An Opinion By Jan Bergemann Published December 5, 2005
It's winter -- time for the annual meetings in our associations again. Amazing how many e-mail messages complain about the way these meetings are conducted and the plain disregard of owners' rights, considering this all takes place in the USA, “The Land Of The Free”!
The fact that election shenanigans in Banana Republics pale in comparison to some associations’ board elections has often been discussed and will be even more discussed during the next legislative session in 2006. In some associations elections never really take place or are conducted like in a dictatorship. Only candidates following the president's party line are allowed on the ballot!
But that this can happen is often the fault of the owners -- who just let it happen. Most people plainly forget that the annual meeting is a MEMBERSHIP meeting, meaning “a meeting of the members of the association.” Not a meeting for renters, attorneys, managers or anything like it. Even a board member is just a regular member during the membership meeting -- no special privileges -- with only one vote just like every other member. Only very few governing documents mention who should chair the Annual Meeting. Most associations’ documents are quiet -- and so are the Florida Statutes.
That means: Owners have the right to take charge of the membership meetings.
It's about time, since many board meetings are plainly a lesson in NO-DEMOCRACY 101, with attorneys, managers and board presidents taking over the meetings and not giving any owners the chance to voice their opinions!
With board meetings they have certain rights, but at owners' meeting they don't!
We always hear about attorneys running the meetings, telling owners to shut up and sit down. It seems some attorneys already have developed a certain reputation for doing this, much beloved by dictatorial boards.
Let's face the facts: It's already bad enough that boards invite attorneys to preside over the annual meeting, at a high price to the association members. If board members think that they themselves are unable to run the annual meeting, they shouldn't volunteer to serve in the first place. Sometimes it seems that board presidents like the "social standing" that comes with the title, but are either unwilling or unable to do the job. They rather hire high-priced "professionals" to do the job for them. That is actually not the idea behind volunteers sitting on the board.
Don't get me wrong; there are many great board members and volunteers out there. Many are doing an excellent job.
The
ones I'm talking about are normally always the same. They are as well the
ones speaking out against mandatory education, claiming the cost factor.
Let's face it: In this
age with high-tech communication options, cost is not a factor. It's often
just the fact that they want to be Mr. President, but don't want to invest
the time to learn what it takes to do the job! So, all you good folks out
there, don't feel as if that statement stepped on your toes. It isn't
meant that way! We always hear from owners about meetings where attorneys and/or managers tell owners to shut up and sit down. Absolutely wrong approach! An attorney may have privileges in court, but at the meeting of the owners, attorneys are non-members, who are only allowed to speak when being asked. That goes as well for managers! They are all just hired hands paid for doing what they are hired to do: Giving legal advice or managing the association!
We all forget that in order to be part of a membership meeting you need to be a member. Just on Saturday we could read in the St. Petersburg Times in an article headlined "Arrest mars group's meeting" about an owner who was arrested because he challenged a woman present about having the right to be there -- since she wasn't a member?
In order to be considered a member, YOUR NAME has to show on the deed of the property. Despite what people try to tell you: It's not good enough to be married to a real owner, being the child of a real owner, being a renter or being hired by the association to manage the association or take care of the legal representation. All that doesn't make you legally a member of the association! You may be allowed to sit there and listen, if you are a legal proxy holder you may vote if being asked to, but otherwise you have no rights. Especially not the right to yell at a member to shut up and sit down. Attorneys should have learned that before taking the BAR exam. But it seems some attorneys rather learned how to bully people and intimidate them. Don't let them! They have no right to do so!
If you want the owners to be in charge of the meeting and you are facing a board president unwilling or unable to conduct a membership meeting, here is the easy ONE-TWO-THREE to avoid these above described problems.
After the necessary quorum for conducting the meeting is established, you make the motion from the floor to elect "Joe/Jane Knowledgeable Association Member" as the chair for the meeting. You have somebody from the floor second this motion. And you take a vote. If the vote succeeds, you have a new chairman to preside over the meeting. Please make sure that he or she is an association member. The new chair takes over and motions to elect "Jane/Joe Knowledgeable Association Member" as the secretary for this meeting -- you do need minutes later! Motion seconded, voted upon and voila -- you're ready to conduct an owners' meeting, following the agenda as planned.
The people, who tried to take over your owners' meeting may holler, scream and yell! You, as the owners, are perfectly all right in doing what you did. It is your good right. Don't let them intimidate you! Whatever they are threatening you with -- their threats are empty!
You may ask: "If they call the police?" Just explain that they are the ones out of order and should be expelled because they are unruly!
And since you now have a member conducting the meeting, you can save some association money in the process. Just tell the professionals, who charge for their services by the hour, to go home -- their services are no longer needed.
Maybe you can use the money to plant some new trees within your community to replace the ones that the hurricanes destroyed? Believe me, it's a much better investment for your association dues!
It's time for us owners to take back our associations. For most of us, our homes are the biggest investment of our lives. Take charge of your association and don't wait until the next special assessment hits you, because lots of money has been wasted.
And never forget: The annual meeting is legally a membership meeting. The word membership is self-explanatory: You have to be a member to have the right to participate! Attorneys, managers, renters and relatives are not members, no matter what they say!
Even if governing documents may not restrict non-members from serving on the board, a membership meeting is a meeting of members. What's so difficult to understand? |