D.U. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Can a condo owner demand or file freedom of information form to see how much the maintenance people are paid, that work for the management company? Their salaries are set by the condo association in their budget. I know they are paid well and receiving hefty bonus payments twice a year.
Mister Condo replies:
D.U., This is a question I get quite often. You can see some of my previous replies here: https://askmistercondo.com/?s=salaries I can understand your curiosity about how much employees of the association are making, especially since their salaries are paid by you and your fellow unit owner through your common fee contributions. However, I would liken it to the same way your tax dollars pay for municipal employees. Just as municipal employees are employed by the city, association employees are employed by the association and under the purview of the Board. You do have access to the budget, which details certain expenses of the association, including salaries and benefits. Your democratically elected Board of Directors is keeping an eye on the details for you and they do know what the employees are making, including bonuses. They most likely have their reasons for doing so (competitive pay, rewards for work done, etc). You can ask for these records but unless your documents specifically give you the power to review individual salaries, I doubt you will get it. May I ask what you will do with that information? As a unit owner, you have no power to pay employees less or alter their bonuses. If you have an issue with how the Board is handling the salaries and bonuses, you should take it up with them. Ask them how they decide when to offer bonuses. If you are satisfied with their answers, you’re all set. If you don’t like their answers, you are free to vote for other candidates for the Board or run for the Board yourself. I hope that helps.
Hello (from Hawaii by way of Argentina!)
In our state, the salaries of state and city employees is publicly available. In Hawaii, condominiums have to make certain employment information available just enacted this year with Act 72.) Here’s the quote:
HRS §514B-154.5 (a) states in part, “(a) Notwithstanding any other provision in the declaration, bylaws, or house rules, if any, the following documents, records, and information, whether maintained, kept, or required to be provided pursuant to this section or section 514B-152, 514B-153, or 514B-154, shall be made available to any unit owner and the owner’s authorized agents by the managing agent, resident manager, board through a board member, or the association’s representative: […]
(15) A copy of any contract, written job description, and compensation between the association and any person or entity retained by the association to manage the operation of the property on-site, including but not limited to the general manager, operations manager, resident manager, or site manager; provided that personal information may be redacted from the contract copy, including but not limited to the manager’s date of birth, age, signature, social security number, residence address, telephone number, non-business electronic mail address, driver’s license number, Hawaii identification card number, bank account number, credit or debit card number, access code or password that would permit access to the manager’s financial accounts, or any other information that may be withheld under state or federal law.”