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Board Members

So, you've been elected to the board. Now what? If you've never served as a Board Member for a community association before, it can be pretty intimidating. You probably have all kinds of questions, like "How do we hold meetings?" and "Who makes sure the bills are paid?" Rest assured, Northwest Community Management can guide you through the maze of board membership. We're always happy to answer your questions about what comes next.

Responsibilities

As with everything else in a community, you need look no farther than your community documents for a summary of the Board's duties and responsibilities. Your CC&R's and/or your Bylaws will enumerate the various duties required of both the Board and the officers. Each community is different, of course, but in general, you are responsible for the following:

Creating Agendas
Holding Meetings
Setting Budgets
Overseeing HOA Business

Creating Agendas

The agenda determines what will and won't be discussed during a meeting, be it an annual meeting or board meeting or special meeting of the general membership. It normally follows a fixed order of business, the following order being a typical example:

Call to order
Roll call of members
Reading of previous meeting minutes
Reports by the officers
Reports by the committees
Old business
New business
Announcements
Adjournment

Agendas keep everyone organized because attendees know what needs to be accomplished during the meeting.

Holding Meetings

There are a few simple rules that are musts when it comes to meetings. First and foremost: meetings are open to all homeowners in a community. Board members can work in executive sessions when conditions call for it, but no association decisions can be made unless the general membership is invited. Meetings follow the procedure known as "Robert's Rules of Order" to keep them organized and productive.

Who is this Robert guy and why do we have to follow his rules?

Robert's Rules of Order is the accepted, definitive guideline that summarizes parliamentary procedure for those of us who have little or no daily experience with it.

Essentially, Robert's Rules of Order is used to keep meetings and assemblies productive, congenial, and efficient by creating standardized rules that everyone knows and recognizes. Among other things, it ensures that many voices can be heard in an equitable manner, designates how an agenda is followed, minimizes confusion on the issues before the assembly, and helps discussion progress to voting. It's what prevents a meeting from turning into a gabfest (or worse, a free-for-all) and keeps a meeting on-track.

To put it simply: Robert's Rules of Order is your friend. It's available at the public library or you can purchase a copy at the bookstore of your choice. There are also several online resources for the manual; the following site gives a pretty good overview:

Robert's Rules of Order Revised

Meeting notification must be done according to the timeframe set forth in the governing documents, which is usually 10 days prior to a meeting. Northwest Community Management uses postcards that list the meeting time, date, and place on bright colored cards so that homeowners have clear, obvious notification of an upcoming meeting.

And lastly, meeting minutes must be recorded so that there is documentation of what took place during the meeting for future reference. Besides being a requirement of the governing documents, it's also invaluable for homeowners who are unable to attend so that they can stay apprised of the issues and concerns of the community.

Through years of experience we also have a few recommendations when it comes to meetings:

Have an "open forum" time of 15 minutes or so. This enables homeowners to voice their concerns. After the open forum, close the meeting to homeowner input unless the Board would like to hear from them on a particular subject.
When a homeowner brings an issue up for a discussion at the meeting, don't make a decision at the meeting about the issue. This will give you the opportunity to research the situation further so that you can make an informed decision at the next meeting.
Provide meeting minutes to management within 10 days of the meeting date. We keep them in your permanent files as well as use them as your "action item" list. This list is our way of making sure that the items addressed during a meeting (ex. having the landscaper trim bushes at the entrance to the community) are followed up and/or completed promptly.

Setting Budgets

In order for a community to function, it must budget its finances to ensure that all its responsibilities are met. It's the Board's duty to plan for each year's expenses, as well as project long-term costs.

Overseeing HOA Business

Because they are the elected authority of the community, Board members are responsible for delegating duties to the various committees and supervising the management company (ex. directing how homeowner requests are to be handled, approving vendor bids).

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