Elections? We don't need no stinking elections!

Our HOA election was, well, in a word, a "disaster".

What do I mean? Fewer than 20 percent of the owners voted, and about 10% attended the annual meeting.  So we now have only four duly elected board members in a HOA of 336 owners. That's a 1.2% participation rate.

Even more indicative was the annual budget meeting. That's the meeting during which the board, with management assistance, arrives at a budget for the next 12 months. This requires balancing Operations & Maintenance, and reserve requirements with fees. The result is the determination of fees for the next year.

So how many owners attended this really critical meeting? We had four board members to do the work, because the owners couldn't be bothered with the mundane chore of voting. Then we had three former board members in the audience. Yes, you did read that correctly. Seven people attended this critical meeting and all were either current or former board members.

Wow, it must be wonderful to live in La-La Land.

When this HOA is like Cook County, then the owners will come out of the woodwork and complain. "You reap what you sow" is the biblical expression.

During the budget meeting one owner raised the potential issues of electric cars on the property and the recommendation for the HOA to invest in electric metering stations. Recently a long term owner complained about the problems facing ducks on the property.

Yep, we do have to have our priorities. As long as there are schleppers like me to do the bidding of these spoiled brats, nothing will change.   Our longest serving board member used to state "we walked the grounds [32 acres] and picked up trash". Yep that's what is wanted and needed. Servants.

When the proverbial "shit hits the fan" then the owners will show up and complain and state "How could this happen?" How indeed.

It is that time of year for elections at BLMH

Once each year our HOA holds elections for the board. I'm currently the association president, and I will run again for office. Why not make a contribution for as long as I am here? If the owners choose otherwise, that's their prerogative and it will free me up to pursue other commitments.

I prepared my "Candidates Form" and sent it to management. My form is a mission statement. I have specific goals:

"NAME: Norman _____________  BLMH ADDRESS: _______________

QUALIFICATIONS: Purchased (closed) my unit in February 2002. Served on the board November 2010 to present. Proven track record. Current president of the BLMH board and also served as Architecture & Maintenance director. I have expert knowledge of this association, and of business operations as founder, president and systems engineer for several high tech industrial automation firms from 1978 to present. Expanded these businesses during severe recessions and never laid off or docked the wages of a single employee. Received extensive communications, leadership and human potential training and trained the trainers. As a volunteer I am the recipient of the BSA District Award of Merit “for rendering service of an outstanding nature at the district level; this is the highest award at the district level” and I successfully completed Wood Badge. Currently I am also a published and paid free lance writer (on retainer) on matters of personal finance, retirement planning and investment. I am an entrepreneurial case study in a published book on personal financial planning. I am an advocate of continuous learning and personal improvement.

Since 2010 I advocated responsible, appropriate and necessary fees which have allowed the work achieved to date and maintained reserves, currently above $1 million. I voted for the recent, lower fee increases using extensive fact based financial analysis of the current, changing situation while acknowledging 30 year future projections with condition analysis. This includes frequent condition surveys. I converted problems into opportunities, spearheaded or reactivated numerous programs and worked with or on the teams that got the job done, despite some great difficulties. I practiced proactive leadership to deal with the fireplace issue and liaised with the city on this matter. I realigned priorities and openly encourage others to join the board and committees. I prepared the “newsletter” for about 5 years, which expanded with responsible, concise articles on association finance, procedures, priorities, planning, maintenance and projects. Projects completed included the replacement of Lakecliffe with a street engineered for 30+ years of service. Other projects included the proactive replacement of about 300 feet of water mains, stream repairs, excess soil removal with sod installation, substantial rain water handling improvements throughout the property and as part of the roofing project and others specifically designed to handle standing water, remediate muddy areas and so on. The roofing project will be completed in 2016; about 70% of the roofs were completed in 6 years. Replaced numerous garage floors, decks, patios, driveways, portions of walks, bridges, etc. Documented and published the extensive issues with surrounding COD and Wheaton storm water systems.

POLICIES/OBJECTIVES: I am in favor of reasonable and appropriate fees using realistic and fact based knowledge of the condition of the infrastructure of the entire association, while acknowledging the value of our units and the financial impact of fees on our owners. I advocate creative solutions to keep fees as low as possible today and in the future. Expand the owner participation recognizing that these are volunteer positions and we all have other things to do, and I encourage all including younger people to join the board and committees and strengthen our community. We each do make a difference. I want to expand the possibilities for this association. I advocate the expanded use of technology in our association and improved communications. I want to maintain the grounds and streams, establish priorities, improve our planning, preparation, project management and cost accounting. Continue frequent reserve study updates recognizing the extensive work that has been done. Maintain continuity of maintenance and replacement programs and avoid suspending or stopping them; it is so very important to maintain momentum because incompletions will accrue and will become costly breakdowns for future owners to deal with next year and beyond. I want to strengthen our liaison with all professionals including with management and our contractors. Use engineering professionals to solve long term issues and realign priorities. Improve our liaison with the city, recognizing that we are at least 1.25%of the city population.

TIME CONFLICTS (working/retired, etc.): I am 70 years of age and I currently work part time and I do have other commitments. I also travel extensively, yet I met or exceeded all objectives and requirements for a board member 2010 to date."

BLMH Election Meeting 2010

The election meeting was attended by about 20% of the ownership, I understand.

