Last month we discussed methods of addressing homeowner apathy before its effects had a serious impact on the association. This month we look at that more serious consequence - the association cannot get enough people to serve on the Board.
 
Homeowner apathy frequently causes Boards grief and frustration. However, it may also lead to Board apathy and a lack of qualified or resourceful people to serve on the Board. This pool relies greatly on the quality of awareness, education and information flowing from the Board to the owners. It is important to find candidates who have something to contribute to the Board as opposed to someone just looking for power.
 
When the Board begins to notice a decrease in the interest of running for the Board, it is time to get creative. This decrease may be shown by a series of uncontested elections or by having to shame people into service. While effective in the short term, these methods of filling the Board can lead to burnout, “dictatorship,” control issues, and cliques, which can deepen the growing apathy. Before you reach this point, survey the owners about areas of interest and concern with respect to the association, and jobs or expertise that may be useful to the community (i.e landscaping, finance, construction). If owners will not volunteer themselves, try having others volunteer them. For instance, how many times have you passed around a sheet at the annual meeting asking volunteers to serve on a committee only to have the sheet come back blank. Next time, send the piece of paper and ask owners to suggest who in the community might make a good candidate for service, either as a committee member or a future board member. Give the person whose name is put on the list the opportunity to cross off his/her name. Unless, they truly do not have the immediate time to devote to the community, you will find that many who are volunteered are willing to serve in some capacity. The key is finding a way to pull these qualified people out of the woodwork.
 
So what happens when you just cannot fill a board with the proper number of board members? If the Association does not have enough board members to constitute quorum, the ability to conduct business comes to a stop. Some associations deal with this by amending the bylaws to decrease the size of the board. However, keep in mind that board seats cannot be taken away from someone who has been elected or appointed to the board by decreasing the size. Other associations have found that people do not want to serve because of the time involved or they do not feel they have the expertise. In this case, choosing a good management company may help.  The board can often choose the level of management services to fill its need. For instance, if the board cannot afford or does not desire full management, many companies offer limited services such as financial management, covenant enforcement, etc. Professional management or a management consultant can also help the board run efficient meetings, which may encourage otherwise reluctant owners to serve on the board.
 
There are also some more drastic measures that can get the attention of the community. Every association attorney and manager has joked at some point that if you want to obtain a quorum, threaten to raise assessments or ban all pets. Even though we do not really recommend this, a strongly worded notice of the possible financial ramifications (i.e a high special assessment) with a plea for volunteers may get some owners’ attention. The notice could also stress that the last option for the association is to be put into receivership. A receiver is a person appointed by the court and paid by the association to perform management services for the association. This person may or may not have any kind of expertise in managing community associations. The receiver’s role is generally to control funds and pay bills, but may not have authority related to maintenance or other important functions of the association. Therefore, receivership really is the last option for an association.
 
Although some apathy may indicate that the owners are satisfied with the way the association is run, it does have an adverse affect on the community in the long run. Therefore, boards should take steps, beginning with good communication, to prevent apathy before it starts.