HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - February 26, 2016
Published: Fri, 02/26/16
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HOA Executive Sessions: Don’t Blab After the Fact
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In this week’s tip, we talk about that fine line between protecting confidential information and keeping your owners informed of what the board’s doing. Why? A reader has asked why the board can’t tell owners what it discussed in executive session.
Let’s back up for a second and provide some basics on the ability to meet in executive session. It’s a process by which a board convenes in private to discuss matters that shouldn’t be revealed generally. Each state has different rules on the practice.
Some don’t permit it. “In Florida, we don’t have that notion of executive session,” says Lisa Magill, of counsel at Kaye, Bender & Rembaum in Pompano Beach, Fla., who advises Florida community associations. “Any time there’s a quorum of the board together, it’s considered a meeting and has to be advertised and open for owners to attend.”
Many other states, however, permit the use of executive session in particular circumstances. “California does have executive session, but it’s limited to the discussion of specific issues,” notes Debra A. Warren, CMCA, CCAM, PCAM, senior vice president at Dallas-based Associa®, a community association management company with offices throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Among those issues: litigation, matters relating to the formation of contracts with third parties, member discipline, personnel matters, or to meet with a member who requests it regarding payment of assessments.
Boards are convening in executive session because some information to be discussed is confidential. That means that reporting on everything that’s discussed in that meeting would defeat the point of having keeping the meeting private.
What to disclose then? You can disclose that a matter was discussed. “As a general rule, the more transparency, the better,” asserts Joe Winkler, vice president of marketing at Keystone Pacific Property Management in Irvine, Calif., which manages associations ranging from two to 4,000 units—about 65,000 units in total in Southern California.
“Report in an open session a general discussion of what you talked about,” advises Winkler. “If you talked about a contract negotiation, you can say, ‘We talked about contract negotiations for the roof project.’ Don’t give details of the discussion. But let owners know you talked about a roof contract. You want them to know what’s being discussed.”
There’s more to know about what to disclose—and we have bonus information.! The reader has asked why not just make all owners board members. Get the details. in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1330.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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NEW SPECIAL REPORT DOWNLOAD - JUST RELEASED!
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HOA Checklists:
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Webinar on Demand:
HOA Board Members and Fiduciary Duties: What You Must Know to Fulfill Your Duty to Your Association and Protect Yourself from Personal Liability
If you missed this session yesterday, you missed a great presentation! Watch the recorded webinar now, and make sure your entire board does the same. You'll get a thorough overview of your fiduciary duties including your duty of care and duty of loyalty, what it really means to be acting in a representative capacity, how the business judgment rule protects you (and how it doesn't), and much more.
Click here to read full article:
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What to Tell HOA Owners About Executive Session (And Why Not Make All Owners Board Members?)
An HOAleader.com reader asks: "Our association has 28 units and a 7-member board. The current board seems a pretty tightly knit group, and they often meet in 'executive session' and exclude those outside of the group with the argument that they're discussing confidential legal matters relating to unpaid assessments. No one is ever told the results of these executive sessions, and apparently no minutes are kept.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Tell-HOA-Owners-About-Executive-Session-And-Why-Not-Make-All-Owners-Board-Members.cfm
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As Trees Grow, They Restrict Views. What's an HOA To Do?
An HOAleader.com reader asks: "Approximately 15 years ago, our HOA planted trees in a green belt. However, they didn't consult a landscape architect or arborist. The species grew to about 40 feet tall and are quite dense. The unintended consequence is that it blocks the view of the mountains for about 10 percent of the homes (75 trees on about 1.75 acres).
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/As-Trees-Grow-They-Restrict-Views-Whats-HOA-Do.cfm
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Marty McFly Was Right: Hoverboards Are Coming to Your HOA
In this week's tip, we take you Back to the Future.
An HOAleader.com reader asks: "How, if at all, are other communities with HOAs and private roads regulating hoverboards? We've been seeing them all over since Christmas in the unseasonably mild New York winter weather. I've heard they're dangerous and possibly illegal."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Marty-McFly-Right-Hoverboards-Are-Coming-Your-HOA.cfm
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Hoverboards Are All the Rage! What Your HOA Should Know
An HOAleader.com reader asks: "How, if at all, are other communities with HOAs and private roads regulating hoverboards? We've been seeing them all over since Christmas in the unseasonably mild New York winter weather. I've heard they're dangerous and possibly illegal."
Here we'll talk about the risks of hoverboards and whether HOAs should address them.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Hoverboards-Are-All-Rage-What-Your-HOA-Should-Know.cfm
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Apps May Help You Oversee Your HOA. But are There Privacy Concerns?
An HOA manager and a board member have created new apps that help users navigate HOA management and living. But do they raise privacy concerns?
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Apps-May-Help-You-Oversee-Your-HOA-But-are-There-Privacy-Concerns.cfm
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