It is one of life’s eternal questions: is it possible to have too much of a good thing? That question certainly can apply to the matter of long-serving board members, those individuals who get elected and re-elected term after term. And like most big questions, there is no easy answer. Every community is different and every board of trustees is different. There are, however, a few pros and cons that tend to crop up in nearly every situation where a board has one or two long-term members.

Accentuating the Positive

Perhaps the biggest benefit of having a cadre of seasoned board members overseeing one’s condo or co-op community is the fact that they have unparalleled institutional memory. “I think one benefit is that a veteran board member will have a lot of historical knowledge about how things have happened in the past, especially those who have been on the board for five, six, seven years or even longer,” says attorney Diane Rubin of the law firm of Prince Lobel Tye, LLP in Boston.

She explains that board members who have served for several terms are able to apply previous knowledge and experience to current situations—they know how things work. “Sometimes the same issue will resurface or there may be a new issue but it will be related to something that had happened in the past. So there’s the ability to say, ‘Right. We did that before’or ‘We had the same problem before and here’s how to handle it’,” she says.

Jeffrey Turk, an attorney at Turk & Quijano, LLP in Braintree, Massachusetts, agrees saying, “It’s sort of the same as the incumbent returning to be president. The benefits are continuity and knowledge of the issues in the past, so they have a more long-term orientation of the association.”

Multi-term board members also are important because they can hold down the metaphorical fort when new members join the board. In today’s world, running a co-op or condo community can be like running a small multi-national corporation—the stakes are high with hundreds of units and millions of dollars in play. Having longer-serving board members can make the process of running an association smoother and more fluid. “Veteran board members would have sort of a sense of Robert’s Rules of Order, and so they would understand what the process is for building consensus or for moving forward with an agenda, how to serve in what the rules will say. We have a better sense about what rules and responsibilities there are. And so, that experience about just the procedure and the process of running a board is really valuable,” says Rubin.

It can take up to a full term for new board members to learn the ins and outs of procedures, bylaws, meeting rules and other details. While they are learning, the more experienced board members can shoulder the burden and at the same time, provide important mentoring opportunities.

In more pragmatic terms, long-serving board members also can help ease whatever difficulties an association may have in recruiting new candidates to seek board positions. Because these positions are voluntary and because they can be so time-consuming, many residents these days choose not to run for leadership positions within their condo or co-op community. That means a fair number of board members may be seeking re-election term after term simply because there is no one else willing to take up the torch.

A longer-serving board may also help establish better relationships for the association, and in the process gain more trust from the unit owners, says Richard Vetstein, founding partner at Vetstein Law Group in Framingham, Massachusetts.

On the Down Side

Despite the myriad benefits that long-serving board members bring to the table, there are times when that longevity can be a detriment to the community rather than a positive. Rubin says that the community begins to miss out on new ideas and perspectives in governance and management and even neglect resident concerns in an association with changing demographics. “Maybe you have a board that’s all older people and you’ve got young people starting to move into the building. They may have kids or you have just different kinds of perspectives on things. So, I think the downside of veteran is that you’ll miss those fresh perspectives and you also miss the opportunity for the community as a whole, the association as a whole, to really have a sense that this democracy really works,” she says.

In the community, there may be the view that the board is its own impenetrable entity. “I think the downside of having people long-term is you sort of get this star chamber mentality. The same people are running the place; there’s no openness, there’s no transparency. That may not be the reality of it but sometimes that gets to be the perception out there. You have the same people doing it and it's just their little fiefdom,” says Turk.

Rubin adds that it can “start to feel like insiders and outsiders” and a long-serving board may seem intimidating to new residents who may have an interest in running. If the veterans have been in place for a long, long time, it could discourage new people from running for the board. “You want to have some sense that there’s the opportunity for everybody to participate and you want to encourage everybody to participate,” she says.

While the upside of board members serving for a long time may be their ability to re-apply past experience to current situations, after a while they may become stuck in their old ways (even if they are ineffective) and “unwilling to second guess their previous decisions,” says Vetstein.

Breaking the Cycle

For any co-op or condo community unhappy with a long-serving member of the board, the easiest solution is simply to vote that person out at the next election. Sometimes, though, that is easier said than done. Board members reluctant to let go of power can make it difficult for their fellow residents to unseat them. Perhaps they promise benefits for those who will vote for them or intimidate those who choose to run against them. When things like that happen on a regular basis, they can become self-perpetuating, with residents believing that there is no way to rid the community of that board member, so they simply stop trying.

If worse comes to worst, residents do have recourse to remove board members. “Every set of condominium documents includes provisions for removal of trustees, some for cause and some without cause. The condo docs should be consulted and then followed. Usually, a vote of the board or a vote of the unit owners is required,” says Rubin.

She continues to say that unit owners are allowed to call for a special meeting. “Sometimes, the unit owners don’t know that they have the ability to call for a special meeting. Dispositions in every set of condominium documents say that there will be an annual meeting held once a year, but the unit owners also have a right to call for a meeting.” The meeting could allow residents the opportunity to determine a course of action of how to proceed with the situation of the board.

Changing the Rules

Just as in federal, state and local governments, the debate on term limits arises from time to time. According to Turk, Massachusetts for example, does not have term limits for board members and he says that few if any associations do. “Most associations are true democracies and it’s really up to the decision of the members as to who they want to elect.”

Vetstein adds, “There is usually a set term,1-3 years for any board member, however, they can be reelected or run for office again. The “democratic” process should control.”

While there is no state law regulating term limits, it may be possible for an association to amend its bylaws and institute them for their own community. “They would need to amend their bylaws and that is very specific to what their bylaws say. Normally, it requires some sort of super majority vote, 66 or 75 percent in addition to a dually-noticed meeting, so they can have the opportunity to be heard as well as vote on what happens,” says Turk.

Perhaps the most effective way to ensure that all board members serve to the best of their ability no matter how many times they have been re-elected is for unit owners and shareholders to be vigilant in their own oversight. By attending meetings, reading minutes, scanning financials and keeping up with any and all correspondence coming from the board, residents can help keep their community on the right track and their board members functioning to the best of their abilities.

Rubin says that a good way to involve residents is to create committees, which will ease their way into how the association operates. “That way those individuals have an opportunity to get their feet wet, participate in the association and see how things work. In my experience, once folks are engaged and involved, they frequently are invested in the health and welfare of the association and will want to get more involved,” she says.

Turk adds, “Many people do not want to serve on a board because they think the time commitment is too great. For associations with professional management, the time commitment may be minimal. By providing clear information on the responsibilities of members, they may be willing to attract people who otherwise thought they would not have time.”

And for residents who perhaps are dissatisfied with aspects of their community and the way it is being run, they can make sure they vote in their board elections and get others to vote as well. Or, they can even take up the baton and run themselves, bringing fresh perspective and new energy in service to their fellow residents.

Thankfully, the benefits of having committed and long-serving members of the board seem to far outweigh the cons. There is no doubt that the role of a board member has gotten increasingly complex and time-consuming in recent decades, requiring an significant energy, skill and experience to be successful. It can be a difficult load for new board members to bear. That is why boards that have that institutional memory in the form of long-serving members often flourish, finding that perfect balance between experience and innovation.

Liz Lent is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to New England Condominium and other publications. Staff Writer Christy Smith-Sloman contributed to this article.