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APATHY
– THE LIFEBLOOD OF DICTATORSHIPS!
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
July 4, 2014
Apathy
is clearly the biggest enemy of the system called “community
associations.”
The
statutes regulating community associations are built on the idea
that a majority of owners make the decisions in the association.
From
election to recalls of the board, from amendments to the
governing documents to rule-making, a majority of owners is
required to take the necessary action.
Only
too often owners trying to rally other members of the community
against an unreasonable board hear from their neighbors: “We
don’t want to get involved” -- allowing dictatorial boards
to stay in power!
Or
these owners hear from their neighbors: “We are afraid of the
board!”
What
are they afraid of?
Make
no mistake: The board members lose their power once they are
being replaced. And even if these board members make all kinds
of threats against owners signing recall petitions – what are
they going to do in the end? Exiling the owners signing these
petitions to Siberia?
If
apathy is the reason why dictatorial boards are allowed to stay
in power then it’s in most cases the fault of the owners
unwilling to “get involved!”
We
have in Germany a saying that could be translated as follows:
“An End with Pain than Pain without End!” With other words:
Rather put an end to the misery – even if there may be some
consequences in the short run, rather than suffer forever!
But
if owners don’t want to get involved they only have one other
option: Just sign the checks if the board tells them – even if
they can clearly see that their money is being wasted.
Every
community association in Florida could still be a DEMOCRACY
– if the owners are willing to participate in the process. APATHY
KILLS EVERY DEMOCRACY!
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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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