Each candidate was given one or two minutes to address their fellow unit owners and make a statement. I did not video the meeting. I wanted no diversions, I wanted to be fully and completely present to the owners; nor did I want to burden my spouse, who was also in attendance, with the requirement to run the technology.

I stated at the previous election, in my 60 seconds before the ownership, that I find this process somewhat deficient. For example, our rules prohibit the posting of political notices, statements or endorsements. So, in honoring the BLMH rules, I and several other candidates prepared and mailed a brief  letter to the unit owners on September 13th. The cost of postage was shared among us and by several concerned, and supportive unit owners. However, a board member prepared an endorsement statement for another candidate. This was taped by persons unknown on each mail box of each building on September 20, in violation of the BLMH rules, and apparently also of Post Office regulations.

I would have liked to have had about 10 minutes to address the group, and I had prepared a longer statement, from which I drew for my short time before the unit owners.


Owner Question and Answer Session prior to the Election


Immediately prior to the election, owners were given a few minutes to address the current board and management and ask questions. I was gratified to see that these questions were included:

1. What fee increase did management recommend?
2. How much are we spending on roofs and driveways?
3. What percentage of units are rentals?
4. How much are unit owners in arrears for fees? (See Note 1).
5. Will the association resume sealcoating the new driveways?

Short Statement Made to the Attending Unit Owners:

The candidates were give a minute or two to address the owners.  In my brief statement I attempted to make the following key points:

1.  Thank you for attending the annual meeting!
2.  I will use my short time to ask some questions, provide answers and make statements so you know where I am coming from and who I am.
3.  I care very much for this association and I do my best to keep the rules. I have attended most of the association meetings for the past 3 years and my spouse and I have been unit owners for 9 years. We live on the property.
4.  I’m 64, employed in my own business, and I am one of two partners who own a commercial office building.
5.  This is the worst recession since WWII. As far as I am concerned, we are all on “fixed incomes”. No Social Security COLA increase in 2010 and probably 2011. Working people can’t just ask for a raise to cover fee increases. So how are unit owners to pay for fee increases?
6. We need some urgency on the board. Money spent is gone forever. Time wasted can never be recovered. 
7. We are spending money we don’t have. Question: How to fund all of our projects in a timely manner, meet expenses AND slow or temporarily halt the fee increases?
8. We URGENTLY need an austerity program.
9. We need to promote sales and protect our property values.
10. Are rising fees contributing to foreclosures? About $450 billion in home mortgages will recast in 2010, 2011, 2012. Interest rates are low, but a subscription service I belong to sent me a notice of a foreclosure on Lakecliffe several weeks ago!
11. We need different and balanced viewpoints on the board.
12. We need more unit owner involvement. The association needs to effectively deal with owner Apathy and Resignation.

Election Results 
I was elected, as were two others. This was posted here on September 24th.

Response of a Unit Owners in Attendance

A unit owner and his spouse asked to make a statement. They took the opportunity to complain that they were very unhappy that renters were prohibited from attending association meetings. The president indicated this could be the topic in the future. I asked for and was granted the floor.

I addressed the couple. "Our bylaws state "Meetings of the Board shall be open to any Unit Owner...". The board cannot do what it is being asked to do. It does not have the power to change the bylaws and grant what you are asking. However, there are procedures to change the bylaws and you are free to organize the ownership to do so." One of the couple stated "what you are asking us to do is impossible" and his spouse argued that it was "unfair" to exclude renters.

The conversation ended at that point. I disagree this is an impossible task. The board arbitrarily and illegally changing the bylaws is not possible, or at the very least, it should be impossible. However, organizing unit owners to change the bylaws is legal and is certainly possible, but difficult.

Immediately after the meeting. I was congratulated by several unit owners and some members of the board. I was ignored by others. I was also accosted by one owner who made it a point of telling me "You are full of s**t." Another, who wanted renters to attend board meetings, made it a point of repeatedly insulting me.

General Observations
Frankly, I don't take this personally. True, I don't like the insults, but "it is what it is". I do understand that I am dealing with some very unhappy people here at BLMH. I view that as not of our, as in "this association's" making, but as a consequence of the social and economic forces that created this particular group of people. We are powerless to do what would be required to make these people happy.

We now have a few owners who intended to get on the "make money through real estate" bandwagon. They find that they purchased at, or near, the top of the market and cannot sell at what they feel is a reasonable price. Others purchased 25 or 30 years ago, and would love to sell and move to somewhere else in retirement. They too cannot sell at what they believe is a reasonable price. Others purchased what they perceived to be a reasonably priced piece of real estate and intend to "move up" to a house or something better in a few years. For them, BLMH is a stop along the way. And others purchased to have a place to live, have no immediate plans to move on, and are reasonably contented.

For those with no immediate plans, living at BLMH is probably a pleasant experience. For those who want to sell but cannot because they are asking a price that the market will not meet, this is an unpleasant experience. I suspect some feel trapped here. Those are the ones to be watchful of. They may be angry, spiteful and disruptive.

Comments, Corrections, Omissions, References, Miscellaneous News
Note 1. In the original post, I omitted the question by a unit owner regarding the amount of money owed by unit owners to the association. the president answered the question and confirmed the statement made in our mailing to the unit owners. These fees are important because money uncollected is money that cannot be spent, because it is unavailable. Recent boards have not adjusted our budgets for this reality. With the combination of last year's 0 percent increase, it would seem they are spending money we don't have. The question I have is "How long can this continue?" I suspect it isn't very long at all, but perhaps long enough to make it through the next election!