HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - July 17, 2015
Published: Fri, 07/17/15
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Dissenters in Your HOA: Let Them Have Their Say?
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Where’s that line that separates keeping your operations running smoothly
and stepping on your owners’ right to express their dissatisfaction? In
this week’s tip, we tackle the issue of free speech at HOAs.
The topic arises from the actions of the board at the Tiber Island
Cooperative Homes in Washington, D.C., which passed a rule restricting
owners’ speech rights after dissenters began challenging the board.
In 2014, tensions at Tiber Island erupted over a hallway renovation and
subsequent cries that the board wasn’t listening or responsive to
shareholders’ concerns, according to a Washington Post report. Two
challengers during a board election contend they posted fliers that were
removed from communal bulletin boards. They also contend that after they
began pushing fliers under residents’ doors, the board proposed to ban that
activity. One also claimed to have gotten “in trouble” with the board for
posting charts with the co-op’s budget information.
An anonymous Facebook page critical of the board called The Board Works for
Us also popped up but has since disappeared. Still, board members demanded
to know who was behind the page. At an event for residents to meet candidates
for board positions before an election, one attendee “demanded that anyone
affiliated with the Facebook page or a separate Google group for dissenting
residents stand up,” according to the Washington Post.
It’s not entirely clear the scope of the new rules passed after the kerfuffle
by the Tiber Island board. However, in a Washington Post article, a
shareholder, John Jordon, who opposed the change, says the Tiber Island
passed “solicitation” rules similar to those at issue in a New Jersey
Supreme Court opinion. At issue in the December 2014 New Jersey opinion,
Dublirer v. 2000 Linwood Ave. Owners Inc, were several rules passed by a
co-op board:
* There shall be no solicitation or distribution of any written materials
anywhere upon the premises without authorization of the board of
directors.
* Without prior consent of the board of directors, no sign or notice shall be
placed upon the bulletin board, the mail room, in the halls, lobby,
elevators or on the doorways. A bulletin board for residents [sic] use is
provided in the rear lobby.
However, the co-op board exempted from the new rules certain actions. Our
new article, http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1207.cfm, discusses
the exemptions and the New Jersey court’s view of the board’s actions, and
offers tops to ensure you protect your HOA and your owners’ speech.
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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HOA Accused of Throttling Speech
The board at the Tiber Island Cooperative Homes in Washington, D.C., passed
a rule restricting owners' speech rights after dissenters began
challenging the board. A shareholder, John Jordon, opposed the change and
is now publicizing the issue--including getting the ACLU involved and
writing about it in a Washington Post article. Here we discuss what happened
and offer tips to protect speech while also providing a reasonable way for
owners to offer feedback.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-Accused-Throttling-Speech.cfm
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New HOA Board Members? Here's How to Run a Successful Board Orientation
Want your condo or homeowner association board to operate effectively, no
matter how many members come and go over time? It's not a pipe dream. It's an
achievable reality if you create and implement a new-board orientation to
help just-elected or just-appointed members hit the ground running.
Watch this on-demand webinar to hear from two experienced community
association lawyers everything you need to know to craft an effective and
timeless new-board orientation program.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/203.htm
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Your HOA May Be Able to Relax Its Parliamentary Procedures. Here's Why.
In this week's tip, we keep the discussion going on a recent article that
triggered reader responses. The topic: The ongoing debate in the HOA
community over whether Robert's Rules of Order are worth using if your HOA
has the option to decline to adopt them.
One of our readers raised an interesting issue, and that's whether you can
loosen Robert's Rules depending on the type of meeting you're conducting:
"Where most professionals get confused is that parliamentary procedure
for boards is supposed to be much more relaxed than for larger membership
meetings." We've contacted an expert to get the answer.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Your-HOA-May-Be-Able-Relax-Its-Parliamentary-Procedures-Heres-Why.cfm
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More on Robert's Rules: Should You Loosen Up Your HOA Meetings?
Recently, we reported on a debate in the HOA community over whether Robert's
Rules of Order are worth using if your HOA has the option to decline to adopt
them. That prompted several HOAleader.com readers to write in offering
additional insights on the use of the parliamentary procedures.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/More-on-Roberts-Rules-Should-You-Loosen-Up-Your-HOA-Meetings.cfm
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HOAs and Bidding: Don't Let the Process Backfire
In this week's tip, we expand on an interesting discussion that took place
during a recent HOAleader.com webinar about condominium and homeowner
associations and their use of requests for proposal (RFPs) when bidding out
the HOA manager's contract.
During the webinar on how to choose and work with your HOA's manager, the
expert panelists offered cautions when using RFPs, particularly when
seeking bids from management companies.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOAs-Bidding-Dont-Let-Process-Backfire.cfm
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