CAI-NJ Sept.2018(w)(1)

Mandatory Training for Common Interest Community Leaders

By Paul Raetsch, Horizons At Woods Landing

I magine receiving notice from your homeowner association that you will have to pay an extra $200 per month for a “special assessment” to repair your clubhouse roof. Most CAI members would probably say something like, “Oh well, at least I knew this annoying increase was coming.” But what if you were not aware the special assessment was coming, and when you went to the property manager’s office he refused to show you a notice which according to the by-laws should have been sent two months before the vote. Nor would he show you the minutes for the meeting at which the assessment was passed. You then find out the reason he cannot produce those documents is that there was no notice, there was no meeting, so no minutes. Instead, the board president and treasurer decided the association needed the assessment in a phone call with each other. You probably are now saying, “This could not happen in New Jersey. We live with covenants and rules and regulations; and besides, the state has laws that protect us from such rogue boards.” You would be wrong. This scenario happened in New Jersey. It is because of this kind of outrageous behavior by Common Interest Community (CIC) boards that manda-

tory board member training may become state law. At least one state legislator has suggested that the solution to rogue association behavior is legislation requiring that every CIC board member take training. Many of us have witnessed uninformed, but well-in- tentioned, board members make very unwise decisions without realizing that “good intentions” do not ensure an association with a budget upwards of $1 million will be well run. The CAI Legislative Action Committee (“LAC”) decided that we need to study the issue of mandatory training and determine if we could help ensure that any pro- posed bill would be something CAI could support. A subcommittee has been meeting to make recommenda- tions regarding such legislation. I sit on that committee, and we hope to offer at least two or three alternative solutions to the legislature. Community associations are non-profit corporations, and board members are responsible for budgets that range from several thousand dollars to upwards of a million dollars. Before I went to a CAI seminar, I was not aware of the term ‘fiduciary’ and what responsibilities

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