CAI-NJ Dec. 2018 (w)

Board Leadership TRAINING By Mark Maloney, Clearbrook Condominium Association, Monroe Township, NJ

A s a sitting board member in an age-restricted planned community, I recently had the opportunity to attend a training session for board member leadership established and conducted by Community Associations Institute. Teaching the various modules were experienced professionals like a community association lawyer, a community association CPA and an experienced community association property manager. Over the day and a half session there were a total of 5 modules each dealing with various types of planned com-

depending on their legal structure. Having a comprehension of these critical documents is a must for all board members. Their role along with their professional partners (i.e. property manager, accountant, attorney, and insurance agent) will create a viable effective board. Lastly, each board member needs to know their role within the board. An experienced community attorney taught all of this quite effectively. Communicating with the residents is vitally important. Transparency with the community needs to be the watch- word for a board. The residents need to comprehend what is happening in their community and the decisions that are made that impact them. Many residents who sit on boards may be acquainted with financial documents from their professional careers, but the finances of planned communities can be quite different. The first and foremost responsibility of a board member is their fiduciary responsibility to the community. This means managing the community’s assets by not letting them deteriorate which will negatively impact all of the residents’ investment. Assets need to be tracked, their age understood, their replacement costs understood, and a plan made to keep them viable.

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munity structures, all of the governing documents along with their functions, the roles of each member of a board, the importance of commu- nication, financial manage- ment for associations, profes- sional advisors for a commu- nity, service providers, and

“The fiduciary responsibility of a board does not fall only on the board member’s shoulders.”

working with the rules and regulations. The first of five modules were dedicated to understanding all of the documents a community association might have

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