F.L. from Monmouth County, New Jersey writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Must the President of the Board always follow the rules as indicated in the By-Laws of the Board of Trustees?
Mister Condo replies:
F.L., that is a bit of a loaded question so before I give my standard answer, I ask that you consider all of the circumstances that might cause a condo Board President or any Board Member to disobey Rules or By-Laws. For the most part, any Board member must follow the By-Laws of the condo association. The Board President is typically given a little discretion to make decisions as outlined in the association’s governance documents. After all, the President was first elected to the Board by the membership of the association and was then elected President of the Board by the dually elected members of the Board. That doesn’t give the President unlimited power to do as he or she sees fit but as the Executive Officer of the association, there are times when decisions have to be made. The governing documents should outline the powers of the Office but if they are vague or missing, the President may have latitude on certain decisions. As with any elected position, there are consequences to acting outside the scope of the office and if the President has blatantly made self-serving decisions or gone against the will of the Board, he or she may be removed from office through a recall election of the membership. Other than that, it is safe to assume the democratic practice of elections is working and that the actions of the President or being monitored by the Board. Consistent rule-breaking will lead to an ouster or a loss at the next election of Officers. I hope that helps!