A Board can be as petty as it's most petty member

Rueben from Cambridge gave us this about Borads:
"The board is only as good and responsible and reasonable as the individuals who serve on it. What's more, and this is very important to understand, HOA boards can be as petty as their most petty individual board member." Reuben Moore

     Below this post, we have some moore from Reuben--we think he should move to Hideaway! OK--time to talk about honor and duty and ask why Roy won't just do the right thing and run again--as promised at the April meeting by the president?
     Recently a member sent in a cartoon and we at the Member to Member site passed it along--it showed a man declaring that his term for trustee was up, BUT he didn't want to bother to run again. So the cartoon guy was just going to pretend there was a mistake on the ballot and simply stay in office. That would be like Roy Walker.
     Then a trustee sent in an email saying the cartoon was rude and asked members to let bygones by bygones and try to get along. So the administrators of the member to member site took it under advisement and did not send out the 5 other humorous cartoons in our possession.
     But this is a two way street. More importantly we want the board to just follow the rules. What is rude is for a grown man to not honor a ballot he, himself wrote and ran on. The ballot said, "You are voting to elect these trustees until April of 2012,." Roy's term was up 3 months ago. He doesn't want to run like a big boy for another term. "the ballot was a misprint" he whined. Gary Jorden, the then president promised the members at the April Member's meeting that they would correct the situation. Gary Jorden was right--but he resigned before the problem was corrected. Why?
     If you don't care about our bylaws, do nothing. If you want our trustees to follow our governing documents--the ones we voted on, then show up and let your voice be heard--the unfortunate thing is members have been showing up to a lot of the meetings complaining about this--but Roy just keeps on doing what he wants--NOT following the documents and ignoring valid points about the law and ballot.
     So show up. If Roy chooses not to resign--as dictated by the legal ballot he himself wrote, then the member to member site will begin the process of vetting Roy-something that hasn't been done yet.
     Do the right thing or we'll be doing the FACTS BACK. -Randy may not know who sent out that despicable email in his name, but many of us do.

So here is Moore from Reuben about how petty tyrants get on boards:
So how does a good idea go bad? Well, I think we have to look at the people inevitably drawn to the leadership of any given HOA. Whether they win an HOA election or not, the petty tyrants always want to run the association. They are the first to line up as candidates, and they are too often unchallenged in the elections. So, if not enough members stop them, they end up running the show.

And here's another fact: Most HOA members, like myself, are too busy attending to their own lives, families, and careers to worry about their neighborhood association. It's just one of those things we often choose not to worry about. Most of us do not participate at all and that includes participating in the board elections. Again, the petty tyrants know this and take advantage of this. Therefore many HOA boards, like ours, are largely unelected and unaccountable. Beware unaccountable petty tyrants run amuck!

Cheating in HOA Elections

Yes, we did have a "cheat" in the last election at Hideaway--he ran to fill an office until April and just decided to stay on the board without running again as the ballot stated. That's cheating--you don't take away the right for people to bleive in their ballot--your don't appoint yourself to fill a different position from that voted on.

Read here what an attoreny says about cheating by clicking on the link.

         Cheating in HOA Elections

     Residents of a community who believe an election was conducted improperly can challenge the results of that election. The matter can wind up in court, costing everyone a great deal of money, time, and energy. In the process, neighbor can be pitted against neighbor and hard feelings can unwittingly be engendered—sometimes over what is fundamentally just a misunderstanding of how to conduct a proper community election.


     Nobody wants to wind up being viewed as a possible cheat by his neighbor just because his HOA's election rules weren’t specific enough, or because board members themselves weren’t aware of how to run the process correctly. That’s why it is essential to understand the proper election procedures, and run things in accordance with them. A properly run election helps to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and reduces the risk of expensive legal challenges

4th of July celebrations spotlight county : Sanpete County, Utah News

4th of July celebrations spotlight county : Sanpete County, Utah News: "Hideaway Valley

The little hamlet of Hideaway Valley, tucked off the main highway, will celebrate the Fourth of July will festivities at the Biery Hobby Farm, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will be a free pancake breakfast for early birds and helpers at 8 a.m., followed by a Boy Scout of America flag presentation and pledge of allegiance at 8:30 a.m.

