Reader Questions - Our President Is Out of Line, Director/Manager Communications

Hi Mr. Richardson,

Every week I am intrigued by your articles on the HOA Homefront. When I read your articles, I feel like I can relate to the topic you’ve written about.

I’m emailing you to inquire about the proper way to ask an HOA president to resign. The current president came to our HOA meeting drunk, belligerent, extremely rude and disrespectful.

Homeowners who attended the meeting were appalled at his behavior. Please help! We understand it is a volunteer position but we want him out!

K.F., Santa Ana

Dear K.F.,

The position of HOA President holds very little power, and like any board position, is one of service, not of control. Some people like being president a little too much, seeming to feel they are not bound by the same rules as the rest of the community. Everybody, including the president, must behave.

A board unhappy with the performance of any officer (including the president) can meet in an open meeting to review officer positions, after having placed this subject on the published agenda for that meeting. A board majority vote is all it takes to reassign officer positions.

Perhaps in open forum, or in a letter to the other directors, your neighbors can express desire for different leadership. Also, if a president acts up like that in a meeting, I assume there is no manager or attorney attending – because I would also look to them for some education and leadership about board conduct.

Consider adopting meeting conduct rules, by which all from the president to the newest member of the association are held to certain reasonable standards of conduct. If the board realizes they need help in that area, legal counsel can help with that.

Good luck,
Kelly

Dear Kelly,

I have a question that you can hopefully answer. What does Civil Code say in regards to a group of directors, sometimes a quorum (3) who have dinner and drinks with management (management pays) after board meetings? Also, what about a manager who speaks to one director regularly to the exclusion of the others, excluding even the President? Isn’t there a significant potential for loss of objectivity over the performance of the property manager? Please advise.

LM, Northridge

Dear L.M.,

If a quorum of the directors meet and talk about HOA business, even in a restaurant, they violate the Open Meeting Act. Your manager should know better. Further, by regularly wining and dining one group of directors, the manager’s objectivity can be questioned (so can the directors). Managers (and attorneys) need to be careful to be independent, and not actually or apparently be connected to any directors. Directors need to be independent, and not appear to be beholding to any vendor. Perhaps cut back on the dinners, and add some “Dutch Treat” to the mix.

Boards will often designate a director to be the primary contact to relay questions or instructions from the board. However, the other directors should be kept informed. Answers or reports should be copied to the entire board as much as possible.

After putting communication procedures review on the agenda, consider a motion in an open board meeting to decide if anyone will be the main communication point with a vendor, and require that the vendor copy the board on reports or answers.

Best,
Kelly

Written by Kelly G. Richardson

Kelly G. Richardson Esq., CCAL, is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and a Partner of Richardson | Ober | DeNichilo LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit questions to [email protected]. Past columns at www.hoahomefront.com. All rights reserved®.