Page 10 - New England Condominium August 2021

10 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -AUGUST 2021 Disclaimer: The answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specific circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualified profes- sionals with any questions you may have regard- ing technical or legal issues. Flynn Law Group 185 Devonshire St., Suite 401 • Boston, MA 02110 617-988-0633 “Quality Representation at Reasonable Rates - $150/Hr.” Contact Attorney Frank Flynn Frank@flynnlaw-ne.com www.flynnlaw-ne.com ATTORNEYS See Our Display Ad on Page 10 Condominium and Real Estate Law Phone: (781) 817-4900 Direct: (781) 817-4603 Fax: (781) 817-4910 We may be dressed up, but we aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty. www.lawmtm.com Merrill & McGeary 100 State Street, Suite 200 Boston, MA 02109 617-523-1760 • Fax 617-523-4893 Contact: Mike Merrill, Esq. mmerrill@merrillmcgeary.com ACCOUNTANTS David A. Levy, CPA, P.C. Certified Public Accountants 20 Freeman Place Needham, MA 02492 Tel: (617) 566-3645 (866) 842-0108 Fax: (866) 681-2377 www.DALCPAPC.net DAL CPA Accounting • Auditing • Taxes • Consulting Worcester 67 Millbrook Street 508-797-5200 Grafton 80 Worcester Street 508-839-0020 Holden 795 Main Street 508-829-5544 M Love Associates, & LLC Certified Public Accountants Serving Condominium Associations mlove 2.25 x 2.5 condo association color 9.19.2017.indd 1 9/19/17 12:59 PM See Our Display Ad on Page 9 185 Devonshire Street, Suite 401, Boston, MA 02110 Quality Representation at Reasonable Rates. (617) 988-0633 Contact Attorney Frank Flynn: FRANK@FLYNNLAW-NE.COM Flynn_E4C.qxp:Layout 1 12/8/14 2:30 PM Page 1 accounting in the co-op and condominium sphere—but he does note some points of con- cern. For example, digitized information is easily accessed, and can be accessed from any- where—which is extremely convenient, but also poses some risks. “No one wants cabinets of paper for seven years,” he says, “but if ev- erything is digitized on a server and you have closing statements, bank statements, transfers, etc., personal information must be secure. If you keep that on the Cloud and you get hacked, that’s a potential problem.” Lastly, Zanjirian points out that with the possible exception of mortgage documents, nothing really needs to be kept in both digital and paper forms. Scanned documents stored online are protected and more secure than paper—but Zanjirian stresses that when scan- ning documents, it’s vital to make sure the en- tire doc is scanned; those doing the scanning should make sure to check for double-sided sheets, and that pages aren’t stuck together. If someone feels the need to keep paper copies, one year should be enough time to retain most documents. As more and more of our administrative and personal lives move online and into the Cloud, building and association managers, at- torneys, accountants, board members, and— when appropriate—residents need to have access to crucial documents, while also being assured that those documents are stored se- curely and appropriately. With everything in one easily accessible place, tasks like audits and reviews become easier to complete. The key is security and conscientious care when transferring and storing records. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for New England Condominium, and a published novelist. DIGITAL DOCUMENTS continued from page 8 “Question 2: Do proxies need to be opened during the election meeting or read before the meeting? I have not seen any rules on this one way or the other. Vote takers should be as- signed at the election itself—and not before— to qualify the proxy holder and the proxy-giv- er’s vote. I do not recommend that ‘everyone present’ be there to witness the great proxy unveiling. Care should be taken to ensure the privacy of unit owner votes. I recommend that one particular person or persons—hopefully unbiased, but certainly trusted, or a property manager—be tasked with validating the prox- ies and counting the votes made therewith. “Question 3: Should the proxy holder and votes thereunder be recorded in the minutes? The vote taker can validate the proxy, tally the votes under the proxy, along with the absen- tee ballots and in-person votes, and report the results to the board or person conducting the meeting. Thereafter, the report can be read into the record, but again, no one unit owner’s vote should be specifically identified without his or her permission, for privacy reasons. “Question 4: Monopolizing proxies: The board cannot and should not limit another unit owner from garnering proxies, or dis- qualify this person from acting as another’s proxy, barring substantial evidence of fraud or other shenanigans. Most statutes and bylaws either expressly or impliedly seek to preserve a unit owner’s right to either vote in person, via proxy, or by absentee ballot. “Question 5: Your real issue: a unit owner garners proxies from unit owners unaware of his action. The answer you seek, here, or candidly, in any election, is with education. If you really want to avoid the scenario you’re describing, then take steps to make sure all of your unit owners have access to unbiased in- formation regarding what you perceive to be inappropriate behavior by this Pied Piper unit owner. But remember—just as each unit own- er is free to vote, each unit owner is also free to run, and if he wants to get ahead of the game and get proxies, you are free to do the same as well and hit the pavement, so to speak, knock- ing on doors well ahead of the election. That is the best way to avoid what you perceive is an unfair monopoly on voting.” n Q&A continued from page 5