HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 2, 2014
Published: Fri, 05/02/14
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Sky-High Manager Pay and the Firing of an HOA President: Reasonable?
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In this week's tip, we tell the tale of an HOA manager earning more than
$275,000 and the association board's ousting of its president for
questioning that salary.
Here are the details of the commotion at the Rancho Santa Fe homeowners
association in San Diego.
In February 2014, the HOA's board president, Ann Boon, asked at an open board
meeting for an explanation of the HOA manager's $275,000-plus pay for the
previous three years, a fact she learned from the HOA's tax filing, reports
the San Diego Union-Tribune. Other facts relevant to the story, according
to the newspaper:
* The HOA has about 5,000 residents with a median income of more than $172,000
and a median home price of $2.4 million.
* Tax records show the HOA collected $5.4 million in homeowner dues in 2013
and $6.5 million from golf club operations.
* The manager, Pete Smith, has been manager since 1996. He went on sick leave
after this kerfuffle surfaced.
* At least eight of 135 employees at the HOA are paid more than $100,000,
including the chief of security patrol, the golf course manager, and the
golf director.
* The president claims the manager denied her request for detailed staff
compensation data, saying it would be a drain on staff time. Boon instead
turned to the HOA's tax filing.
* The tax filing said the manager's compensation was approved by the board or
compensation committee and that a compensation survey or study was used in
setting the manager's pay. Though president, Boon says she'd never seen
Smith's contract or any salary surveys and hadn't voted on his contract.
After Boon raised the issue, 25 owners signed a letter in support of Smith,
and the board voted 5-2 to oust Boon from her presidency.
Head to our new article, HOA Manager Paid $275,000; Board President Ousted
After Questioning It (http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1002.cfm),
for answers to two questions: Is the manager's pay reasonable? Was the
president's dismissal proper?
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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HOA Manager Paid $275,000; Board President Ousted After Questioning It
The manager of a San Diego HOA earned more than $275,000 for the past three
years, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. Is that pay reasonable?
Perhaps an even bigger question may be whether it was appropriate for the
HOA's president to be ousted for questioning that salary. Here we ask our
experts to reflect on the compensation and the challenges this situation
raises.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-Manager-Paid-275000-Board-President-Ousted-After-Questioning-It.cfm
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55-and-Over Communities: Is This HOA Board Member Invading Owner Privacy?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "As a new board of directors member, I asked
the president of the board to permit me to inspect the closing documents of a
new resident who somehow purchased a home and will be having a minor child as
an occupant in the home. Our community is a 55 and over with an age restriction
clause in our covenants. I'm questioning if the developer/sales personnel
missed this or the buyer neglected to mention the child in the disclosure
forms. President (also an employee of the developer) is claiming the
documents aren't HOA property but private seller property and I can't have
access to them. Does anyone have a lead on where I can verify that to be true, or
is he lying to me to keep me from inspecting an error of their doing?"
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/55andOver-Communities-This-HOA-Board-Member-Invading-Owner-Privacy.cfm
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Colorado HOA Residents Have Beefs; You and Your HOA Board Should Listen Up
In this week's tip, we explain how complaints by Colorado lessons can be very
instructive for your board to keep in mind. There are 8,857 HOAs in Colorado,
which includes condos and co-ops, totaling 880,326 units, according to the
2013 Annual Report from the Colorado HOA Information and Resource Center,
the Colorado state agency that serves as a resource for residents of
community associations. In 2013, it received 1,248 complaints from 327
different complainants via mail, phone, email, its website and in person.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Colorado-HOA-Residents-Have-Beefs-You-Your-HOA-Board-Should-Listen-Up.cfm
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What You Can Learn from Homeowner Complaints About HOAs in Colorado
Problematic communication between HOAs and homeowners was the most common
type of complaint reported to the Colorado state agency that serves as a
resource for residents of community associations, according to the 2013
Annual Report from the Colorado HOA Information and Resource Center. Many
homeowners said they weren't being kept informed about their HOA, and their
complaints included not receiving notices of HOA board meetings.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-You-Can-Learn-from-Homeowner-Complaints-About-HOAs-in-Colorado.cfm
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What's a Majority for HOA Voting Purposes?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "Our articles say: These articles may be
amended by owners representing at least 75 percent of the total votes held by
the members. We have 134 total votes. We understand this to mean we need 100
votes cast and that a majority of the votes cast determines the outcome of the
ballot for or against the amendments. Is this correct? We have consulted two
HOA attorneys, and each one answered the question, then came back a day or so
later and changed the answer doing a 180 flip. We're extremely confused now.
We just wanted them to give us a straight yes or no. The majority of the 75% or
not."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Whats-Majority-for-HOA-Voting-Purposes.cfm
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