By Beth Mulcahy, Esq.
With everyone multitasking these days time is stretched among school, activities for the children, personal time and professional responsibilities; however, the community association still needs volunteers for the board of directors. It is a reoccurring question asked of our firm. What do you do when no one volunteers for the board?
The association’s CC&Rs require the association to collect assessments, enforces rules and regulations and manage the association’s common area for the association. To accomplish this task, a functioning board of directors is required to guide the association in making the decisions necessary to manage the business of the association.
A professional management company can efficiently “run” the association for a short period of time; however a manager cannot continue to operate without the direction of the board of directors. The management company cannot make decisions regarding collection of regular assessments or enter into contracts with major vendors, including the management company itself. Without board decisions, the maintenance of the common areas, the property taxes, the liability insurance premiums, and other bills go unpaid.
Find directors…Our firm suggests sending a letter to association members alerting the owners to the problems that will arise without a functioning board of directors. Without this direction and key decision makers, an association
cannot properly fulfill its duties; bills go unpaid, maintenance is ignored, repairs or expenditures are missed and the community falls into disrepair, which typically means the association’s home values fall. This type of letter often brings people who really care about the community to the forefront.
It is important to note that associations that support volunteers, create mentoring programs for board positions and create social activities that encourage attendance typically have an easier time of filling the board positions.
If your association needs help with vacant board positions please contact Beth Mulcahy, Esq. or any of our Mulcahy Attorneys for assistance.
