Page 14 - New England Condominium July 2022

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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 2 Solving your problems today & strengthening your association for tomorrow. 6 Lyberty Way, Suite 201 Westford, MA 01886 (978)496-2000 www.perkinslawpc.com ATTORNEYS a management firm in New York. “They will nitpick each other. When you live in a condo or co-op, you have to realize you live in a community, and when people don’t it can become contentious.” Schlossberg describes a situation in one community where there was a ‘coup’ on the board. A contingent of sharehold- ers was unhappy with how the board had handled the planning and management of a large project to replace one of the building systems. A large group of share- holders didn’t feel they were being heard bers—or among warring resident fac- by the existing board, so they called for tions—is to try to arrive at some sort of an election, collected a large number of reconciliation between the two opposing proxies, and replaced three board mem- bers with new directors they felt would as a whole or on the board. “People want helm the project more effectively. The to be heard,” she says, and recommends overall effect of the change, however, was that at the first board meeting after an to stymie the project even further. The election, it’s often very helpful to simply new board members wanted to examine ask the minority what it is they want to every document involved with the proj- ect to that point—then they announced ing to effect by joining the board. It’s also they wanted to start the project over from crucial to understand what the share- scratch. It then took an additional three holders want, and to remember that the years—for a total of five—to complete a board is there to govern everyone—not project that should have taken a year or to champion pet projects or to stick it two at most. So in that case at least, the to anyone who doesn’t necessarily share infusion of new blood into the board had one’s opinions or priorities. Put simply, quite the opposite of the desired effect. In another situation, Schlossberg re- calls a board where the president was sus- pected of dishonest dealing. The rest of ment to listen and take others’ concerns the board asked him to step down—but seriously. he refused. Ultimately, the co-op had to call a special meeting, and the president “Identify solutions to each conflict,” he was removed from both his position and says. “Create rules for decision making. the board as a whole by a vote of the Then survey the board members. How shareholders. Other Ideas Davidson acknowledges that board en- vironments can become combative. “Of- ten there is friction,” he says. “I suggest that co-op and condo boards consider adopting a method common in nonprofit organizations, which is the board mem- ber agreement.” A board member agree- ment is kind of like a rulebook and lays out what’s acceptable behavior for board members. “It should be in writing, and every new board member should be re- quired to say they are prepared to agree to these rules,” says Davidson. Lombardi concurs, though not with- out caution. “A board code of conduct can help to establish rules and expectations for how members of the governing body should conduct themselves,” he says. “We have prepared a number of such docu- ments to guide board members in their interactions with each other and their community. However, the presence or absence of a code of conduct is not always a cure-all for bad behavior.” Another idea is that of a grievance committee—a common feature of non- residential nonprofits—tailored to a building or HOA’s board policy. Davidson explains that a grievance committee can perform an annual assessment of each board member. “Sort of like a, ‘how am I doing?’” he says. “The member meets pri- vately with someone from the grievance committee every year to talk about their performance.” Such accountability and the opportunity to ‘check in’ in a calm, non-combative setting can help boards or residents course-correct before some- thing relatively minor balloons into a big- ger problem. What Can a Manager Do? Schlossberg suggests that the best way to handle conflicts among board mem- groups, whether that’s in the community see—what kind of changes they’re look- “The goal is to create a cohesive board,” says Schlossberg, and the most important component of achieving that is a commit- Davidson shares a similar approach. do they rank the suggested solutions, ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strong- ly disagree’? Produce a summary of the results.” Davidson points out that in his experience, there is often nearly 100% agreement among board members, be- cause solutions are usually pretty simple. “If there are disagreements,” he says, “hold a discussion. And importantly, acknowl- edge areas of conflict to work toward a common solution. Once you have rules of the road, you can manage conflict.” Freedland concurs, summing up with the assertion that “Dissention shouldn’t permeate every issue. Work it out and get on with it.” n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with New England Condominium, and a published novelist. MANAGING... continued from page 13 See Our Display Ad on Page 12 BetterVent is a NEW kind of Indoor Dryer Vent. www.adr-products.com 1-888-609-5512