HOA Management Blog
It’s required by law that time be set aside at each HOA board meeting for members to address the Board. This time for open comments allows members to have a voice about issues in the Association; however it’s important to understand what can and cannot be done during this time.
What’s the difference between a homeowners association board meeting and an annual meeting, or an executive session and an emergency meeting? Confused? Here’s some clarification.
In homeowners associations, residents are encouraged to attend and observe HOA board meetings. Does your Association have many residents attend the board meetings? Some Associations have many residents that participate and attend meetings and other communities may never have a resident attend a meeting. This entirely depends on the Association.
The purpose and protocol for executive sessions in a homeowners association are often misunderstood by both homeowners and board members. HOA Board members may call an executive session to discuss important matters and make crucial decisions involving privileged and private information. Below are some frequently asked questions that you might have about executive sessions that will help to increase your knowledge and fulfill your duty to be informed as a member of the Board.
All meetings of the HOA board, excluding executive sessions, are open meetings. A required part of every homeowners association Board meeting is the homeowners forum (also referred to as “open forum” or “open comments to the Board”). Homeowner forums are typically held at the beginning or end of meetings, and any owner attending a meeting has the opportunity to address the Board and may do so during the homeowner forum portion of the meeting.
How would you define an effective HOA board meeting? Most people would see it as time spent efficiently, where issues are addressed, reasonable business decisions are made, and action items are assigned, in an atmosphere of respect and collaboration.
When you hear the word “meeting” do you want to run in the other direction? We’ve all been in meetings that drag on and on, feel like a waste of time because nothing gets accomplished, or are outright exhausting because board members spend the time arguing with each other. What if you had a few tricks up your sleeve to make HOA board members actually look forward to meetings? Okay, at least not dread going to Association meetings? Here’s what you need to do.
When you’re recruiting members to be part of your HOA board, it’s important to know how to reach them and to be prepared for common pushbacks you’ll hear when you ask a homeowner to join the Board. But once you find good board members, you don’t want to let them go. So how do you keep them on the Board?
Being a board member in a homeowners association is a difficult job. It takes a commitment of time and resources, but it can also be very rewarding. Sometimes you are asked to deal with tough issues that relate to your next door neighbor – maybe even your friend. It can be tough to tell the little old lady who’s just making it on social security, that a special assessment to fix something is going to be in effect. But, you can also use your role as an HOA board member to be the voice for people in the Association.
Your homeowners association needs to hold elections for Board members every so often. While it is important to refresh the leadership of the Association every now and then it is just as vital to make sure any election is held in accordance with the rules and regulations of the individual HOA and the state. Fair elections are a staple of any democracy, on a very large or small scale.
