‘Open Meeting’ Doesn’t Mean Anyone Can Talk

QUESTION: One of your recent columns advised against lengthy board meetings. I serve on my homeowner association’s board of directors. We have over 200 owners in our association and many of them attend meetings.

Our declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions requires open meetings. Our board feels that we are obligated to hear comments from the owners who want to participate in the decision-making process. We would like to take your advice and shorten our meetings, but this seems impossible in our case.

How can we comply with the open-meeting requirement in our declaration and get all of the agenda items covered in a reasonable amount of time?

ANSWER: The term “open meeting” means that the door is figuratively open. All owners and residents should be allowed to attend unless legal issues, personnel issues and contract negotiations are being discussed.

However, you are mistaken if you believe that each owner must be allowed to give his or her input on every agenda item. Remember, you are conducting a board meeting, not a full membership meeting for all the owners. The open-meeting requirement means that owners must be allowed to attend as spectators, not participants.

I recommend that some time be set aside prior to the meeting for an “open forum” for owners who would like to address the board. Their comments should be brief and it is the president’s responsibility to limit the speaker’s time so that each person has the opportunity to participate. City council meetings usually have a two- or three-minute time limit.

After the president calls the meeting to order, the owners should not be allowed to interrupt or participate in the board’s discussions.

If an owner wants to engage the board in lengthy discussion on a non-agenda issue, then the issue can be tabled until a future meeting when adequate agenda time can be scheduled.

Some large associations require that owners submit their specific agenda topic in writing at least a week in advance. In my opinion, this is a reasonable way for the board meetings to be conducted in a large association.

Owners should be informed about the board’s procedures. The board has a responsibility to listen to input from the owners but the decision-making power rests with the elected board members. Opinions voiced in an open forum may not be the opinions of the majority. The board must weigh the owners’ input and then act in the best interests of all the owners.

Officers Not Liable Unless Negligent

Q: I live in a planned unit development in which several units share a common driveway. Some of the children ride their bicycles in the driveways even though the association’s rules prohibit it. As a member of the board of directors, could I be held personally liable for injury or death in this situation even if the child was violating a rule?

A: Because I am not an attorney, I urge you to seek the advice of your association’s legal counsel. Specifically, you might want to ask about California Civil Code, Section 1365.7, which addresses this type of liability.

The law states that “Any person who suffers bodily injury, including, but not limited to, emotional distress, or wrongful death . . . shall not recover damages from a volunteer officer or volunteer director if all of the following criteria are met: 1) The act or omission was performed within the scope for the officer’s or director’s association duties. 2) The act or omission was performed in good faith. 3) The act or omission was not willful, wanton, or grossly negligent. 4) The association maintained and had in effect, at the time the act or omission occurred and at the time a claim is made, general liability insurance in either of the following amounts: a) At least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) if the common interest development consists of 100 or fewer separate interests (units), or b) at least one million dollars ($1 million) if the common interest development consists of more than 100 separate interests.”

There are further stipulations within the law that clarify who is and isn’t protected under the law based upon their volunteer status and whether the officer or director lives in the complex or owns more than two units.

You can research this at your local library’s law reference section.

Board Can OK Budget but Must Distribute It

Q: I am the president of a 32-unit condominium. Our association’s annual meeting takes place in January. For several years we have been distributing the budget for a vote of the membership at the annual meeting.

I have recently been informed by one of the owners that the budget is supposed to be distributed to all of the owners in November. Do we have to call a special meeting of the owners in November to approve the budget?

A: California law gives the board of directors the authority to approve the annual budget if the assessments are being increased 20% or less. However, if the board fails to distribute a pro forma budget in a timely manner, then the board must submit the budget to a vote of the owners in order to effect an increase. A special meeting called for the purpose of increasing the budget requires over 20% of the owners to be in attendance or represented by proxy. Then, a majority of the those in attendance must approve the increase.

The budget must be distributed each year to all the members from 45 to 60 days before the beginning of the fiscal year. If your fiscal year begins on Jan. 1, then the advice that you received was correct. The budget should be delivered between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15.

If you need clarification or if you have other questions concerning the pro forma budget or the board’s authority to increase assessments, contact a certified public accountant who specializes in community association accounting procedures.

Hickenbottom is past president of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI), a national nonprofit research and educational organization. She welcomes readers’ questions, but cannot answer them individually. Readers with questions or comments can write to her in care of “Condo Q&A;,” Box 5068, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 91360.