Disruptive Owners
Q. We have a resident who attends every board of directors meeting. While the Board welcomes all of the owners and encourages them to attend, this guy seems to think our meetings are his stage. He constantly interrupts speakers, attempts to make motions from his chair and generally is obnoxious to everyone. Is there anything we can do to get him to behave or exclude him from meetings – he is preventing us from making progress on several issues.
A. If there ever was a situation that demands courtesy and respect it is the community association meeting. For many people, homes are emotional issues, and as a result, many owners do not always act rationally when dealing with issues that affect their homes. Also, many folks are not accustomed to dealing with issues affecting their homes in cooperation with a large group of other owners.
Many of us have experienced this type of behavior on occasion. At one association, two owners came to every meeting and harassed the board and manager on nearly everything the board tried to discuss. The other owners started not attending and it was becoming difficult for the Board to get any business done and morale was sinking. These are some of the things the board should consider.
1. Send the disruptive owner a letter outlining the process by which the Board will conduct its meetings in the future and its expectations of him.
2. Get a gavel and encouraged the Chairperson to use it to keep order. We find that this traditional tool usually gets more respect than a polite - "please stop talking". A strong chairperson willing to tell an owner that he or she is out of order. This is a firm, but polite, way to control the situation. The entire board should study and use Roberts Rules to keep order in the meetings. You might want to appoint a parliamentarian who can become especially familiar with Roberts Rules and simply stop the disruptive homeowner telling him that he is out of order.
3. Set the homeowner forum for the beginning of the meeting, and let the attendees know that once it is over, then the board will move into the business portion and that comments from the audience are welcome only when requested (such as a report of a committee chair who is not a board member). This is a critical step in community association settings because Virginia law requires an owner’s forum in connection with the board meeting, but many owners think that because they are permitted to attend all board meetings and comment during the owner’s forum that it is their right to speak at any time.
4. Use a timer for the homeowner forum time. In most cases, even difficult people will have to acknowledge the bell as the end of their time to talk.
5. Have a timed agenda that helps everyone stay on track and as a reminder that time is limited.
6. Adopt a policy/rule that states the penalties for of disrupting the meeting. This policy should include asking the individual to leave the meeting to barring him from future board meetings if the conduct becomes unmanageable to imposing a monetary charge for a violation of the rule. Usually, it is harder for a person to argue with the Board President when he is reminded that he can be fined for doing so. Obviously this tool should be reserved for very unusual and aggravated circumstances. Also be aware that to impose such a penalty a hearing would need to be held at a separate time.
7. Consider a video or audio recording of the meeting. This often acts as a deterrent to bad conduct.
8. Usually the Board will get cooperation if the President or Parliamentarian stands up and explains to the group that the board needs to get through business and the attendees must fully cooperate or the meeting will be adjourned. If unmanageable disruption continues then the chairman should adjourn the meeting. A board should use the "adjournment method" only as a last alternative.
Applying the above steps should help to correct the problem with a disruptive owner because, in most cases, even the most aggressive owners have some respect for rules, discipline or the thought of appearing on tape acting unreasonably.
We know it is very frustrating to try and get through any kind of business with disrespectful owners. Sometimes the problem owner is on the board, in which case the additional remedy of a "discussion with" or letter from the association attorney reminding the board member of his or her "fiduciary duty" to act in a business-like manner might help, along with a reminder of the removal powers in the bylaws.
There are a number of “tools” at your disposal to address the disruptive owner and we trust we have provided some insight as to which ones are appropriate in your particular situation.