Membership Definition

[AFS1970]

I am a member of my Condominium Board and an odd question has come up. We have 5 members of the board of directors (finally). I just resigned as President, and so far no other board member is willing to take the position. We have another unit owner who has expressed some interest but is not a board member. Her husband is a board member and is currently our treasurer. THis brings up a question if two owners from the same unit can sit on the board in any fashion, as each unit only gets one vote in a meeting.

 

I can not find anything specific in our bylaws (which are quite old and in need of revision) other than a mention that if a unit is owned by a partnership that the partners must designate one owner to represent their interests to the comndo association. I assume it is the same with a married couple, although truth be told we have never asked couples to designate one to vote at meetings, we have just always announced to new owners that only a single vote can be cast for each unit at an owners meeting. I do not know of any disputes that have come up between joint owners in our history.

 

However at board meetings only board members can vote. It seems prudent to me that only one owner of a unit can sit on the board, but I can't find a specific rule on this. Other board memebrs called me to ask and I did not know the answer. I can see a problem as with one unit having two votes on the board there could be ethical issues. If the President could not vote, we could be in a permanent tie vote situation if the other members split 2-2 on an issue.

 

While I am sure this is not specifically addressed in RONR, I am looking at general ideas or sugestions from the members here. At least it would give me somewhere to look further.

[George Mervosh]

I am a member of my Condominium Board and an odd question has come up. We have 5 members of the board of directors (finally). I just resigned as President, and so far no other board member is willing to take the position.

 

Under the rules in RONR, if you have a VP, or First VP, they automatically became President when your resignation was accepted.   

 

Also, no rule in RONR would prohibit two owners from the same unit serving on the board. Qualifications to hold office and restrictions to holding office can only be found in your governing documents.

[AFS1970]

We have no Vice President. We are supposed to have a President, Vice President and Treasurer. We only just recently got a Treasurer.

 

We have a very difficult time getting members to serve on the board, then a further difficult time getting board members to hold office.

 

All in all a quite dysfunctional system.

 

As I can find nothing in our governing doccuments that cover this specifically, although I think the one on partnerships definately shows the spirit intended, I am hoping someone here has dealt with a similar situation.

 

That being said, I think the real question is who are the members of the association, the human owner(s) or the units? As that would seem to me to provide some guidence.

[Edgar Guest]

I think the real question is who are the members of the association, the human owner(s) or the units?

 

Don't confuse members of the association (which who are likely to be the designated representative of a unit) with members of the board (which who are likely to be individuals).

 

As far as RONR is concerned, the board could consist of five people who are not members of the association. Or five people who live in the same unit.

[Josh Martin]

We have no Vice President. We are supposed to have a President, Vice President and Treasurer. We only just recently got a Treasurer.

Until a new President or Vice President can be elected, a Chairman Pro Tempore will need to be elected at each meeting. In the long run, both positions will need to be filled. As noted, RONR contains no qualifications for or restrictions on holding office. If your organization has its own qualifications or restrictions, it will be up to your organization to interpret those rules. See RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 588-591 for some Principles of Interpretation.

That being said, I think the real question is who are the members of the association, the human owner(s) or the units? As that would seem to me to provide some guidence.

So far as RONR is concerned, a member is a person, but I would not be surprised if the bylaws of a condo association provide otherwise. Ultimately, your bylaws will define who the members of the organization are.

I concur with Edgar, however, that answering this question does not necessarily answer the question of who can serve on the board.