R.L. from Upstate New York writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
In New York State, the condo board has passed a budget without any review by owners or an open meeting with owners to discuss the budget they passed. I assumed that there would be a budget meeting with owners and the board to discuss the proposed budget compared to the old budget. Even the old budget wasn’t presented for comparison.
Mister Condo replies:
R.L., shame on any Board that doesn’t allow a vote of the unit owners. There are two things that almost all condo by-laws require on an annual basis. The first is the election of the Board members and the second is the vote on the annual budget. Unless your by-laws don’t require a vote of the homeowners to establish an annual budget, you would be right to call foul and demand a vote on the budget. Many by-laws call for the current budget to stay in place until a new budget is ratified. This is only fair to unit owners who should have a say in the finances of the association, which is a corporation to which they are shareholders. Check your governance documents and alert the Board is they have made a mistake. Good luck!