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IreneC
Posts:0
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| 05/14/2008 7:29 AM |
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I have currently lived at our complex 6.5 years. I have served on the board for about 5 years with a few breaks in between for personal reasons. I myself have not sit on the board for the entire 5 years mind you. Our community is like most. Many apathetic homeowners who only show to a meeting with a grip or violation letter in tow.
Like most communities or HOA's our finances are of a huge concern giving the recent economic status of most states, there have been a few fore closures and such. Our building is maintained fairly, but could be better and being on the board I would grade it as a C honestly.
Our annual meeting was last night. Previous years showed bad response, voting minimal and often we had to go door to door to obtain signatures, ballots ect to meet quarum! Pretty bad history.
This year we had 63% of homeowners vote! We had 9 people running for a 7 person board.. I have never seen this kind of response. What caused it? Something very different.
~An anonymous letter was sent to the 60+ homeowners back in February. It was not viewed by me as malicious, but pretty truthful but also painted a picture of a board that was having bad internal issues. Our budget was poorly planned, saw alot of on the fence decisions be made by those who changed their minds like most do undergarments, we had loads of side conversations that most were not previe too... way too much information to share, but what was shared in this letter reflected this and many other specific issues.. and it caused a huge huge stir. Board members openly accused others of writing and penning letters.. without cause or merit... board members made this public news to neighbors about other board members.. finances were in question.. lots of good attention from homeowners due to a bad method though.
How can we keep the community involved? Our previous president who insisted on doing projects like community news letters.. never did them. I have emails from Feb where I offered to do this for her and she said no, it's going out next week... ( that never happend.. no letter or posting of our annual meeting was done.. despite her stating she would do it, failure to follow through, bad communication,)
I would love to hear any different ideas on how to keep everyone involved. {Past perfromance from the board was unable to stimulate involvement.. anonymous letters did but that really was not a completely positive approach} |
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ClaudiaH
(Kentucky)
Posts:27
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| 05/14/2008 9:15 AM |
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That's really interesting. If it worked so well this time, maybe the letter writer will do it again in the future!
Do your board member positions rotate or have term limits? That's a good way to make sure the group gets mixed up every year to avoid any particular small allegiances that conflict with the overall welfare of the community. If there aren't fixed pockets of board members, than it's less likely someone who fails to fulfill their duties will be allowed to continue in the role.
I've only been on our board for this past year. But they told me stories about previous board members who were asked to leave because they didn't show up to meetings, or didn't do their jobs.
Also, do you have any incentives for people to sit on the board? We give board members 1/2 off their annual dues. Our dues are $275.
Our neighborhood mutineers have banded, and several are going to be running for the board this next year (or so they say presently, that may change). They are determined to get on the board and then do nothing to enforce the restrictions in protest. I think it's great! If nothing else has worked to motivate our apathetic homeowners to be more concerned, this might just do it. Can't wait till Mr. Jones calls the new board with a complaint and gets told that they don't handle complaints, as that would be "micro-managing".
BTW, kudos to you for lasting so many years. I've only been on less than one, and I'm seriously considering taking my name off the ballot for the next year. Who wants to spend time every month with a bunch of haters? No fun for sure. If you can't beat em, join em!!! I want goats in my yard, yes GOATS!! Tired of mowing the grass or paying someone else to do it. God made goats, I like goats, so I should have goats! |
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IreneC
Posts:0
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| 05/14/2008 9:55 AM |
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| Hey.,.. I could vote in goats vs our lame landscapers I would do it. WHo cares if you have to pick up their droppings. they earn their keep! |
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SidneyP
(Florida)
Posts:236
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| 05/14/2008 11:23 AM |
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ClaudiaH said:
"Also, do you have any incentives for people to sit on the board? We give board members 1/2 off their annual dues. Our dues are $275."
How do you rectify giving Board members/HO's half off on their dues. Board members can't be paid and this is the same thing. From all I have ever read, ALL HO's must be assessed equally.
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MaryA1
(Arizona)
Posts:1023
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| 05/14/2008 11:27 AM |
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Irene,
Communication is key to keeping the members happy. A monthly/quarterly newsletter is a great idea but make certain it contains worthy information: the latest financial statement; a message from the Pres and the various committee members, etc.
Claudia,
I'm wondering how you can give a break on the annual assessments to board members. Don't your docs specify that all members pay the same assessment? If so, I would view this as a violation of the gov. docs. Also, one could consider this as a form of payment for their services, which might also be in violation of your docs. Just a thought. |
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DonnaS
(Tennessee)
Posts:2056
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| 05/14/2008 11:29 AM |
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Very Good Sidney! Board members in Florida cannot be compensated for Board service. I strongly feel that this is unethical but maybe the State allows Board member compensation? It is certainl a small amount for dues but that is not the issue. No compansation is the issue. |
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ClaudiaH
(Kentucky)
Posts:27
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| 05/14/2008 3:42 PM |
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http://www.associationtimes.com/articles2004/rolebod1104.htm
"Members of the board of directors of an association serve without compensation unless the bylaws of the association provide to the contrary."
Yes, it's in our bylaws. |
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