T.O. from Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
What is the acceptable time for the Property Manager to respond to a homeowners’ communications/questions/request? Also, our annual homeowners meeting had an agenda and the meeting ran late and 2 items of importance were not discussed. I asked when another meeting would be scheduled to address them, and have been ignored. I am very frustrated. Thank you.
Mister Condo replies:
T.O., I am sorry for your frustration. There are no simple answers here. The Property Manager works for the association and is accountable to the Board for their work. Individual homeowners who are unhappy with the service provided should complain to the Board. There is no “acceptable time” with regards to a Property Manager response to an individual homeowners questions, communications, complaints, etc.. However, if the Board receives complaints, it could very well cost the Property Manager the contract with the association so be sure to lodge your complaint with the Board. As far as agenda items not being dealt with at an Annual Meeting, it really depends on the nature of the item. Some items require full votes of the association. Theoretically, that could have to wait until next year. Other items may be moved to regular Board Meetings for the Board to discuss and/or vote upon. If you are frustrated with the Board members themselves, may I suggest that you elect some new Board members? After all, these folks are volunteers from within your association who were democratically elected or appointed to the Board to fill vacancies. Either way, they need to perform or risk being voted out. Perhaps, you should consider running for the Board, T.O.. It sounds like they could use some help. All the best!
If there were items on the budget that were not addressed then the board should have voted to table these items. The board should not have voted to adjourn the meeting without addressing these items. This is the reason minutes are approved before the start of any meeting. All agenda items that were not addressed in the previous meeting can now be discussed in a subsequent meeting. Whoever is conducting your meeting should have a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order. Buy them one (paperback for $1.99) and lets see if they can organize better.
Answering owner questions can be tricky depending on the question. In general a good manager should respond to owners on a timely basis. With out firm we make every effort to respond within 2 business days. However depending on the question the answer might require a board decision or response and that can take a while or might not even be justified. For example an owner requesting an exception to a rule or prevision in the documents might have to wait until the board discussed his or her request at a properly called board meeting, or the board might even decide to ignore the request. An owner wanted to know why the board voted as they did no a specific issue would general only get the standard answer “Because they felt if was in the best interest of the association.” As each board member get to vote and does not have an obligation to explain their vote. Like any other political body board do not have an obligation to get permission or explain their votes, They do have an obligation to act in a fiduciary manner doing what they believe is best for the association. The managers obligation is to provide input and assist the board and to implement the decisions of the board even when they don’t agree with those decisions.
I would recommend that you submit a written request to the Community Manager to be able to attend the next Board Meeting. You should include all items that you want to discuss so that everyone is prepared and the meeting is productive . Typically I would expect a responce from a management company within 1 business day, or at the very least an acknowledgement that your communication was received and a time / date they will get back to you.