Condo Board Paying “Consultant Fees” to Select Unit Owners

D.W. from New Haven County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

Our condo has hired several “consultants”. These consultants are owners in this condo complex. The board refuses to let the other owners know who has been hired, what their job is and what salary they are receiving. Is this legal? Our common charges and assessments are used to pay these people. Thanks!

Mister Condo replies:

D.W., in a word, “no”. If what you are saying is true, the condo Board is violating several rules of governance and may be even be violating the law. All contracts that the Board enters into, including “consulting” contracts are records of the association. As such, they may be inspected by any member of the association. You may be charged a small fee for the inspection of these records but you have every right under the law to see them. If you suspect wrongdoing, you should likely spread the word and vote these folks out of office and replace the Board members involved with folks you can trust. Unit owners should not be paid from association funds and you may need to hire an attorney to see if legal action can be taken against the current Board and/or the folks who are being paid out of the association’s funds. I am not an attorney so please consider this advice as friendly. For legal advice, I strongly encourage you to speak to an attorney who can better guide you through this potential money nightmare. All the best!