Unlike every other organization doing business a non-profit condo. HOA does not measure success by the amount of profit/surplus/bottom line at the end of the year. For a non-profit condo. HOA the goal is to be flat at the end of the year. Depending on how your financials are set-up the amount left at the end of the year should equal the amount of contributions or zero.
If a surplus is left after everything is said and done it has to be credited to everyone's account or it has to be refunded. It's the law. However, this isn't how success is measured for these communities. It's measured by how the board has treated the owners, communicated with them, listened to them, and performed as the ownership wanted them to.
The best way for boards to achieve a community of happy owners is something every board member should already know. But, for some reason they seem to get caught up in the politics and emotions. As a citizen of the US, if the government or anyone steps on our civil liberties or forces something upon us we feel violated, get angry, and protest. So, why do boards all of a sudden become dictatorships and stomp on our civil liberties? Because they have no direction.
Without direction from the beginning board members begin to argue among themselves have power struggles and "office politics" begins. To stop this in its tracks and give the board goals to achieve for the year there are a few things that needs to be done yearly. Things change, owners change and circumstances change causing peoples concerns and focus to change. This cannot be done once every 5 or 10 years it has to be done yearly.
First step starts when the budget is being prepared for the cumming year the board needs to send out a form to the ownership. The form needs to ask one question. What do you want the board to focus on in 2012. Then have categories and sub-catagories with space under each so owners can write in specifics. You would have headings like landscaping and subheadings plants in common area, yards, planters in front of homes. They maybe you would have another heading for property management, archtectual, reserve replacements, contributions, etc. But, do not ask any questions or mention any projects let them write what they specifically want under the heading that it falls under and the location. Take the top 3 or 5 estimate the cost of those projects and add it to the regular maintenance expenses to get the total amount of the dues. Some directives will not cost anything or effect the budget like; changing property management or landscape companies or increasing reserve balance and completing replacements in order and timely.
From there at the annual meeting create committees for each of the projects with no less than 5 members to research the project. Give each member a list giving them instructions on how to organize, frequency of meetings, report goals and schedule. A project proposal form should also be given to each member for researching. With the final project proposal to be filled out and signed by all committee members with a visual aid of the finished project and submitted to the board for approval when completed. This should also solve the problem of retaining committee members through projet completion.
This tells the board what the ownership wants the board to achieve in addition to regular maintenance. Creating committies to research project details for the board, frees up the board to focus on maintenance and keep an eye the bottom line while only providing direction to each committie. Thus, stopping the power struggles and politics, gives individual owners a voice, the membership as a whole a voice, achieves board directives, promotes teamwork and community, makes for happy owners, and a successful year.
Staying within the budget doesn't make for a successful year if the ownership is unhappy with what they've done with the money spent. Especially, if the board is just running amuck spending money on projects the ownership doesn't even want or like.
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