MAINTENANCE DUES SPENT FOR LOBBYING?

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.

Published February 28, 2007

Let’s make it very clear: Using maintenance dues to pay for lobbying purposes is a clear violation of the deed restrictions in a large majority of associations.

Most deed restrictions limit the use of fees with a provision titled: “USE OF FEES.” So far, I haven’t seen one document stating that maintenance dues can be used to pay for lobbying. But board members – and especially presidents – spent owners’ money on lobbying, because they knew full well that they could get away with it! ANOTHER VIOLATION WITHOUT PUNISHMENT!

Often hidden in financial records, covered up as “OFFICE EXPENSE” or “RETAINER,” we see it more and more often. And often it’s used for lobbying on causes many of the owners would be seriously opposed to – if they only knew!

The most obvious example of wasting owners’ money on a lobbying cause was published recently under the headline: “CONDO BOARD DONATES $10,000 TO OUTSIDE GROUP!” It was very obvious that the president took it upon herself to spend owners’ money on a cause she considered worthwhile – no board meeting, no discussion!

The membership of the condo association was informed after the fact – no debate! $10,000 of owners’ money gone and the only “punishment” the president received was a warning letter from the DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation). See: “CONDO BOARD UNDER REVIEW FOR MISUSE OF FUNDS”.

But that wasn't good enough for the president, so she just went after changing the bylaws: DBPR SENDS WARNING LETTER -- CONDO BOARD WANTS TO AMEND BYLAWS. It's really amazing how much disregard some board members show toward the Florida Statutes and their own governing documents!

A lot more money from unsuspecting condo owners is being paid by board members as a “RETAINER” to CALL (COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP LOBBY), the lobbying group of the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff. Under the cover of representing the interests of the associations, this law firm is actually lobbying for its own income -- and that of their fellow "specialized" attorneys. If a law firm spends money to defeat owner-friendly legislation, aimed at protecting owners against abuses by board members, managers and attorneys, it’s pretty obvious that the law firm doesn’t have the welfare of homeowners and condo owners in mind. But using owners’ money to defeat this kind of legislation adds insult to injury!

Many power-hungry board members join CALL in order to get some much needed protection against other owners, owners quickly stamped as “disgruntled,” who may not like the leadership style of these sitting board members. Please read “What Does CALL Really Do? Collect Protection Money?” and you get an idea how the system really works.

We saw the example of Mary Ann Casatelli, last year’s president of the Lighthouse Point Plaza Condominium, who paid the CALL “retainer” fee from her own money and then had the board vote on reimbursing her. Casatelli will not serve again on the board of that condominium this year – much to the delight of many of her neighbors!

Last year we saw a big group of board members from the Galt Mile Community Association going to Tallahassee with CALL, rallying against a bill that would have, among other owner-friendly provisions, created term limits for board directors. Their battle cry: “Term limits would kill associations as we know them, because there are no volunteers willing to serve!” Guess what? The same folks claiming that there are no volunteers willing to serve are clinging to their own directorial seats this year, facing big opposition and well-organized candidates, even going as far as suing opposing candidates.

Owners are waking up, realizing that many of these directors have personal agendas, wasting owners’ money through arrogance, incompetence or straightforward greed and -- as it seems -- even criminal misconduct. See: HOMEOWNERS -- THERE GOES YOUR MONEY!

Another example for spending money on lobbying by community associations were donations to the political action committee of Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson “Floridians for Stem Cell Research and Cures.”. Among many other donors there were two distinct entries:

11/2/2005 $500 ALLIANCE OF DELRAY RESIDENTIAL ASSOCIATIONS, INC. DELRAY BEACH , FL 33482 -- CIVIC ASSOCIATION

11/18/2005 $1000 BOCA WEST MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC.

BOCA RATON , FL 33434 -- HOMEOWNER ASSOC.

In this case, it’s not a question of being a good cause or not – it’s a matter of using owners’ money without their consent for a cause that surely has nothing to do with maintaining the community – the reason that was given to collect the money in the first place. Considering the hotly debated issue of stem cell research, it’s pretty obvious that owners’ money was used for a cause many of them strongly oppose.

It seems that without strict regulation and enforcement of these regulations nothing works in our society. Common sense seems to be suspended and so-called adults are like little kids trying to see how far they can reach into the cookie jar without getting slapped on the wrist.

It seems not everybody has figured out yet that the words “maintenance dues” in the deed restrictions refer to money paid by owners to maintain the association’s property, not to pay for some pet projects of certain board directors -- or to buy influence for certain people on specific issues to serve their personal agendas.

If board directors want to lobby -- this is a free country -- nothing wrong with doing so! But please use your own personal money to finance your own personal agenda, not the money of association members that might not share your ideas!