|
IS YOUR PRESIDENT’S MIDDLE NAME ADOLPH?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
August 21, 2015
You wouldn’t believe all the stories I hear from owners about
the presidents of the board of their associations. Even folks
who seemed to be reasonable at the time of candidacy turn into
dictators who may look Adolph, Joseph and Fidel like nice guys!
Make no mistake: The old saying “Power corrupts – and more power
corrupts even more” fits absolutely. But in all reality
presidents of the board of a community association have very
little power – see the Bylaws of the association. They have only
one vote at a board meeting – like every other board member. But
a dictatorial president combined with board members who don’t
know what they are doing and just let the president do whatever
he/she wants can create havoc in even the best association.
I often hear other board members complain about the actions of
the president. They seem to forget that they are the ones who
allow the president to be a dictator. It is the fiduciary duty
of the whole board to see that rules and statutes are obeyed by.
The complete board has to make decisions according to the rules
and laws, the president is just an officer with very limited
powers.
And then there are the “presidents” who think that the “job”
comes with some extra cash. We have seen in recent times many
examples where presidents just helped themselves – from lots of
money to extra cars – to some extra income. Their excuse: “I
need to get compensated for all the “extra” work I’m doing.
Then we have the presidents who think they have to right to
collect kickbacks from vendors – from free lawn care to serious
money from contractors. Their approach to vendors: “You want the
contract you have to give me this, this and that!”
And not to forget the duct-tape presidents : The guys who want
to fix everything themselves – even if they don’t have the
necessary license to do the repairs and/or service – and charge
the associations for doing these repairs.
But let’s not forget the many good presidents that serve in
Florida’s community associations. They really serve the
community and have only the best of the community in mind! And
they deserve a medal of honor – not being yelled at by some
overeager owners who have a private agenda and are against
everything the president tries to achieve!
So, what kind of president is running your association? Any good
stories to share?
|
|
 |
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
|
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
!
|
