Page 5 - New England Condominium November 2019

NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -NOVEMBER 2019 5 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Legal Q A& Preserving Privacy Q I would like to know if it is legal for board members to share per- sonal and fi nancial information regarding our home in the community with other residents who don’t serve on the board — and some who don’t even own property here, but live in the community as renters. We feel that what goes on in executive ses- sions should remain in those sessions, and not be shared as a topic of casual conversa- tion, gossip or threatening with other mem- bers of our community. Am I correct in be- lieving board members should keep owner information private? —Wondering A “Board members are elected by unit owners to manage and operate the condomin- ium association, which election and du- ties bring with them certain obligations to maintain the privacy of their unit owners’ personal information,” says Frank Lombar- di, Partner in Goodman, Shapiro & Lom- bardi, LLC, with offi ces in Massachusetts there was a case in Florida a decade or so than a plan, and funds keep getting shift ed and Rhode Island. “In Rhode Island, and ago, where the board published a list of re- I’d imagine in most states, board members calcitrant unit owners in the common area during board discussions when the budget who are elected by unit owners are required elevator. Not surprisingly, the association’s was being presented. to exercise a duty of ordinary and reason- able care. If the board members are elected there is no need to name a unit owner who or appointed by the Declarant, then the is in arrears. standard is even stricter, that of a fi duciary. “Moreover, again, in Rhode Island, raised by the unit owner in question him- board members are under an obligation of self or herself, ie., association-wide email good faith in the performance of their du- ties as such. Under both standards, careless, board needs to defend itself, the better Partner at Marcus, Errico, Emmer & callous or just plain mean gossiping about course would be to refrain from sharing any Brooks, PC, with offi ces in Braintree, Mas- a person’s personal or fi nancial information information about him or her outside the sachusetts and Merrimack, New Hamp- which is not technically “Association Busi- ness” could mean a breach thereof, expos- ing the board and association to lawsuits by the off ended unit owner. “Unless the personal or fi nancial details are the center of a lawsuit, and even then, the less said the better, I would avoid dis- cussing or divulging any unit owner infor- mation outside of the boardroom. “I cringe when I hear that board mem- bers are sharing or publishing information repair account,” if needed? It seems that our relative to assessment arrearage — in fact, association budget is more of a “suggestion” board was sued and lost big. In most cases, “Again, unless the topic discussed was campaign disparaging the board, and the of an operation,” says Gary M. Daddario, boardroom. Loose lips sink ships, for sure, shire. “Of course, life goes smoother when but they also cause lawsuits.” Shuffl ing Budgets Q Once a budget is passed, can shift s some money from one line item to monies be taken from one ac- count and used for something get on the whole, I do not see a problem. In else? Example, if there is money in a “pav- ing account” can it be transferred to a “pool not be maintained in general, most boards around to do things that were never covered — Budget Watcher A “Generally, budgets are just a predictive tool used to help to try to control the fi nances the budget is as accurate as possible, but 100% accuracy is not likely absent someone having the proverbial ‘crystal ball.’ “Th at said, if a condominium board another but retains the integrity of the bud- fact, even if the integrity of the budget could continued on page 21