TomW (Utah)
Posts: 31
Posts: 31
Posted:
Our HOA is managed by the same property management company that also controls all of the rental agreements in our condo complex. The Board has been in place with little or no change in its makeup for almost 20 years.
With the meeting notice for each annual meeting, a proxy form is sent to the owners, requesting that it be signed and returned to the Board president, or the property management company. Since attendance is usually very low, due to the fact this is a ski area condo with out of town owners, the Board and the Property Management Company simply re-elects any Board member running for re-election.
Our bylaws clearly state that proxies are to be used to ensure a quorum is present, and to give the right to vote to an individual in attendance for items that may arise at the meeting, however,it also states that the election of Trustees is to be by secret ballot. Since we have many apathetic owners, they simply sign the proxy and return it without making selections for the election of individuals to the Board.
It is my opinion that a secret ballot for election should be a separate item from a proxy, but the Board has responded to my complaint with a letter from their attorney stating that using proxies to elect Board members is legal and is no violation of our rules and regulations.
Is my complaint valid and what is my best course of action to correct this violation?
With the meeting notice for each annual meeting, a proxy form is sent to the owners, requesting that it be signed and returned to the Board president, or the property management company. Since attendance is usually very low, due to the fact this is a ski area condo with out of town owners, the Board and the Property Management Company simply re-elects any Board member running for re-election.
Our bylaws clearly state that proxies are to be used to ensure a quorum is present, and to give the right to vote to an individual in attendance for items that may arise at the meeting, however,it also states that the election of Trustees is to be by secret ballot. Since we have many apathetic owners, they simply sign the proxy and return it without making selections for the election of individuals to the Board.
It is my opinion that a secret ballot for election should be a separate item from a proxy, but the Board has responded to my complaint with a letter from their attorney stating that using proxies to elect Board members is legal and is no violation of our rules and regulations.
Is my complaint valid and what is my best course of action to correct this violation?