Board meeting brawls: There’s an app for that

Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

By Kimberly Miller

Published December 10, 2013

A smart phone app developed by the South Florida-based Community Advocacy Network aims to cut down on condominium board meeting brawls by putting state law at everyone’s fingertips.

Donna DiMaggio Berger, an attorney and executive director of the Community Advocacy Network, or CAN, said the free app includes Robert’s Rules of Order and shared ownership statutes from all 50 states. States other than Florida were included because many residents have homes and condos elsewhere, Berger said.

“I created the app after years of seeing board meetings held hostage by the community’s ‘resident parliamentarian,’ who started quoting chapter and verse of Robert’s Rules of Order with no one being able to verify the accuracy of the information being spouted,” Berger said.
While the app, called Condo HOA Law, went live last year, it’s since been updated and improved. It now includes changes to community association laws made during this year’s legislative session, a hurricane preparedness guide, and a guide to Florida’s political process.

“Now any board member, manager or owner in attendance can whip out their smart phone or tablet and look up sections of the Condominium Act, Cooperative Act, Timeshares, Mobile Homes and HOA Act and see for themselves what they really say,” Berger said.

The Community Advocacy Network also hosts Board Member Boot Camps where participants learn how to protect their community from liability, negotiate with vendors, pursue collections and defuse community conflict.

Jan Bergemann, president of Cyber Citizens for Justice, a DeLand-based association watchdog group, said CAN’s app could help keep boards honest. Too many association members are willing to ignore laws governing community oversight, he said.

“It’s not a lack of knowledge that causes most fights,” Bergemann said. “It’s the fact that many board members and owners are willing to violate existing laws and just make up their own rules that causes the fights.”