Condo Association Management Blog

You are bringing up several different issues. 
 
- if the was no quorum at the meeting no business could be conducted. anything that was decided would be invalid. the only decision that could be made was to adjourn the meeting. another meeting will have to be scheduled with, possibly, a lower quorum requirement - depending on your bylaws 
 
- election are invalid since there was no quorum. 
 
- ballot is just - a ballot. no information about candidates needs to be provided. it's just a place for you to vote for a candidate of our choice. 
 
- depending on your governing documents budget may not need ownership approval. it's possible that it's approved by the board. 
 
what should happen next? another meeting needs to be scheduled in accordance with your bylaws

The same thing happened at our annual meeting. We had no quorum. And the proxies weren't returned. I ran for office and was elected because there was no one else running. Those on our board remained. The budget proposed was accepted simply because there was no quorum. Shame on us that even our officers show no interest. Our board only meets 4 times a year and we only have a quorum probably 2 out of the 4. The President and myself always show up. It is a shame that condo owners don't show more interest; they think of it as an apartment complex. Indeed, we have 70 percent rentals. I can't sell my condo because of the market and right now,it is the cheapest place to live. I am just thankful that we get done what we do. You can't force people to serve on the Board, attend meetings, or even vote. Makes condo living difficult. Hope you have put your name on the ballot.

With no quorum a meeting cannot take place, no balloting, no voting, etc. Instead of soliciting votes from members who did not either attend or mail in ballots, the board should be sending a notice of another meeting. Your bylaws should explain what must happen when a quorum has not been met for the annual meeting. Generally, the next meeting will require a reduced quorum and must be noticed within a certain period of time. Along with the notice for the second meeting the board should stress that no quorum was met so it's imperative for those who did not send in a ballot or attend the meeting to do so this time or there will be no election and the current board members will continue to serve for another year. 
 
BTW, if it's not stated in the bylaws that bio's are required for candidates, then that does not have to be included with the ballot although I do think it's a very good idea especially in a large assn where not everyone knows all the members in the assn. 
 
With regard to the budget, it's not always required that the members vote on the budget. Check your bylaws to see what the requirements are. If your assn does require a vote of the members this must also be undertaken at the next meeting -- with no quorum a vote could not have been taken at last evening's meeting.

My concern about elections here is the lack of anonymity in the process. Owners here are required to put their name and address on the ballot so that votes can be tabulated based on Beneficial Interest. We have several different types of condos each with their own Beneficial Interest. The difference between the highest and lowest is less than 3/100ths of a percent. When someone suggested the use of a different color ballot for each condo type, the Board President responded it would be against the U.S. Constitution.

Bob, your president's opinion is just that - an opinion. 
 
The board can always vote on changes to your process. If the difference between ownership is that little, why don't you amend your governing docs to give each owner equal voting right.

It has been duty stated that without a Quorum you have no meeting, nor Election. I am kind of confused and lost by your question,, it appears too many things are going on at once (Budget and Annual Election). If that's how your Association handles this that's one thing, but the main thing is you must have a Quorum in order to have an official meeting.

It's a sad day when so many communities can't get enough interest from owners to have a quorum. When a situation like that exists, the owners deserve what they get: Poor management, dishonest board and wasted community money. Many owners treat their home like a rental rather than taking the responsibility of an owner. When things go wrong, they search for someone else to blame. Sometimes everyone must take responsibility and blame their own lack of interest and involvement.

No Quorum, no meeting, no nothing. 
 
Except everyone who showed up for the meeting can stand around a bitch all night. Thats what we do.

What is a "quorum" ?

Your bylaws and your state condominium Axt should be reviewed for specific requirements dealing wityh election of board members and for adopting a budget. The sitting Board had best become aware of their duties in regard to both these issues becayuse if they violate the State CFondon act provisions they forfeit their immunity granted in the bylaws. That would make each member personally liable for his illegal act that violate state laws. Financial and or othern penalties could well be assessed.

Got a question on all of this proxy item. First does a quorum count proxy votes or is it just those present? Second is it correct to have at a board voting meeting a proxy for a board member on board votes? This seems unethical to me. Our by-laws do state we must have a quorum to conduct a meeting and it defines that as a simple majority. It does not define proxy or proxy for a board member at a board vote.

Lou, 
 
 
 
In most instances a proxy does count toward the quorum but it should be so stated in your bylaws and/or state law. 
 
