HOA Board Members Make Themselves Wholly Unreachable

[Guest Johnny Highandrye]

Good afternoon all,

My HOA Board of Directors maintains NO current contact information on our Association website. At last night's monthly meeting, they instituted a new TWO-MINUTE rule: anyone who wishes to speak must sign the "Wish to Speak" roster on their way in or else they will not be allowed to speak at all. If you do sign it, you will be called on and can only speak for a total of two-minutes. This includes multiple questions, discussion, follow-up. Two minutes TOTAL speaking time. At the two minute mark they cut you off and call the next person.

So, any Unit Owner's chance to speak with his elected Board officials is limited to precisely two minutes out of every month. Period.

My question is: is this right? Morally, ethically, legally? My question to the Board last night was "How do we, as Unit Owners and members of the Association contact you, the Board, if we have issues or concerns?" The Board's answer was that I could not contact them, I must go through our Managing Agent. My problem with this answer is that I had a significant issue with the mishandling of repairs due to a faulty sprinkler in my unit (consider a Common Element and utterly the responsibility of the Association), and the Managing Agent was the problem. He had a personal vendetta against me and I wanted to voice my concerns to the Board, to whom that Managing Agent is supposed to be held accountable.

If I may, an additional question I have for you is: to whom can I go in order to try and hold this Board accountable if, in fact, what they're doing is, at worst, totally wrong, and, at best, extremely questionable and dis-serving. Is it someone at County?

Any help/guidance is tremendously appreciated,

Mr. Highandrye

[Josh Martin]

My question is: is this right? Morally, ethically, legally?

Well, whether it is morally or ethically right is really a question for the association to decide, and whether it is legal is a question for a lawyer.

What I can say is that if these monthly meetings you refer to are board meetings, then under RONR, the board has the authority to impose the rules you describe. If these monthly meetings are meetings of the association, then the board has no such authority.

If I may, an additional question I have for you is: to whom can I go in order to try and hold this Board accountable if, in fact, what they're doing is, at worst, totally wrong, and, at best, extremely questionable and dis-serving. Is it someone at County?

I'm afraid this question is beyond the scope of RONR and this forum (and of my personal knowledge).

From a parliamentary perspective, my advice is to elect different board members.

[Chris Harrison]

The Board is ultimately accountable to the HOA membership. While at this point there probably isn't much you can do about how the Board runs its meetings (unless the bylaws limit what the Board can do) when elections for Board members comes around the Membership can elect people who are more member friendly.

[Guest Johnny Highandrye]

Thank you both for your remarks. I am, of course, not happy to hear them, but I know you are correct. I was hoping there was something more I could do.

I must ask, though, to your point about whether it's a board meeting or an association meeting, how would I know? This meeting is a monthly meeting, and our by-laws require the board to hold it. I have no idea what would classify it as one or the other type of meeting.

[Josh Martin]

I must ask, though, to your point about whether it's a board meeting or an association meeting, how would I know?

From your Bylaws.

This meeting is a monthly meeting, and our by-laws require the board to hold it. I have no idea what would classify it as one or the other type of meeting.

Since you say "our by-laws require the board to hold it," it sounds like a board meeting to me.

[David A Foulkes]

This meeting is a monthly meeting, and our by-laws require the board to hold it. I have no idea what would classify it as one or the other type of meeting.

If you have a copy of the bylaws, look for an Article or section on Meetings. It might describe how often meetings of the Board and of the Membership are to be held. That might give you an indication which these monthly meetings are.

[Rev Ed]

Normally, it's the Board that meets monthly, and from what you have described that is what it likely is. But re-check the By-laws. They may state something about meetings of the association/owners/members and then the monthly meetings.