T.O. from Fairfield County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Is there a Code of Ethics for Board Members, as for other Boards? We have a Board Member who chooses to ignore the Condo Rules and Regulations and was abusive in an email. How does a Board ‘fire’ a Board member? Thank you so very much.
Mister Condo replies:
T.O., I am sorry that you find yourself with an elected volunteer conducting themselves outside of the very rules that were used to vote them into office. While the Board may have the ability to remove the member, it is most common that the ability to remove a seated Board member is in the hands of the electorate, in this case, the unit owners of the association. A recall would need to be called and a new volunteer voted into office. Sometimes it is just easier to wait for the next election cycle to remove the poor performing Board member. And sometimes, they just need some education on how to conduct themselves better while serving. If the Board members intentions are good, he or she may just need some additional training. Your local chapter of CAI has just the thing called “Condo, Inc.”. The class can even be taken online – https://www.caict.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1504384&group=. However you handle it, either the Board member will need to be trained or replaced. That power is usually not within the Board but within the membership. Good luck!