Page 8 - New England Condominium February 2021

8 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -FEBRUARY 2021 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM Greater Boston’s Full Service Condominium & Property Management Firm 617-202-3815 admin@yifmanagement.com www.yifmanagement.com | • Competitive Customized Rates! 100% Transparency! • • No Unnecessary Fees! Guaranteed Communication! • board service commitment. Many resi- dents have jobs where they travel, which can interfere with board meetings. That’s changing a little now, since we meet via Zoom. There’s also a hesitation on the part of people with children, which is un- derstandable, but in the end, it cuts down on the number of people who can volun- teer.” Enticing Residents to Serve Ray points out that one effective way to change residents’ view of serving their community is to get them involved with a committee first. It’s a good way of getting their feet wet for board service. “We have gotten people to step through commit- tee work,” Ray says. “We identify them, ask them to serve on a committee, then pursue them for board service afterward. This requires outreach. No one says, ‘I want to run for board,’ but they do say, ‘I want to do something ’—so we suggest they do a committee first, then we reach out about board service.” The next hurdle is getting those who do volunteer to serve to step up again as officers of the corporation or associa- tion. “We need to define the board chair role better,” says Ray. “We need to find a way to make that role more manageable. Good outreach and communication are very important. At our last shareholders meeting, which was on Zoom and well attended, we asked for committee volun- teers and three new people volunteered.” According to Roberta, “We’ve had enough people volunteer over the years to keep the board full without begging peo- ple to serve—but it’s difficult to get board members to agree to serve as officers. We’ve had just two presidents in 20 years. I’ve served several times with breaks as treasurer. Board members are concerned about a number of things if they become officers. Besides more time required, they are worried about potential liability— which they don’t have, because we have insurance for that—and also that they will be the subject of anger from residents who don’t agree with their decisions.” Term Limits As is the case in any elected position in a democratic setting, the question of how long any one individual should serve is a consideration. Two presidents in 20 years could be considered problematic from numerous perspectives. Should co-ops and condos have term limits for board service? Should board service be compul- sory for all residents to provide a ready pool of available new blood for the board? “There should be term limits, because you want new blood—that’s my personal belief,” says Ray. “You want to have people with history on the board, but you also want new people. You want some diver- sity to represent the building overall: old, young, families with children, single peo- ple, etc. We happen to have a very func- tional building, so it’s not a big problem. There are several active committees, and those people can graduate to the board. Sometimes people step down from the board after some years of service, but still remain active on committees. Alterna- tively, I don’t feel board service should be compulsory. Like any organization, you want people to feel invested and get in- volved.” Roberta points out that term limits can become problematic. “What if no one steps up to take the vacancy?” she asks. “That’s why I have served as treasurer for non-consecutive terms. If no one else was willing to do it, I felt I had to make the commitment.” As concerns compulsory service, she doesn’t believe that’s a good idea either. “You can’t force people to serve on the board,” she says. “They have to want to do it.” Another consideration is whether compulsory board service would turn off potential buyers. If your com- munity required every owner to serve on the board at some point in their time with the community and no other neighboring community did the same, it might become a consideration for potential buyers, who might balk at the requirement and look for a unit elsewhere. Also, what would the community do if a resident had agreed to serve for a year or two, but sold their unit before serving? Would there be a penalty of some kind? The enforcement aspect of such a requirement might be problematic. Service in the Time of COVID One outgrowth of the COVID-19 pan- demic has been the shift of both board meetings and general meetings to on- line meeting platforms like Zoom, as re- ported by managers, owners, and board members around the country. The shift is likely to be permanent and is apt to make board and committee service at co-op and condo communities more manage- able for those who volunteer, and more realistic for those thinking about volun- teering. Zoom meetings can be held at any time, from anywhere, eliminating many of the concerns (and excuses) own- ers have about being in a specific place at a specific time to serve. In the final analysis, board service is a commitment that every qualified resident of a co-op or condo should make at least once. The time you put in will ultimate- ly benefit you in many ways—ways that might not be apparent at first, and ways that you might not expect. In the end, the good you do will come back to you. Com- mit to your community, and take an ac- tive role in making it the best it can be. n Cooper Smith is a staff writer for New England Condominium. OVERCOMING... continued from page 7