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HOW TO ELECT OFFICERS?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published November 20, 2020
You have
made it through the annual election as required by the
association’s Bylaws and the Florida statutes – hopefully
without lawsuits or arbitration. A new board was elected, but
now it’s up to the new board members to elect the officers. The
association’s Bylaws will explain in detail what officers are to
be elected – and what the tasks of these officers will be. The
Bylaws normally will tell you as well when the so-called
“Organizational Meeting” has to take place. It has to be a
separate meeting from the annual meeting. Remember: The Annual
Meeting is a membership meeting, while the Organizational
Meeting is a board meeting – and has to be officially noticed.
The
actual election of the officers at this meeting can be held by
secret ballot, but that is not a legal requirement.
Please
remember: Officers are serving at the pleasure of the whole
board and can be removed from office (not from the board) by
simple majority vote.
I often
hear board members complaining about the “president” making
decisions without even discussing it with the other board
members. Board members have to remember: If false decisions are
being made that may cause lawsuits (or arbitration filings), the
whole board is responsible, not just one board member who made
the decision without the vote of the full board.
And
instead of complaining about the board president being a
dictator the other board members should take the necessary
action and replace the board president by simple majority vote
at any board meeting with another board member willing to follow
rules and statutes.
Officers
are playing an important role in the management of the
association – and they should take their jobs seriously. Board
members should be willing to serve the community and do the work
as required by the Bylaws, not just seeing it as a title that
lifts their "social standing”.
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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