J.W. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Our condo association elects board members at the annual association meeting. The current board will not schedule the annual election. The current board just keeps making decisions. How can a non-board member force the board to schedule an annual meeting so that new board members can be elected? The By-Laws call for the annual meeting to be held in April and they must give a minimum of 21 days’ notice.
Mister Condo replies:
J.W., if your Board is operating outside of the governing documents (it sure sounds like they are), you can do a few things to correct the situation. First, you can speak with other unit owners and call a Special Meeting of the unit owners following the method to do so outlined in your governing documents. This requires some organizational skills on your part and you do need to follow the proper procedures to do so. Your goal in this meeting would be to recall the current Board (essentially remove them from office) and replace them with better volunteer leaders who will follow the rules of governance for the association. This is serious business and I would even recommend that you speak with an attorney who specializes in community association law to guide you. This will cost money but is worth every penny, in my opinion. Your second option is to sue the Board for not following the governance rules of the association. This option may force the annual meeting but will do little to remove the Board members who are not following the rules. Your third option is to leave this community. That is a drastic measure but if you can’t find better volunteer leaders to run this association, you can either live with the out of rule-breaking Board or sell your unit. Communities get the Boards they deserve. If your fellow unit owners aren’t outraged that this Board isn’t operating by the rules, it is time to leave. It is only a matter of time before more than missed meetings are unearthed. Boards that operate in this renegade fashion are usually breaking multiple rules. This can cost every member of the association dearly in their pocketbook if left unchecked. You have your work carved out for you. Good luck!