Indiana HOA under Indiana Open Door Law...

aka the Sunshine law.

The board, atty and I are having a discussion whether an HOA is covered under the Indiana Open Door Law (IC 5-14-1.5). We are an Indiana corporation.

Our board is making decisions (voting) via email and the board's attorney agrees it is ok. He says HOAs do not fall under the Open Door Law because it is for public agencies.

Numerous homeowners have brought up the fact that decisions are being made behind close doors and the final decision is then read at the meeting without a discussion.

They are making decisions behind close doors. RONR states that it should be in the By-Laws.

I look forward to your response(s).

Lori,

Many states have open meeting laws that apply to public bodies (city council, school board, legislature, etc) and these laws do not apply to any private corps, including nonprofits, which is what HOAs are. Unless your state, or your gov. docs. require that all meetings of the assn be open to the members, you can continue to hold closed board meetings and conduct business by email. Personally, even if the gov. docs are silent and there is no state law, I believe it's a good practice to open the meetings to the members. It provides for open communication which is a key ingredient to a healthy, happy assn. When the members know what is going on -- and have the opportunity to witness it first hand -- they are less apt to complain. Regarding the email communications; I believe the board should be very careful to document any and all actions that might be taken by email. IMO, it would also be a good idea to read into the record of the next scheduled board meeting any actions taken this way. Also, I wouldn't recommend getting into the habit of conducting business in this manner; it's so much better to hold a meeting. Unless an emergency arises, there shouldn't be a need to "meet" by email between regular meetings. A little organization goes a long way!

Thanks.