Board or No Board
Q: My association has only three board members and two of them just resigned saying they didn't have time any more. We are a self managed association with 34 homes and a fair amount of common area and a swimming pool. Being on the board is a lot of work and I am afraid of not getting any volunteers. What can be done if no one comes forward? I cannot run this association alone.
A: Your situation is not entirely unique and it seems fewer citizens want to make time to serve their communities as board members in community associations or in other civic endeavors. Congratulations to you for "hanging in there"! We do have a few suggestions that we hope will be successful for you.
First of all, there is a need to groom future leaders by involving homeowners in smaller projects and creating a strong committee structure. Also good communication through a newsletter or other media (web site) and regular association sponsored social events can help get neighbors in touch with each other and the community's needs. Your pool facility sounds like it would offer a great opportunity for social activities. This can help thwart feelings of apathy toward the governance of the community.
As the sole remaining board member it is your duty to seek out two more volunteers as best you can. If there is not a list of functions and duties of board members in your community you may need to create one so that any "recruits" can be easily familiarized with their potential roles as board members. It may be that the list is shorter than they imagine and there aren't as many meetings as they may think. There are resources available to you through an organization called the Community Associations Institute which has a Southeastern Virginia Chapter. Check it out on line at www.sevacai.org. This organization's goal is to be a resource to folks like you who are charged with governing a community association. CAI has classes and seminars year round concerning all aspects of community association governance, including insurance matters, renovation issues, accounting, rules enforcement, and running meetings.
You do need to know that as long as you remain in your position as a director, business can and should continue. But you cannot shoulder the burden by yourself and you would likely want to hire a management company to assist you. As you may know, there are a number of professional association management firms in the area. They specialize in advising boards on nearly all governance and maintenance issues, except those requiring special expertise of other outside experts, like architects and lawyers. Not only that, they will collect your assessments and pay your bills for you. Yes, this does have a cost, but it is not your duty to spend half your time off performing management functions without help. Perhaps the burden that can be taken off of your volunteer board by a management firm will make board membership not so burdensome, which will cause more homeowners to make themselves available to serve a term in office. Hiring a management firm should relieve the concern some volunteers might have that they will be asked to perform tasks and make decisions about issues with which they have no familiarity. A management company will give you several valuable "assets": knowledge (both technical and practical), time (your time), continuity and convenience. Yes, there will be a management fee....but as you have experienced there is a limit to volunteer time and volunteers, so the members of the community must expect to pay for the competent operation of their community association.
Sometimes we hear frustrated board members say: Let's just let it die! That is not an option because your recorded documents require the association with a functioning board of directors. It has important functions with regard to maintenance of the common areas and enforcement of covenants which are reasons that many of your neighbors bought into a community association. To perform these functions, the assessments must be calculated, budgeted and assessed regularly.
Sometimes potential board members will say that they are concerned about the liability attached to being a board member. This is not a valid objection in Virginia because we have a statute which protects all directors of community associations from liability unless they are involved in willful misconduct or a violation of criminal law. Also most associations carry a general liability policy and directors and officer's liability insurance. The latter policy, while it will have exclusions which need to be carefully studied, will generally provide legal defense costs if a suit occurs. I also hasten to add that in many years of dealing with associations we have rarely seen threats to sue the board carried out.
We hope the information we have provided will help you recruit some new volunteers for your board.