Meetings and Elections

August 22, 2019

Article by Nicole Kurtz in Today’s Daily Business Review: “New Laws Spurring Florida Community Associations to Implement E-Voting, Websites”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s Nicole R. Kurtz authored an article that was featured as the guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper. The article, which is titled “New Laws Spurring Florida Community Associations to Implement E-Voting, Websites,” focuses on the recent changes in state law allowing community associations to implement electronic voting and requiring condominium associations with 150 units or more to have a website containing digital copies of certain official records. Her article reads:

. . . The condominium association website laws mandate that compliant websites should have been operational as of Jan. 1 of this year. The laws call for association websites that are accessible only to unit owners and employees where certain notices, records and documents are posted. These must include the declaration of condominium, bylaws, articles of incorporation, rules and regulations of the association, as well as all executory contracts or documents to which the association is a party, or under which the association or unit owners have an obligation or responsibility.

Condominium association websites must also feature the association’s annual budget and proposed annual budget; financial reports; monthly income or expense statements; copies of bids, or summaries of bids, exceeding $500; association meeting notices, and board member certification forms.

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June 21, 2019

Do Orderly Community Association Board and Member Meetings Exist?

by Shari Wald Garrett

Shari Wald Garrett

All too often, the other community association attorneys at our firm and I are asked for help on how to prevent unruly behavior from disrupting board and owner meetings. Since items addressed at these meetings generally have a significant impact on the welfare of an association and the financial responsibilities of its owners, conversations dealing with topics such as special assessments and annual elections can quickly become contentious. The following are helpful tips on how to try to keep your meetings on track and in order:

Use Robert’s Rule of Order – This common form of parliamentary procedure for meeting protocol allows meeting facilitators to manage time effectively, all while ensuring that everyone stays on topic. Many people are already familiar with this method, making it easy for participants to follow and respect the meeting procedures that are in place.

2. Be specific about who can attend – The association should establish rules determining who can participate in advance of the meeting. Generally, owners, or owners and residents are the only people allowed to participate in such meetings. Counsel for an owner is likewise permitted to attend.

3. Make the purpose of the meeting clear – Prepare an agenda that outlines the specific items that will be discussed. Be sure to be transparent about the topics, providing participants with any supplemental documents they may need to make educated decisions.

April 5, 2019

Article by Nicole Kurtz in Today’s Daily Business Review: “Association Election ‘Shenanigans’ Lead to Contentious, Costly Litigation”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

An article authored by the firm’s Nicole R. Kurtz was featured as the guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper. Her article, which is titled “Association Election ‘Shenanigans’ Lead to Contentious, Costly Litigation,” focuses on the takeaways for Florida community associations from the case involving the strange and suspicious circumstances surrounding an Orlando-area HOA’s last annual election. It reads:

A case in which a trial court concluded may have involved some association election “shenanigans” is going back to the trial court for further proceedings after the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed the lower court’s order mandating binding arbitration.

“What should have been a rather routine meeting of the Association was cloaked with mystery, intrigue, and confusion,” begins the Fifth DCA’s unanimous opinion in the case of Winter Green at Winter Park HOA v. Richard Ware et al. Indeed, mystery, intrigue and confusion seem to be very apropos for describing the set of circumstances that unfolded during the Orlando suburb’s annual meeting and election.

It all began when somehow two nearly identical notices were sent out to announce the upcoming annual meeting and election to the homeowners. Both notices included the necessary agenda and accompanying documents, however the notice prepared by the association’s property manager set the annual meeting date for November 15, 2017, while the other notice announced the annual meeting was to be held on November 12, 2017.

Fifty-five members of the association attended the Nov. 12 meeting, which was sufficient to establish a quorum, but the owners were surprised to find that neither the property manager nor any of the current board members were present. An owner was even dispatched to the property manager’s office to seek clarification on the manager and directors’ absence, but he found no one there.

