|
IT’S TIME FOR SOME NEW LEGISLATION
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published April 27, 2020
No doubt we have been in unchartered waters for the past few
weeks now. Boards have been uncertain about how, when and where
they can hold board meetings. Unit owners are upset that they
have heard that their Board is actually having meetings that
they cannot attend. Decisions are being made at meetings that
are not properly noticed. No doubt decisions and votes are
being made by e-mail, even though the statute clearly prohibits
it.
Despite the extraordinary powers given to Boards under the
emergency powers statute, there are a few things that remain
clear;
-
Board meetings must still be noticed;
-
Unit owners have the right to attend board meetings;
-
Board members still cannot vote by e-mail;
-
Board members have the right to appear at Board meetings
via telephone, real-time videoconferencing, or similar
real-time electronic or video communication and it counts
toward a quorum, and such member may vote as if physically
present. A speaker must be used so that the conversation of
such members may be heard by the board or committee members
attending in person as well as by any unit owners present at
a meeting.
-
Unit owners who are not on the Board have no right to attend
their Board meeting via the same technology that Board
members get to use.
So what needs fixing? Obviously, in light of recent events, all
board meetings and unit owner meetings must be made available to
the owners through technology. Nobody should be forced to
attend a meeting in person if board members are not forced. .
Now, before anyone starts yelling that this is impossible…… it
isn’t. There was pushback about having a mandatory website that
would hold all of the association’s records. We learned it
works great. There was pushback when it came to on-line
voting. We learned it works great.
For me however, these past few weeks have been an incredible
learning experience. I have had the joy and honor of continuing
to teach the Board Certification and Legal Update seminars.
There are 130 people on-line at one time! We are on-line for
three hours. It works perfectly. And after my part is over,
everyone who wants to be heard gets to be heard. Don’t tell me
Board meetings can’t be run the same way. They can. Easily.
Far fewer people typically attend a board meeting.
So, it’s clear that it’s now time for unit owners to get the
same rights as board members do and have the opportunity to
appear at their Board and unit owner meetings through the use of
technology. If you still choose to attend in person, even
better. The choice should be yours.
|
|
About
HOA & Condo Blog
 |
Eric Glazer graduated from
the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for more than 2
|
decades and is the owner of Glazer
and Sachs, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples,
Fort Myers and Tampa.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host
of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs
at noon each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
He is the first attorney in the
State of Florida that designed a course that certifies
condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium
Board of Directors and has now certified more than 10,000
Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit
Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated
dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric
also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the
best interest of Florida community association members.
|
