A Hialeah Gardens condominium association is facing a $50,000 fine by the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulations and, to pay it off, the association's board may charge residents a special assessment fee. Residents said they shouldn't have to pay.

The dispute centers on the fine the association incurred in the last two years, according to Michael Cochran, chief of the Bureau of Compliance in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the state's regulatory agency for homeowners and condo associations.

Cochran said while most of the work within condo associations is an internal process, residents can file complaints with his bureau. He said the agency received complaints two years ago from residents of Grand Vista Condominiums. The complaints alleged ``failure of the board to maintain proper records and failure to account for money.''

Specifically, residents accused their board of failure to institute proper accounting methods for the petty cash system; failure to maintain accounting documents; and purchases not considered common expenses.

Residents blame the board for the fine and a meeting the board called Friday to discuss a special assessment turned into a public call to remove the board, according to residents and state Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, who attended the meeting at the condominium complex, 8851 NW 119th St.

Robaina, who chairs the state's Select Committee on Condo and Homeowner's Associations Governance, said what he saw at Friday's meeting was ``really bad.''

''The board was down-talking to the residents and they were very belligerent in the way they were speaking,'' Robaina said by phone Tuesday. ``They were trying to intimidate the residents, until I identified myself. It was outrageous.''

Robaina, who does not live in the community, said a resident invited him to the meeting.

Residents plan their own meeting at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the complex to determine what they have to do to prepare a recall ballot for the board, resident Eddie Hernandez said.

According to Cochran, the bureau offered the association an opportunity to settle the complaints by paying the $50,000 fine and agreeing to a consent order requiring the board to keep better financial records. It is fairly common for associations to impose special assessment fees to pay for such fines, he said.

''The case has required quite a bit of investigation on our part,'' Cochran said. ``We've reviewed bank statements, checks and other financial statements.''

The board planned to discuss the fine and a likely increase in homeowner assessments, but there was not a quorum for a formal meeting.

Board Vice President Manuel Carrera said Hernandez was upset because he ran for a board seat and lost. The fines were caused by the complaints of a specific group of residents, including Hernandez, he said. ''They're apparently not happy with the administration because they lost the election,'' Carrera said by phone Tuesday. ``They constantly kept calling the state with complaints. That's why Tallahassee has fined us.''

Hernandez -- who ran ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board and has emerged as its strongest critic -- said he did the right thing. He has also started a website, www.grandvistacondos.com, to keep residents informed.

''I've been keeping track of the laws they are violating,'' Hernandez said.

``I felt concerned so I called the DBPR, the civil rights division of the Department of Justice and the Hialeah Gardens police department to keep the peace at [Friday's] meeting.''

Hernandez said he filed a complaint with the state when the association posted residents' names, addresses and assessment fees on the condominium's bulletin boards two years ago. He said his fine was $300 the first day the posting went up and by the next day it had gone up to $700.

''I kept getting bogus bills,'' Hernandez said.

``I knew this was not correct. It's clear that they are trying to pay for the fines by charging us, the residents, and that's not fair.''

Cochran said if a new board is elected it will inherit the fines of the current board but his agency would be willing to negotiate the amount.

At Friday's meeting, Robaina said Hernandez and other residents should inform the owners of the 282 units in the complex about the recall process in order to be successful in ousting the board.

''A lot of them don't understand what their rights are,'' Robaina said.

``They're angry and they need to be told what they can do.''