At 8:45 a.m., there will be Independence Day youth speakers, with "Big Bang" activities at 9 a.m., including a free children's carnival, featuring beanbag toss, pound-a-nail, fishing, face painting and more.

Other events include youth motocross for all competitive youth, professional climbing wall, shooting gallery, barn sale and silent auction, farmer's market, bake sale, and food booth. A door prize raffle will be held at 1 p.m."

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One dead in Wood Hollow Fire; Fairview evacuated | ksl.com

We'll keep you posted as we learn more. here's the latest from KSL...

One dead in Wood Hollow Fire; Fairview evacuated | ksl.com: ""We built everything here from the ground up, my husband and I. And so it is devastating, the thought the other people have been doing exactly the same thing and lost everything," she said. "To work so hard, to have it gone so fast … we've spent a lot of time crying. It's sad." Kathy Higgins

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Don’t question your HOA or you might get arrested

Here are some members who noticed some irregularities about their HOA budget--they tried to tell the board, but teh board did not listen. so they turned them in and got arrested!!! BUT, just as we have been saying--the IRS exonerated the members and the HOA was penalized for excess funds--budgets are budgets and need to be honored--if you don't understand how to do a budget--stop pretending! Our budget and assessments were not figured out properly and we want it addressed BEFORE the IRS looks at it or another member sues because you are double collecting. (taking both last years dues an this years for the same budget is double collecting!

read about this other HOA that had excess funds:

Frank and Stebbins accused two board members of “forgery” — essentially knowingly signing a false statement — which was probably also imprudent. According to a police affidavit, Frank told the investigator a “flagrantly false” board resolution related to the surplus was “used to deceive the community membership and government agencies concerning the improper disposition of millions of dollars of overcharged/surplus homeowner assessments.”
After an investigation, Henderson Police exonerated the board members and then arrested … Frank and Stebbins.
Huh?
Yes, they were arrested in 2010 for filing a “false report of a crime.”
Henderson Police determined the board members didn’t knowingly sign false documents and so couldn’t be accused of forgery. Moreover, police said Frank and Stebbins had to have known their allegation was false and so should be prosecuted for filing a false police report.
Meanwhile, an IRS audit vindicated the claim of Frank and Stebbins that Sun City Anthem owes the U.S. Treasury more than $1 million for not returning it to the homeowners.

Discussion: Reining in Bullies on Your HOA Board

Not that we have ever had a bullies on our board, but it is helpful to read about others who have board members that call meetings and don't post it for members--who hold executive and "emergency" meetings when not allowed--who don't keep minutes, and call the attorney whenever they want something addressed without board approval! Who would that be?

Speaking of which, Roy's term was up in April, so how come he is still on the board? Are ballots not legal documents in Hideaway? If Roy wants to be on the board, he needs to run in the July election. and why wasn't Tom, who ran and got a lot of votes, not appointed to the board as decorum and common sense would dictate? Do we have a bully on the board after all? read below how other associations deal with their bullies.

Discussion Forum Follow-Up: Reining in Bullies on Your HOA Board: "The problem is all too real. A reader on the HOAleader.com discussion board asks: "I am on the board of directors of our HOA, but the president is just running wild and not following any of the bylaws or CC&Rs and is holding private meetings with the board members she likes and ignores the rest of us. This is an older group of people, so they don't want to be bothered with meetings or anything upsetting, so she is getting away with all of it. How can she be stopped? She holds executive meetings and never does any minutes. We're about six months behind on board minutes, and she's spending money without any authorization. What can we do to stop this? Can it be reported to the state?""

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Association Fun. Sure that's possible.

This is fun--sometimes I think we should look at the funny side of things--here is a dog being trained to clean up its own doo doo--a be nice to your neighbors or they may moon you--and several other really funny looks at Association living. give yourself a laugh. click here.

Association Fun. Sure that's possible.:

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