Condo Media - January 2019 - 32

Industry PERSPECTIVE
RICHARD
BROOKS, ESQ.
Partner, Marcus,
Errico, Emmer &
Brooks, P.C.
"Boards should
definitely set aside time for owners to
speak at meetings," Brooks says. "It's an
opportunity for owners to say what they
think about how the association is being
run. Why wouldn't you want to hear
from them?"
Inviting owners to speak tells them
that the board cares about their concerns
and welcomes their participation, and
that's a message boards want to convey,
Brooks says. Equally important, he suggests, giving owners who are angry about
something a chance to vent reduces the
likelihood that their anger will build and
erupt in negative ways-for example,
in bad-mouthing the board or enlisting
other owners in a campaign to oppose a
board decision or to oust the board.

"It's an opportunity for
owners to say what they
think about how the
association is being run.
Why wouldn't you want
to hear from them?"
Board members who resist owners'
forums cite two major concerns:
They will be time consuming, preventing boards from conducting essential
business; and some owners may become
disruptive. On the first point (time),
Brooks suggests, boards can make the
owners' forum the last item on the
agenda, after the board has completed
its work. And if an owner becomes
disruptive, he says, the board can adjourn the meeting, if necessary, and ask
that owner not to attend in the future.
"Don't reject owner forums because
you think problems might develop,"
Brooks suggests. "You can deal with
any problems if they arise."

32

CONDOMEDIA January 2019

As a practical matter, he says, few owners will take advantage of the opportunity
to speak, and those who do may have
useful input. "They may have ideas board
members haven't considered," he says,
adding, "I've heard some great suggestions from owners at board meetings."
JARED MCNABB,
CMCA, PCAM
General Manager,
Brook House
Condominium Trust
Like Brooks, McNabb
sees many arguments for owners'
forums and none, really, against them.
Allowing owners to ask questions and
express their views contributes to
transparency, he believes. Conveying
the message that the board values their
input "encourages owners to participate
more actively in community events and
association governance."
Refusing to hear from owners or
creating the impression that you don't
want to hear from them can also encourage owners to get involved, he notes, but
for the wrong reasons-because they are
suspicious of the board or object to the
way it is governing the community.
"Allowing owners to express concerns and raise questions directly
with the board fosters a more harmonious community," McNabb suggests.
The give and take in a board meeting
can also "quell owners' frustrations"
and give board members a chance
"to squelch rumors. It can slow the
rumor mill," McNabb says.
Like Brooks, McNabb thinks the
owners' forums work best at the end of
board meetings. He also agrees "there
have to be some guidelines," primary
among them: limits on the time allowed
for owners' comments and limits on the
time allotted for each speaker.
"Three to five minutes is usually
enough for an individual to express a
concern or raise a question," he has
found. If the board knows a discussion
is likely to be contentious, or is just
concerned about ensuring an orderly
process, he suggests, they can have owners sign up in advance or at the meeting.

"This establishes the order in which
they will speak," McNabb says, "and it
minimizes the potential for one person
monopolizing the time."

"Allowing owners to
express concerns and
raise questions directly
with the board fosters
a more harmonious
community."
Written ground rules for these
sessions can also be helpful, McNabb
suggests. They don't have to be lengthy
or complicated, he says. Just a few bullet
points explaining the time limits and explaining that comments should deal with
matters of general interest to the community and not with personal concerns.
The guidelines should also note
that some topics-personnel matters
or complaints about other owners, for
example-should not be addressed in a
public session.
Owners' forums don't have to be
relegated to regular board meetings,
McNabb says. Some communities
schedule quarterly (or more frequent)
meetings specifically to get feedback
from owners. At one association he managed, the sessions were "very informal-
more like a coffee klatch," he says. The
informality "took the edge off," McNabb
says. "They were actually kind of fun,"
he notes. "And board members got some
good ideas out of them."
Condo Media - January 2019

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