HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 6, 2023
Published: Fri, 01/06/23
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 6, 2023
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In this week's tip, we ask our experts if a question we got during a recent HOAleader.com webinar, De-Escalating Conflict in the Moment: How Board Members Can Lower the Temperature When Things Get Heated, raises any red flags.
Our listener stated, "One of our board members carries a gun at our board meetings to de-escalate conflict."
The listener also described a situation that happened after a recent evening board meeting. The 40-something-year-old pistol-packing board member was listening to a 70-something-year-old-member speak with a management company representative.
"The board member inserted himself between the management employee and the member, nearly leaning over the member so that the member brushed the board member to get him out of the member's space," our reader explained. "The member left, but as he left, another board member slapped the member with papers he was holding.
"The first board member filed a criminal battery complaint against the member. That member has never appeared at another meeting. The board believes this will be an effective deterrent to bring peace to the board meetings. What do you think?"
All the experts we spoke with were troubled by this situation.
With open carry and concealed carry laws, it may be perfectly legal for board members to carry a gun, including to a condo/HOA meeting—and some probably do.
"Here in Texas, for all I know, 5 of 10 people at a meeting may have a gun in their pocket, and I wouldn't know it," states Betty Crudden, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, senior community manager at SBB Management in Dallas, who manages community associations ranging in size and amenities, including both residential and commercial associations.
"But in our company, the rule is that if we attend a meeting and notice that anyone has a gun, we're to leave," she adds. "So, if we saw that a board member had a gun, we wouldn't say anything to the board member, we'd just leave."
Even if that's not every management company or law firm's rule when their representatives attend condo/HOA board meetings, our experts don't think it's a good idea for board members to openly carry guns at meetings as a way to manage the behavior of participants.
"I think this is a terrible idea," says Crudden. "The board needs to remember that they serve the owners. It's the owners' money and the owners' association, the board is just helping to lead it."
If this board is worried about dangers during meetings, our experts have ideas they believe will be much more effective—and may not increase the association's liability. Read more in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4634.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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