Our Condo Association is an incorporated business and as such, it is run by a Board of Directors. Our Bylaws stipulate that the Board consists of three members, who are each elected to a one year term at the Annual Meeting of the Association. The Bylaws also state that at the first Board meeting following the Annual Meeting, the Board shall elect from among themselves a President, Secretary and Treasurer.
The Board Members have the powers and duties necessary to administer the affairs of the Condominium Association and to maintain and regulate the use of the Condominium's common elements, property, easements, etc. These include, but are not limited to, the power to levy and collect assessments for the purposes of the Association, hire a managing agent, enter into contracts with suppliers, establish committees, enforce the Master Deed and Bylaws as well as make and enforce additional reasonable rules and regulations.
The President is the chief executive officer of the Association and presides at meetings of the Association and of the Board of Directors. The President also has the power to appoint committees from among the members of the Association, with the consent of the other members of the Board.
The Secretary keeps the minutes of all meetings of the Board and of the Association. The Secretary also prepares the meeting agendas with input from the other Board members.
The Treasurer is responsible for the Association's funds and keeping a full and accurate account of all receipts and expenses. The Treasurer is also responsible for developing an annual budget for the Board's consideration and also annually prepares a financial statement that is distributed to all members of the Association.
Kramer-Triad has been hired by the Board to serve as the Association's managing agent. A representative of the managing agent attends the Board's Regular Meetings. The managing agent handles the receipt and expenditure of all Association funds, maintains the monthly financial records for the Board, solicits competitive bids from suppliers for the Board to choose from, handles requests for service from the members of the Association and assigns work orders, handles the mailings to the Association members on behalf of the Board, etc. The managing agent's representative who handles the Association's account is authorized to spend up to $1,000 on budgeted items without first seeking approval from the Board.
According to the Association's Bylaws, in addition to the Annual Meeting of the Association’s membership, the Board must also hold a least one Regular Board of Directors Meeting each year, at a time and place determined by a majority of the Directors. In practice, the Board will probably need to meet monthly in most of the months during the September through February time period and only if necessary during the remainder of the year. A Regular Board meeting is typically between two and three hours in length. Most, if not all, of the Board's communications with the managing agent that happen between Regular Meetings are handled through e-mail. To expedite certain decisions without having to schedule a meeting, some Board decisions can be made via e-mail and confirmed with a formal vote at the next Regular Meeting so that they are documented in the minutes.
As a Board Member, you will be asked to make collective decisions on issues such as the following:
- review and approve the annual budget, which sets the monthly assessment amount to be paid by the co-owners and identifies the spending plan for the entire year; identify and approve any mid-year budget adjustments that might be needed due to an unforeseen expenditure; identify and initiate Additional Assessment and/or Special Assessment projects that the Board feels are necessary.
- review and approve Alteration/Modification Requests that have been submitted by co-owners; often the co-owner would like a speedy response and these cases can be handled by the Board via e-mail review and response.
- enforcement of violations of our Master Deed, Bylaws and other rules and regulations; enforcement of repeated violations can include the applications of fines; enforcement of the leasing restrictions could necessitate taking legal action against the landlord and tenants.
- collection of delinquent amounts from co-owners who have not paid their monthly or additional/special assessments; collection could even involve authorizing our attorney to file a lien against the property or initiate foreclosure, depending on the circumstances.
- what to do about Alteration/Modification Requests that were submitted after the fact and then denied by the Board, yet have not been removed by the co-owner.
- what to do about enforcement of decorative and landscaping items placed on the general common elements by co-owners without submitting an Alteration/Modification Request.
- what the Board can do to further enhance the overall value of our property and also promote a greater sense of community here in the Manors.
I have already been nominated and I intend to campaign for election to the Board at the Annual Meeting in January. Over the past four years, I have unofficially handled the duties of the Board President, Secretary and Treasurer. As a result, I have already developed most of the formats and spreadsheets the Board will need to use, so the new Board officers will not have to create everything from scratch, just modify things to suit.
If you have any questions about the role of a Board Member or concerns about whether to accept a nomination for the upcoming Board election, please give me a call or send me an e-mail (see my contact information in the right sidebar).
