in most cases board members are also officers, and people incorrectly try to equate the role of a homeowners' association president with a company CEO.

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

If a board of directors consists of a bunch of once-a-month, Chair Warmers, then the HOA president becomes the CEO or nothing gets done but a monthly coffee and gossip club minus the coffee and double the servings of BS.

JonD1
Posts: 2,350

Posted:

Kelly I agree with your point. All to often you have some who do the majority of the work and others who sit by and wonder what happened.

In this case though the OP seems to have on ongoing issues with the President and MC,as detailed in previous posts. I'm assuming once you decide the MC is crooked and search for a lawyer to act on the misbehavior you have found it becomes hard to expect any degree of cooperation from those you have labeled as less than desirable.

I just wonder what the OP percieves as misbehavior on the part of the MC and Board President.

In our documents under the role of Board President a direct comparison is made between the role of the President to that of the CEO of any corporation. In most cases someone needs to lead. And the President would be the logical pick.

As in many cases IMO it is best to collect the particulars and details of the issues being discussed. I don't like to assume the information provided is without bias and lacking any shades of misrepresentation or misinformation. All to often people provide what supports their positions and fails to include anything that might put their opinions in question.

Not sure in this case if the OP has legitimate concerns or the truth lies somewhere in between the two parties.

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