Generally speaking, proxies are prohibited for board members to vote at a board meeting, however, again that should be stated in your bylaws. 
 
Since neither of these issues are stated in your bylaws I would suggest amending them accordingly. Some assn bylaws allow them to be amended by a vote of the board; others require a vote of the members. Hopefully your bylaws do have a provision on amendments!!

Charles, 
 
 
 
It's my understanding that the D&O insurance will not cover the board if they "knowingly" violate the gov docs and/or state law. Just because there is a state law it doesn't mean the board is aware of it. I'm not sure who the burden of proof falls on, but it ould be hard to prove the board knowingly violated a state law unless you have proof of providing them with the law. On the other hand, there is no excuse for violating the gov. docs.

JoeBean, 
 
 
 
A quorum is the number of members required to be present in person or by proxy or mail in ballot in order to coduct business and/or vote in an election. Quorums may be required to conduct a meeting and also to vote and the requirement may be different for each. The bylaws and/or CCRs should outline the quorum requirements.

Bob, 
 
 
 
Many assn elections are by secret ballot which should be stated in your bylaws. A secret ballot has no signature on it. The way to determine if the ballot is valid is to have an inner envelope (containing the ballot) and an outer envelope (containing the inner envelope). The inner envelope should have the member's identification, and perhaps a signature. This way the board can determine whether or not the ballot is legal but still maintain the confidentiality of the member voting. As for members having different % of votes; the % could be shown on each member's ballot or colored ballots could be used for each different %. As for your Pres' remark about that being a violation of the US Constitution, that is plain ridiculous. It appears to me he is the type of board Pres. who wants to know how each member votes so he can mete out punishment for not voting the way he wants! I would not re-elect him.

For joe Beaver-- heard the old adage-ignorance of the law is no excuse. Your state condominium act proscribes the procedures that must be followed in electing members of the board. Further that same state law dictates that the vote by a council of unit owner shall be proportionately weighted in accord with the size of his unit. That means that the vote of a unit owner whose unit is twice the square footage of another carries twice the weight of the smaller unit's vote. Since monthly assessments are base upon the size of the unit the larger unit owner pays a larger monthly fee. The U>S> Constitution has nothing to do with the issues raised in this case. Board members have a responsibility to understand their state laws as well as their bylaws.If they are unwilling to do so or take appropriate training they should be removed from the Board. In the State of Florida a newly elected board member has 6 months to submit an affidavit attesting to his completion of this training. Subsequently if he is found to be in violation he can be accused,tried and if found guilty -punished. Being a board member carries a fiduciary responsibility to the other unit members. I you are unwilling to learn how to discharge that obligation I suggest you resign before you get into real legal difficulties.

Mary 
 
A Board member has a fiduciary responsibility to have a working knowledge of those portions of his State Condominium Act that proscribe how his condominium must be managed. Ignorance of the state law is not an excuse in any event. Almost evey set of condominium bylaws contains protection for board members as long as their actions are done in good faith. But violation of as state law carries no such protection. A Board member who violates his state law can be charged and brought to trial. That applies whether or not he is aware of that law.

Your Board should read their bylaws and the state law that applies. There is nothing legal about any of the actions you describe.

Charles, 
 
 
 
I agree, board members have a fiduciary duty to do what is best for the assn. To say they must have a working knowledge of the state condo act, sounds fine. But, in reality, it's not always the case and in many instances through no fault of their own. Most states do not have an agency charged with regulating HOAs. How does a board even know that there are state laws? Not all assn's have a mgmt co with a mgr who can inform the board of the state laws. If a board "knowingly" violates state law they can be held accountable and their D&O ins will not protect them. However,if they are not aware of the state law then they have not "knowingly" violated it.  
 
Many years ago, I sat on a board made up of 5 members who were all new to HOAs. I was the only board member who took the time to do some research into HOAs and after several months discovered there were state laws governing HOAs. I discovered we had been violating the open meeting law by not noticing our monthly board meetings. We very quickly changed this procedure! I don't believe we violated our fiduciary duty to the assn because we honestly were not aware of the state laws. There was no state agency to go to for advice. If I hadn't attended a City seminar and obtained info on HOAs there's no telling how long it would have been b/4 we discovered the state laws. Ours was a self-managed assn of only 49 single family homes. So you can say we should have known til the cows come home, but how should we????