Owners Have a Right to the Minutes

QUESTION: My wife and I own a condominium unit in a community association of more than 100 units. The minutes of the board meetings were being posted in the common area.

The board and the management company have now informed us that they will not post the minutes of the meetings. They say that they are not required to post them.

Now the homeowner must request a copy of the minutes and the board will make them available for a $3 fee for one set of minutes or $25 for the year.

Isn’t there a state law about this?

ANSWER: Yes, the state law regarding availability of minutes can be found in Civil Code Section 1363.05 (d). Other topics addressed in Section 1363.05 include member attendance at board meetings, when the board can meet in executive (private) session and proper meeting notice. This section of the Civil Code is known as the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act that became effective Jan. 1, 1996.

Owners have always had the right of access to the minutes, but the law now states that minutes are to be made available to the owners within 30 days after a meeting takes place and specifies that the owners requesting the minutes are responsible for reimbursement of the association’s costs.

The law also states that the association must give written notice to the owners regarding how and where minutes can be obtained. This notice can be included with the annual budget information or with any general mailing that is sent to all owners.

Because your association is a large one, your association may Hickenbottom is a community association management consultant and a founding director of the California Assn. of Community Managers. She selects questions of general interest for the column and regrets that she cannot respond to all questions received. Send questions to: Condo Q&A;, Box 5068, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360.

have an office where the minutes are available for your review. There should be no charge for just reading the minutes in the association’s business office or management company’s office.

Call first to make sure that the minutes are ready, and it is courteous to make an appointment at a time that is convenient for the manager or office staff.

Keep the Stress Out of Annual Meetings

Q: Our homeowners association will be having its annual meeting in January. As a member of the board, I am not looking forward to getting skewered by a few malcontents who seem to try to turn each annual meeting into a battle.

Many of the complainers are owners who do not attend board meetings and would never run for the board, but who delight in asking questions like, “Where are you spending all of our money?”

Some bring up trivial complaints that could easily and more appropriately be addressed at a board meeting.

One year we actually had an owner insist that we fill the whirlpool spa with soil and convert it to a flower bed. She made a motion and demanded that we take a vote of the owners right then. When the board president tried to reason with her, she and her cronies complained loudly and accused the board of “Gestapo tactics.”

I gladly volunteer my time to serve my association. As a board, we do our best to communicate with the owners and respond to their concerns. This takes more time and patience than most of the owners will ever know. Why should we have to endure verbal abuse from people who seem to thrive on conflict?

A: I can tell you are frustrated. The cause is the dreaded “Us Against Them Syndrome.” I wish I had a cure for this awful malady. It damages the board’s self-esteem and reduces the prospects for getting new board members to serve. Try to stamp it out before the whole association is infected.

You should not be subjected to verbal abuse at your annual meeting. However, some owners love to grandstand in front of a captive audience. They should be aware that they are only hurting their image and the association’s image. If you and the rest of the board can handle impertinence with grace, your association will be less damaged by the complainers.

California law provides that owners have the right to speak at all board meetings and general membership meetings within reasonable time limits set by the board.

I encourage boards and management companies to ask members to communicate with the board in writing or at a board meeting rather than addressing all of the owners at the annual meetings.

The board president should maintain control of the meeting at all times. He or she should explain to the owners that the annual meeting is a business meeting and that those who attend should conduct themselves in a respectful and business-like manner.

Some associations hire policemen or security guards if controversy is anticipated. Hot topics like special assessments often cause heated discussions, so be prepared to withstand the heat with dignity. A respected member of the community or a former board member serving as parliamentarian can often help the president remain in control of the discussion.

The main purpose, usually the only purpose, of the annual meeting is to elect directors. It should also be a celebration of the accomplishments of the past year (reports by the officers) and a time to thank the board and committee members for their service.

Most annual meetings can be finished in one hour. I’ve attended many annual meetings at which the registration of the voters took more time than the actual meeting.

The annual budget, maintenance complaints, landscape suggestions and requests for service are all board matters that should be addressed at a board meeting instead of at the annual meeting.

If an owner starts talking endlessly about these kinds of issues, it is appropriate for the board president to interrupt and ask the person to attend the next board meeting or write to the board.

If your association has a large number of owners, it may be necessary for a timekeeper to monitor the speakers’ time allotted by the board so that everyone who wants to speak has an equal opportunity to do so.

Any agenda items requiring a vote of the owners must be announced to the membership ahead of time. Therefore, your board was correct when it did not allow a vote on converting the spa to a flower bed. If it isn’t on the agenda, the owners should not vote on the issue.