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February 12, 2019

Establishing, Utilizing and Setting the Ground Rules for Community Association Committees

by Laura Manning-Hudson

Laura Manning-Hudson

Not enough community association boards make effective use of committees. Committees can be very useful when it comes to providing recommendations to the board and assisting the board with carrying out its duties and responsibilities. However, many associations do not take the time to establish committees or set parameters for their work so that committees may assist in the operation of the association.

Setting up committees is the responsibility of an association’s board of directors. The board must appoint the members of each committee at a properly noticed board meeting, during which the directors should provide instructions and set parameters for the scope of the committees’ responsibilities.

One of the best approaches is for boards of directors to use their annual meetings to establish various committees, appoint committee members and establish areas of purview for each. Each committee should have at least three members.

meet With the exception of the rules enforcement committee, board members may also serve as members on committees. Many associations choose to have a board member on each committee along with two non-director volunteers, as this enables the board member to keep their fellow directors abreast of the committee’s work and progress.

December 12, 2018

Helpful Tips for Successful Condominium Association Annual Meetings, Elections

by Laura Manning-Hudson

Laura Manning-Hudson

This is the time of year when many Florida condominium associations conduct their annual meeting and election of directors. Here are some helpful reminders about the process to ensure that your community’s meeting and election avoid potential glitches and remain in compliance with Florida law.

Board membership should be viewed as being akin to a civic duty for condominium owners. So long as individuals meet the basic legal requirements, to wit: they are current on all of their financial obligations to the association and are not a convicted felon, they are otherwise eligible to run for a board seat in most associations.

The election notices that are distributed by the association to all of the owners begin with the initial notice that must be sent out at least 60 days prior to the election. This notice should include information on the deadlines for submission of notices to the association for those who intend to run for a board seat. All candidates must provide their association with a written notice of their intent to run for the board of directors at least 40 days prior to the date of the election. meeting-vote-300x300 Registered candidates are then able to lobby their fellow owners, and they may submit a resume to the association at least 35 days prior to the election. The resume, which may not exceed one side of a standard piece of office paper, should contain details about a candidate’s professional and educational background as well as any other attributes and qualifications that they would like to include.

A second notice of the election, which must be distributed between 34 and 14 days prior to the election, must include copies of all the resumes submitted by the candidates together with the ballot and the inner and outer envelopes.

June 5, 2018

Associations Should Keep Board Meeting Minutes Succinct, Non-Political

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

One of the changes to the Florida condominium laws from this year’s legislative session that are set to take effect on July 1 is the mandate that the minutes of all condominium association board meetings must now be kept permanently as opposed to seven years, as the law previously held. This new requirement should not present any difficulties for the state’s condo associations, as recording the meeting minutes and keeping them available for inspection as state law requires are basic functions of association administration.

The minutes of association board meetings must reflect all of the votes or abstentions of the directors in attendance. They are extremely useful association records for those who wish to gain an understanding for all of their association’s undertakings and decisions over a period of time.

Associations should record their meeting minutes in a well organized and uniform format, and the information should be very brief and to the point. The minutes should reflect the format and topics from the meeting agenda, and many associations break them down into standard sections for attendees, reports, old business, new business and others.

May 23, 2018

Size Matters: Should Your Condo Super-Size Its Board of Directors?

by Nicole R. Kurtz

Nicole R. Kurtz

For many condominium associations in Florida, the amount of board members serving on a board of directors is usually dictated by the association’s governing documents or bylaws. There are associations, however, whose documents are silent on the number of directors that can be elected. In the absence of such a provision, condominium associations would have to refer to Chapter 718, Florida Statutes, which provides that a board of administration of a condominium shall be composed of five members. For those bylaws that do include language with specifications regarding a board’s size, the average number of board members serving typically ranges from three to five board members. But is there an ideal size?

