Recording
Hi Dennis,
First I thought I’d let you know that several of us took your advice and ran for the board… and won. Since, we have kicked Amcor property management out and brought back self management. Amcor took 40% of our dues last year.
I have a question.
1. We rescinded the former boards policy of precluding homeowners from recording meetings and made it abundantly clear that anyone can record board meetings. A homeowner who is also a board member has recorded board meetings. The “losers” of the last board election insist that the board now must make the recording the board member made available to anyone who asks. I interpret 33-1804 that if the board precludes homeowners from recording, only then does the board have to make recordings available. The board member/homeowner who made the recording did not do so at the request of the BOD. I expect them to file a complaint with DRE.
Thanks Dennis,
Dave
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Dave,
You are absolutely correct, I put that provision into the law, so I can speak to it with absolute authority. The provision is about allowing any homeowner to record board meetings without having to ask permission. It allows associations to restrict the recording of meetings only if they record it and then makes the unedited copies available to any homeowner who request it. The law does not make the association record any meeting they do not want to, unless they decide that they want to restrict any homeowners from recording meetings.
Congratulation on the election, self-management is not an easy task, and you have to consider that very carefully. I know of many communities that do it very successfully, but it is not for everyone. Let me know if I can be of assistance with any issues, you and your board face.
Dennis
Tagging onto this question, in the case of the management company recording the meetings, how long does management have to provide it to a homeowner once they have received the request for a file (or link, etc.)?
Cynthia,
While the open meeting law statutes does not address this directly the records request law does provide guidance and that is the association has 10 business days to satisfy any records request by a homeowner. But remember an association is not required to record any meeting unless it restricts homeowners from recording that same meeting. Do not expect to get a recording of any meeting from the association if they allow homeowners to record that meeting.
Dennis
Our HOA does meetings via zoom. Zoom has its own built-in ability for users to record. However, our association turns off that feature for the non-Board members. Does that constitute the board “prohibiting recording”?
FWIW, I use OBS (free) software to make my own recordings, as a workaround, but it would be nice not to have to di that.
Fish7
Interesting question. Technically if they turn off the feature, they are preventing homeowners from recording and thereby must provide any homeowner a copy of their recording of the meetings under the law. They control the meeting protocol, and they control the features of the zoom program so they either have to turn the feature back on or provide recording to anyone that ask to comply with the law.
Dennis
Hey Dennis,
Two homeowners (one who was removed at recall last year and the other the husband of one of the losers from the last election) have gone to Jon Dessaules and have demanded the recordings made by the homeowner who is also a director. I also used a camera to record from behind the board of directors out into the audience. They claim that since it was a board member who recorded the meetings it has automatically become an official record of the HOA and subject to records release. We have reiterated our policy that anyone can record meetings at every meeting and in our newsletter. The question is – does the fact that a board member recorded meetings automatically make it an HOA official record? Our lawyer said, “As far as the law on recording, there is gray area if directors are individually recording. There isn’t a case where the directors are wearing a different hat and courts tend to favor homeowners. I think a court would still make you all disclose in the end”.
I have another question. We have a director that refuses to attend any board meetings. I assume there is nothing we can do about that. We had the recall last year and he received a plurality majority to remove him but the management company and our lawyer said it had to be an absolute majority. I find nothing in ARS except that the only way to remove a director is by vote of the homeowners. Am I correct?
Dave,
No single board member can act for the board so if a board member records a meeting and is not directly authorized by the board to do so for the association that recording is a personal recording of that individual member and is not an association record. The same way all of you can record any meeting. I put that provision into law, so I absolutely understand what the law does and does not do. There is nothing grey about this situation unless the board voted to restrict all homeowners from recording and chose to record the meeting themselves this is not an association record.
Most bylaws have a provision that any board member that does not attend three meeting of the board that the board member is consider resigned and the board is authorized to fill the vacancy of that resignation.
As for the recall vote the law is very clear a simple majority of the members voting either in person or by absentee ballot at the special meeting called for that purpose decides the recall. You absolutely do not need a majority of all votes in the community to decide the issue. And now another management company and attorney is proven full of crap.
Dennis