association elections

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.

With the holiday season approaching, now is the time that many condominium associations in Florida are gearing up for their annual meetings and board member elections. It is essential for the current board and property management to have a complete understanding of the condominium election process.

At least 60 days prior to date of the meeting and election, the association must mail, deliver or electronically transmit a first notice of the election to each unit owner. This first notice sets forth the date, time and location of the meeting. Those members who wish to be considered for board membership must then give written notice of their intent to run for the board to the association at least 40 days prior to the scheduled date of the election. Although not required, candidates have an additional five days to submit information sheets about themselves.

A second notice of the annual meeting and election together with an agenda for the meeting must then be mailed, delivered or electronically transmitted to all of the members together with a ballot that lists every candidate who submitted their names to run for board membership. meetingvote Any information sheets submitted by the candidates must also be included with the distribution of the ballot – regardless of their content. Return envelopes that allow for owners to print and sign their names and include their unit numbers should also be included with this mail out.

In order to have a valid election, and be able to open envelopes and count votes, at least 20 percent of the eligible voters must cast a ballot. Unit owners are not permitted to allow any other person to vote using their ballot, and all of the ballot envelopes must be retained by the association for at least one year.

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