On the day before Thanksgiving at 7:30 in the evening, the Board sent, via email, a revised agenda for the 12/2 Annual Membership Meeting. I have supplied a link at the end in the event you missed the "last-minute" communication. The time (3:30 to 5:30) has not changed. The Board did rearrange the agenda items.
The Board decided move the vote for board members to the top of the agenda. The review of the past year, i.e. financial reports, ARB and committee reports now follows the vote. Also, moved to the end is the approval of the 2024 budget which includes an increase in dues and the open forum for comments and questions. In my opinion, the items that have been moved to the end of the agenda are critically important for members to make an informed vote.
Finally, there is no agenda item to announce the results of the vote. Will the results be announced right after the vote? Will the results be announced at the close of the meeting or at some later date? The timing does make a difference. Stated more specifically, while the covenants are silent on when the new board assumes control, our by-laws do state that meeting will be conducted following Robert's Rules. Robert's Rules state the new board assumes control at the time the results are announced. This being the case, the timing of the announcement dictates which board (current or newly elected) votes on the budget and, thereby your dues increase. Oh, I almost forgot, we still don't know what the voting procedures are. Is the Board just winging this? All of this should have been crystal clear before the meeting announcement was mailed to the membership.
So why does any of this matter to you? If you are willing to let the Board operate on the understanding that you have given them a mandate to set their own agenda and don't want to be bothered until next year, I guess it doesn't. You can be happy that you will be spared the boredom of having to listen to the Board's dog and pony show and will, instead get to leave early and watch the SEC championships.
If, on the other hand, your vote is dependent upon how the Board has performed and the Board's agenda for the coming year, it matters. If your vote is dependent upon candidates' responses to questions you may have as to the direction, candidates want to take TIPOA, it matters. If your vote is dependent upon candidates' responses regarding their desire to SERVE the community and desire to engage the community as equals instead of members who need stuff watered down because they can't understand the complexities of POA management, it matters.
In this regard, the above change in the agenda is just one more example of a Board that believes they don't need to engage the membership. And to be quite honest, they probably don't. Why? First, in an active campaign such as this year, members of the Board running for office are the only people who have full access to all emails and phone numbers. Clearly, this gives them an advantage. Second, once elected, the only things the membership can vote on (control) are dues increase, special assessments, removing the board or amending the covenants. Each of these requires 67% or 175 votes. Absentee ownership account for nearly 70% of the membership or 180 votes. This being the case getting a response of 175 is next to impossible, let alone 67% in favor.
Bottom line, it is very important what kind of Board you elect because once installed, it is very hard to effect a change if you don't like the direction the Board takes and, in the end, it could cost you.
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