buget approval

Can someone tell me how it is allowed that the Board of Directors of our HOA adopted a 2012 budget with out ever mentioning or discussing it at a board meeting? They are using email to make multiple decisions and now these items are on the agenda to be ratified at the Jan. Board meeting next week. I was on the Board and held the office of vice president through October(annual meeting and election) and chose not to run again as I was tired of all the problems within the Board. The last Board meeting was in August 2011. Shortly after this meeting I asked the Board members as to what the plan was for drafting the budget. The Treasurer and President did not find it urgent and the President stated the assessment was going to stay the same. I stated to the Board the importance of the budget process and the fact that the assessment is set after the budget is determined. The Association was also in the process of switching management companies to be effective November 1. The Treasurer and President finally came back in late September and said the new management company had drafted a budget. I asked the President to send it to the Board and talked with the new management company via email . They stated this was only a draft made with limited assess to our financial information and they were waiting for Board input. Nothing was done concerning the budget in the following months until December 7th via email. It appears to have been adopted with out any changes from the original draft. Our documents also state that the annual assessment shall be established by the Board of Directors and written notice of such shall be sent to every owner 30 days in advance of the commencement of each annual Assement period. Needless to say the community received the adopted budget and assessment coupons December 20th and the assement period starts January 1st. I feel like transparency is missing and the Board only operates in crisis mode! What is the best plan to try and get the Board to change this way of conducting business? I live in Virginia and beleive they are using the 55-515.3 Use of technology clause of the property owners association act to justify the email decisions. I do not believe deliberations and discussions should be happening behind homeowners backs on items that should be covered at an open meeting of the Board.

Natalie,

Are you in a condominium association or homeowners association?

Tim

Natalie
You should have stayed on the board if you had the opportunity. It takes a lot of patience and time to influence people to your way of thinking and you can still do it as a homeowner. Small steps!

My question would be- Does the VA law allow for discusion by the Board to take place via email before the allowable use of technology law that allows for electronic transmission of notices, signatures, votes, consents or approvals. To me the discussion among a quorum of the directors would constitute a meeting and should be open to the homeowners. I know ratification of an email vote is required at the next meeting, but would not the discussion already have taken place with out the meeting? What Board approves a Budget with out discussing it?

Natalie,

Let me relate a story that is relevant to your situation:

I was named chairman of our Virginia HOA last February and I directed the formulation of our 2012 budget. My intention was to have the process be as open as possible. The finance committee met 5 times to work on the budget. These meetings were all open to the members of the association. They were announced on our web site and in our semi-monthly newsletter. I also convinced the board to schedule two open board meetings with the only agenda item being the proposed budget. Again these meetings were announced to the members.

The bottom line - not a single member of the HOA, other than members of my committee and the board members attended any of these meetings. Now you could take this as a sign that the membership is happy with the spending priorities of the current board or you can decry the rampant apathy of the members.

Of course the same folks who didn't bother to attend are the first to complain that the board is spending too much on .... you name it... and that their dues are too high.

My response is "you snooze, you lose!"