Page 11 - New England Condominium October 2021

NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -OCTOBER 2021 11 With the truck most-preferred by property management professionals . Visit us near the foodcourt at the N.E. Condominium Expo and see why. BALLARD Truck Center Over 100 chassis in stock and on order! Get more done N.E.’s Leading N.E.’s Leading Isuzu Dealer Isuzu Dealer 508.753.1403 www.BallardTrucks.com Online Homeowner Payment Portal Lending Solutions 3 Extensive Deposit Solutions 4 No-Fee Lockbox Services 1 ConnectLive Software Integration TM Full Online Banking Services 2 Specializing in: Innovating community association banking solutions is our business, so you can focus on growing yours. 1 Funds deposited through the Lockbox will follow Western Alliance Bank’s funds availability policy as outlined in the Deposit Account Agreement Disclosure. Fees may be imposed for additional services related to online banking. Refer to 2 Business Online Banking Setup and Authorization for more information. All offers of credit are subject to credit approval, 3 satisfactory legal documentation and regulatory compliance. Refer to the disclosures provided at account opening and 4 the Schedule of Fees and Charges for additional information. Alliance Association Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC. Western Alliance ranks top ten on Forbes’ Best Banks in America list, five years in a row, 2016-2020. | allianceassociationbank.com Tom Loughran Vice President (781) 254-8220 tloughran@allianceassociationbank.com Stacy Dyer, CMCA, AMS Senior Managing Director, East Region (843) 637-7181 sdyer@allianceassociationbank.com Meet Your Community Association Banking Experts: Top 10 - Forbes Best Banks “I believe transparency is the best policy,” ings of its shareholders, board, and executive says Scott Wolf, CEO of New England-based committee. A disclosure by a board member real estate management firm Brigs. “The more of more than that, absent board approval, is people know, the less they complain. COVID a breach of his or her duties more expansive has actually increased transparency in some than what’s required by statute. It may even respects. We now have Zoom meetings for ev- erything, so everyone can listen in. They can the building who discloses more may also be see and hear debate, and watch decisions be- ing made. Boards are recording the meetings with the building.” for full transparency.” That said, Wolf continues, “with execu- tive session meetings, where we discuss issues ommend that individual boards find a bal- that require discretion like fines or arrearages, ance of what works best for their particular or COVID infection—things the board can’t building,” he says. “Limiting disclosures to talk about publicly—we go to private Zoom only those required by law—usually just the sessions. Boards and board members must show discre- tion, though, about what they say and do. Discretion should be shown with personal and financial info and situations and health issues, but otherwise transparency and more of it is a good thing.” Wolf goes on to say that “now that owners are able to see what the board is do- ing, saying, and going through, we’ve seen an uptick in unit own- er satisfaction with board action. COVID or no COVID, a better- informed ownership is less accusatory—and to its information and governance. Buildings overall, that’s a good thing. We still have some do not operate effectively when there are too difficult residents, but we can’t do anything many proverbial cooks in the kitchen.” about that. That’s the nature of the game.” What Can You Talk About? When it comes to transparency versus “We finish operational topics first, then we discretion, boards can sometimes feel that announce to those attending on Zoom that they’re walking a thin legal line. They’re not we are going into executive session, and auto- imagining things; the line is there, and it’s im- portant that they understand where it is and the virtual meeting room.\\\\\\\] Zoom gives us that how not to cross it. “Boards, together with ability. During the executive session, we cover their hired managing agents,” says Hakim, issues and topics that require discretion and “are free to discuss amongst themselves just privacy. There are also times in an open meet- about anything, within the limits of the law, ing when an owner may have an issue they that relates to the operation, management, want to discuss privately with the board; we and best interests of the building, regardless can schedule a session for them and add them of the sensitivity of the information.” That’s to the \\\\\\\[otherwise closed\\\\\\\] meeting—the same not the tricky part, however. “It’s what they do way we would have invited them to meet pri- with that information that is often the issue,” vately with the board in person before CO- Hakim continues. “No member of the board VID. This protects their privacy.” Wolf notes should be breaching their fiduciary obliga- tion and divulging to third parties anything types of information are protected when they that is confidential in nature, whether it is the are elected, and that managers and associa- corporation’s or association’s business, or the tion attorneys monitor what information is sensitive personal information of a resident. released, and why. Although courts now lean towards expand- ing a shareholder’s rights, under New York’s Business Corporation Law (often referred to as the BCL), shareholders are entitled to have been. Like most legal considerations, examine only the minutes of the proceed- rise to the level of negligence. Any agent of subject to termination under their agreement That being said, Hakim does stress that there is no one-size-fits-all policy. “We rec- minutes—may not be the best response to the effective and open governing the resi- dents want. Private, sensitive information of a resident (e.g., medical condition, disabilities, personal family or financial information, etc.) should never be dis- seminated, but we feel that, within rea- son, boards should be as transparent as pos- sible for many rea- sons—not the least of which is to avoid any claims of impropri- ety—without aban- doning appropriate boundaries with regards Wolf looks at the issue from a managerial perspective. “We have an agenda,” he says. matically sign the non-board residents out \\\\\\\[of that board members are made aware of what The Evolution of Privacy vs. Transparency Privacy issues are not static, and never “Discretion should be shown with personal and financial info and situations and health issues, but otherwise transparency and more of it is a good thing.” — Scott Wolf continued on page 26 See us at Vehicle B See us at Booth 218