R.B. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Our condos – 5 – Incorporated a grounds board. 5 board members were elected to manage our common grounds. Funds for each association pays quarterly fees. However, one association president is talking all decisions by himself and has no meetings. He approves all funds to suppliers he has approved. No meetings held. No discussions held. Payments are being made without anyone’s else’s approval. What do we do?
Mister Condo replies:
R.B., you put pressure on the other 4 Board members to make this sole Board member accountable for his actions. You make sure that checks require two signatures so that no one Board Member has the ability to pay anyone by him or herself. Money handling in an HOA doesn’t just “happen”. There are rules about who makes payments and how vendors get paid. Take a look at the governing documents to see how it should be done and then insist it gets done the proper way. If the association President insists on doing it all himself, simply vote him off the Board at your next chance and elect someone who will do it correctly. You haven’t mentioned that any funds have gone missing or been misappropriated. It is entirely possible that the other Board members are simply letting him or her handle the checkbook and the vendors. That is bad governance but it is not illegal. It takes a Board to manage the association’s funds; it should never come down to one person doing it all. Good luck!