HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 30, 2012
Published: Wed, 03/28/12
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Are To-Do Dates in Your HOA Governing Documents
All Over the Calendar?
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This week's tip will help you understand how the timing
of events at your homeowners association can become
complex--and problematic.
The issue stems from an HOAleader.com reader's question:
"I have been searching in vain for a recommendation
regarding fiscal year and when a new board is instated.
Years ago, our fiscal year ended June 30. It was changed to
end December 31 as annual dues are due January 1.
However, our elections and annual meeting still occur in
September, with the new board instated immediately after
the annual meeting in September.
"This doesn't make sense to me for a treasurer to come in
so late in the year....To me, it seems OK to have the
elections in October or November, but to not instate the
board until January 1....When is the best time for a new
board to start in relation to the fiscal year?"
"In Florida, associations customarily have their annual
meetings and election in December, and usually the budget
is adopted that same night or a couple of weeks before
by the outgoing board," says Dennis J. Eisinger, a
partner at Eisinger, Brown, Lewis & Frankel PA in
Hollywood, Fla., who represents more than 500 condo and
HOA associations. "That seems to work well and is what
most often happens here."
What if governing documents don't have provisions
requiring a certain schedule? "If they don't say that,
associations can do what they want," says Eisinger.
"Certain associations do allow the new board to adopt
the new budget;that's how they're set up," he says.
"I don't think it's the best thing, but an argument
could be made that maybe the new board should be living
or dying with the new budget. I can't say there's anything
statutorily wrong with that, but I think the old board
should do the budget. However, that's a business call
each association makes."
To answer our reader's other questions, a few pieces
of information are missing. "There are factors I don't
know," says James R. McCormick Jr., a partner at Peters
& Freedman LLP in Encinitas, Calif., who represents
associations."Is the reader's board a staggered board,
or is the entire board elected in September? It doesn't
make sense to have the entire board elected right before
the process of budget preparation. You'd want someone
with at least a year's experience to be involved. And
you can't say, 'OK, we'll have our election in October
but the new board members won't take office until
January.' Once the election is certified, those are the
new board members."
So what can our reader do? Find out in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/697.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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