While there is no “right” size for a board of directors, community associations that are considering decreasing or increasing their existing board’s size should always evaluate the pros and cons of doing so. It is possible for a board to be either too big or too small. Continue reading

March 7, 2018

Community Association Directors Must Be Cognizant of “Sunshine Laws” for Meetings, Discussions of Association Business

by Nicole R. Kurtz

Nicole R. Kurtz

Just as with the “sunshine” laws mandating public access to the decision-making processes within the state government of Florida, community associations have their own sunshine laws to ensure that unit owners are able to monitor and participate in their governance. These laws, which include the owners’ right to attend and record board of directors’ meetings as well as to speak on agenda items at the meetings, are brought into play in the association context when a quorum of the board of directors meets to discuss association business. As such, directors must always remain mindful of the fact that they should avoid discussing association business, or making decisions on behalf of an association, outside of properly noticed meetings. Continue reading

May 9, 2017

Association Board Meeting Do’s and Don’ts

by Laura Manning-Hudson

Laura Manning-Hudson

The other South Florida community association attorneys at our firm and I are often called upon by our clients with questions regarding how to more efficiently run their board meetings and control the conduct of members during those meetings. Very often it seems that directors who are simply trying to be polite and respectful of owners by allowing them to express their opinions wind up losing control of the meeting and actually accomplish very little business. This trend of owners seemingly “hijacking” board meetings is not a new one, but it does seem to be fueled in recent months by the political climate we find ourselves living in now where all people want to be heard. Fortunately, the HOA and Condominium Acts provide board members with the tools they need to control their meetings while allowing all members to also have their “say.”

Association board meetings are defined as any gathering for the purpose of conducting association business by the members of the board of directors at which a quorum is present. Unless the association’s by-laws or other governing documents provide for a longer period, notice of board meetings must generally be conspicuously posted within the community 48 hours in advance of the meeting. However, in certain circumstances (such as the adoption of assessments or some types of rules), written notice must be posted and provided to the members at least 14 days in advance of a board meeting.

In accordance with Florida law, an item of business that is not noticed may only be addressed on an emergency basis, such as situations involving sudden damage to the building, natural disasters and similar events. Emergency actions must be ratified or approved at the board’s next properly noticed board meeting at which a quorum of directors is attained.

meet The notice of the board meeting should list specific business items on the agenda. Boards and managers should make every effort to ensure that all reasonably anticipated topics of discussion are included. The more specific the agenda, the easier it will be for the board to control the pace and flow of the meeting. When agendas list broad topics without specific business items, boards leave themselves open to having to address issues brought up by members that would arguably “fit” under broad category headings. As such, the agenda should be comprised of specific open items from the previous meeting requiring action; specific owner items that may require board action; building maintenance items, as required; project information, updates, requests and actions; and seasonal information, such as annual and budget meeting information as well as hurricane preparation matters.

January 19, 2017

Article by Nicole Kurtz in Today’s Daily Business Review: “Disputed Condo Election Offers Important Lessons for Association Boards”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s Nicole R. Kurtz authored an article that appeared as a “Board of Contributors” guest column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper. The article, which was titled “Disputed Condo Election Offers Important Lessons for Association Boards,” focused on a recent appellate ruling that illustrated the importance for boards of directors to act with a clear understanding of their capabilities to alter association election procedures. Her article reads:

Allegations of questionable or even downright fraudulent tactics by candidates in annual association elections are not entirely uncommon. When suspicious activities begin to call into question the integrity of the election, some boards of directors hit the panic button and take actions that will not stand the test of their governing documents or the Florida Administrative Code.

Such appears to be what took place in a disputed election at the Palm Aire Country Club Condominium in Pompano Beach that culminated in a recent ruling by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal. While the appellate panel’s opinion does not address the reasons for the association board’s actions, noting only that “there is some ambiguity as to what exactly occurred” at the board’s Feb. 29, 2016, meeting, the opinion essentially invalidates the board’s 6-3 vote at the meeting to postpone the annual election that was set for two days later on March 2.

Even though a majority of the board voted to postpone the election, it took place as originally scheduled on March 2, and new directors were elected. The management company for the property, M&M Property Management LLC, subsequently refused to recognize the authority of the prior board of directors and instead began working with the newly elected directors.

In response, the prior board of directors filed suit against M&M seeking a temporary injunction to compel the management company to stop operating in service of the new board of directors. The prior board was granted the temporary injunction, and in turn M&M was ordered to recognize the board as it existed prior to the March 2 election.