Budget Meetings
QUESTION: I am on the Board of Directors for a condominium association. We have our budget meeting for 2008 coming up. This is my first year on the board and another board member stated that last year, they had a planning session at our managing agent’s office. Do we have to advertise and have an open meeting every time the board meets? Is this type of meeting/session legal? We have already been accused of being secretive, however I feel the accusation is unfounded. I just want to make sure we do everything legally. Thank you.
RESPONSE: The short answer to your question is yes, the upcoming budget meeting needs to be an "open" meeting for which all owners are given proper notice and the opportunity to attend. You should review the provisions of Section 55-79.75(B) of the Code of Virginia (part of the Virginia Condominium Act), which requires that all Board meetings be "open," including meetings of committees or subcommittees. This law was passed specifically for the purpose of preventing boards from acting in secret without giving the owners the chance to attend meetings or know what's going on, so your Board should be particularly diligent about complying with this law if owners have complained about secret board meetings in the past.
The only exceptions to the requirement of having an "open" board meeting are listed in 55-79.75(C), which says that the Board can go into "executive session" (closed to non-board owners) to discuss legal matters, owner violations, contract negotiations, and other specific topics. Even in those cases, however, be mindful of your obligation to still give notice of the meeting, properly convene the meeting, then make a motion to go into executive session, and reflect in the minutes why the meeting went into execution session.