April 2023

SUCCESSION PLANNING... from page 16.

“...implement a plan for constantly preserving the association’s electronic communications. In 2023 digital communication is ubiquitous.”

inate the main obstacle to what should be a routine pro cedural amendment, membership apathy. The amendment passes automatically as long as ten (10%) of the members do not reject the amendment. This relatively easy amend ment can help ensure that the board of the future enjoys the benefit of the knowledge gained by the board of the past. Engage Professional Management: Another key strategy for retaining institutional intelligence is to hire professional management. Small associations, especially small communities of single-family homes with little to no common elements, sometimes gravitate toward “self-management” as a way to decrease the operating budget and lower everyone maintenance fees. However, for these communities, “self-management” generally means relying on volunteer labor from one or two members of the community, and hoping their neighbors have the skills and diligence that is required to run the association, and prop erly maintain the association’s books and records.

Unfortunately, the community may not learn whether the volunteers performed their services well until those essential people move, pass away, or simply lose inter est in providing the required services for free. Moreover, even if the community suspects that their neighbors are not doing the best of jobs as manager, they may not feel comfortable confronting their neighbor about it, especially when the neighbor is supposedly performing those services for free. But significant gaps can occur in the association’s business records if those volunteers did not keep clear records of the association’s affairs. Those gaps may make it impossible to collect unpaid assess ments from residents, or even mask more serious issues like the theft of association funds.

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