By: Deb Munsey
My first experience with voting for a Board of Directors came on 6/17/2016 when I attended the annual meeting of Mutual 22, Condominium of Rossmoor, and was elected to the board. Of course, before I became a candidate I had to do a lot of research. I wondered, what does a board member do?
As soon as I started to poke around I found that Montgomery County Maryland Department of Housing and Community Affairs has a Commission of Common Ownership Communities (CCOC). Their mission statement told me they were “committed to providing owners, tenants, residents, board of directors, and management companies of self-governing residential communities with information, assistance, and impartial dispute resolution programs that: Improve the quality of life in the community; Strengthen the self-governing community structure and; Enhance the value of residential property in community associations. The CCOC provides these services to the public with integrity, transparency, and a commitment to the highest ethical standards.”
The CCOC had just established a new regulation that every board member elected in 2016 had to take on online training course within 90 days of being elected. So even though I hadn’t been elected yet I thought, why not take it, it will probably give me the information I’m looking for. So I took it and though it was long and time consuming, it was absolutely great!
As a matter of fact, the training is free and I think all condominium owners should take it. It covers pretty much everything about what the board’s responsibilities are and what the owner’s responsibilities are and how condominium business is supposed to be handled. Of course, that training led me to start looking further into condominium law and I learned so many things that had never before crossed my mind. It made me see how much responsibility and trust is placed on the board of directors. They are responsible for doing things accurately and telling the Council of Owners that it’s being done right!
It is a funny thing that such a system has been devised that we, the owners, give all our power to a few volunteers we might not even know, who haven’t been vetted in any way, yet we allow them to make decisions on our behalf! The training was a real eye opener and just the tip of the iceberg of information about condominium governing.
It definitely put me well on my way to understanding what a board member does!
If you’re interested in the training follow this link: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/ccoc-training/
Pines Blog 
In addition to knowing the rules and regulations, a board member also needs to be available to oversee what is happening in and around our building. As a previous board member as well as an owner who lives here at the Pines, I know how time consuming that can be.
How can you call PPD Grounds when the grass has only been cut once this year and is 6″ high unless you are here to see it. Can you report parking lot lights that are out, or inside lights that are out, if you are not here on a day to day basis? Or that there was blood on the floor near the mailboxes, on the lobby floor, as well as in the elevator? How about the trash room? Any idea if the outside door is locked everyday? That the many contractors who are in and out of here every day, aren’t filling our dumpsters.
These are only some of the things that go on around the Pines every day. We don’t have an on site manager, so we have to depend on our board members and our neighbors to help maintain this building. It’s great that as an owner you are interested and concerned about your investment, as most of the owners are too, but that alone is not enough to be a useful board member.
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Thanks so much for your input and interest. I’m sure you are aware “what a board member does”, being a former board member, and obviously, you take a true interest in your association. Last year the CCOC established an online training that is required for all board members, it is free and informative. Since you are such an interested former board member, you may want to consider taking it. I supplied the link and I did so in hopes that someone like you would take a look. When and if you do, you’ll see the CCOC states:
“The authority of the board of directors arises from the board as a group. Individual board members do not have any particular or special authority within the association except as specifically delegated by the board as a whole.
The board of directors is responsible for the direction and administration of the association, based on the responsibilities contained in the governing documents. Those responsibilities include:
1. Compliance with and enforcement of the covenants, conditions, and restrictions contained in the governing documents.
2. Compliance with all federal, state and local laws that directly govern associations and property within the physical boundaries of the association.
3. Management of the association’s finances.
4. Maintenance of the physical property under the jurisdiction of the association”
Obviously, the entire board should work towards completing all these issues. Each member should complement the board as a whole. If the board is operating in accordance with regulations, all board members’ contributions should be considered. I feel communication is key. I don’t think all five need to watch the grass grow, lights burn out or check the floors for blood and even if they do, at times things will be missed by them and I, for one, wouldn’t fault them. We have a wonderful group of residents and board members and should something be amiss the management company can be and should be contacted if needed, they are trained and paid to handle all situations.
So, in a perfect world I would think that some board members would be willing to monitor the premises, some would be willing to monitor laws, rules, regulations, some would be willing to monitor expenditures and reserves and if desired, some would be willing to monitor the surveillance. All board members volunteered to accept a responsibility and donate their time and energy in whatever way they can. I do believe I am useful as a board member, I do know the rules and regulations and because I am an owner that is not currently a resident, but may be one day, I offer a unique perspective. I guess going back to your first statement, we could also say that in addition to being onsite it would be good for all to know the rules and regulations.
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