This is the sixth in a series of postings providing a
detailed look at the governing documents for homeowners associations
(HOAs). Today’s focus is on the Bylaws,
which detail the internal governance of the Association.
Voting
can be a highly emotional event at annual meetings.
The more structure you can insert, the better at controlling
contention. The following procedure will
reduce allegations of results rigging:
·
The
management company generates delinquency reports the day of the Annual Meeting,
to account for any last-minute payments.
Individuals with past-due balances may opt to pay current on the evening
of the meeting with certified funds
·
At
the time of sign-in, all eligible voters are provided a ballot
·
The
meeting is called to order and the President announces whether quorum has been
obtained
·
The
President calls for three volunteers (non-Board, non-candidate) to conduct the
count, which occurs while the meeting is in progress
·
Those
selected to count ballots relocate to the back of the meeting room. All others who wish to observe the count may
do so in silence and without distraction
·
The
delinquency report is made available for review by the three vote counters to
confirm eligibility – any ballot may be rejected due to delinquency, incomplete
information, duplicate conflicting votes (i.e. two owners in a unit each
completed a ballot) or suspected forgery
·
All
rejected ballots are set to the side.
All three individuals must unanimously agree to disqualify ballots. Non-unanimous decisions may be referred to the
Board to reach a conclusion
·
Eligible
ballots are tallied under unanimous agreement by the three volunteer
counters. Those candidates receiving the
most number of votes fill Board openings
·
A
certification page is signed and dated by the three counters. All materials are bundled and stored at
management office. Owners may inspect
these by making an appointment with the management company
·
Prior
to the conclusion of the annual meeting, a copy of the certified results is
provided to the Board President for announcement. The new positions become effective upon
adjournment
When
it comes to elections, consider amendments that:
Permit
Electronic Balloting. In the State of Georgia, explicit provisions
are required to take advantage of the "Internet Age." Because of protections that need to be
maintained, some aspects of the voting process may be barred from electronic
messaging. Rely heavily on your legal
counsel to craft the most effective language in this area.
Address Apathy. No matter the incentive provided, such as
conducting a drawing for gift cards, many communities struggle to reach the
most basic level of involvement (quorum).
Approval of amendments is impossible in this climate, and the Association
becomes the victim. One possible
solution is to permit the vote to be followed by another vote utilizing
certified mail. In this second round of
balloting, if the homeowner fails to respond, it is considered a default
approval by that owner. Again, utilize
your legal counsel to create this safety net.
Next
post: Making Board members more
accountable!
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