K.G. from Litchfield County writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
We just purchased a unit in a small condominium association. The President has lived here for 28 years since the old home was conserved into a condominium. He is very old and seems very unhappy as he picks part everything other unit owners do. He is rude and aggressive in his language, constantly asking for opinions, and then sending nasty emails reiterating his point of view, never listening to others. We have recently agreed to assign, then we voted, on having each unit be the liaison for a provider. The reason was that we all felt it could be confusing for the provider, listening to too many directives, and therefore, the liaison allowed them to only have to listen to one person. Everyone is following the new rule, contacting the liaison if they have a concern, then they contact the provider. Of course, you can probably guess, the President is not. He is sending letters, nasty emails and telling the landscaper not to perform certain work. Nothing has been discussed with other board members. Doesn’t the President of an Association need to still check with other board members or does he have the right to act without our vote? If not, how do we get him to stop? We are afraid he is going to cause the landscaper to quit, leaving us with no one to finish out the year.
Mister Condo replies:
K.G., the simple answer is to remove him as Board President at your earliest convenience. Either vote him out of office at your Annual Meeting or gather enough unit owners to hold a recall election and have him removed. However, you need to follow your condo’s governance documents to do so. The easiest path is to simply vote him out at your next election cycle. Small condo associations like yours can be especially challenging in matters of governance, especially if a Board member has gone unchallenged for many years. He is likely doing as he sees fit because he believes that he can. And if you don’t vote him out of office, he is likely right! You may have grounds for a costly and protracted legal action but I can’t imagine that is in anyone’s best interest. If you need true legal advice, kindly consult with a locally qualified attorney. Otherwise, simply get him off the Board and replace him with a leader who will better serve the community. Good luck!