Community Governance Essentials
Community involvement is the essential key to success! There are five parts to every community that are integral to its success and they are:
The Homeowner
Not all homeowners have the time or inclination to join the HOA Board or to be active in the various committees associated with their community. It is critical, however, that every homeowner be involved enough to attend an occasional meeting, voice their opinions, understand current issues and vote for prospective community members who are interested in becoming involved.
The HOA Board of Directors
A strong, active and dedicated board will make all of the difference in a community. With today’s technology, communication is simple and time commitment for board members can be very minimal depending on the issues at hand. The HOA Board has the authority to act on behalf of the community in many instances, but their authority is limited by the associations governing documents as well. These limitations ensure that a Board is involving the community to the degree that is necessary when making decisions that may directly affect the value of your home and community. The governing documents of your community should plainly spell out the boards duties and obligations.
The Officers of the Board
Within each board are elected officers (President, Vice President, Secretary & Treasurer) with specified roles that help maintain an organized system for conducting meetings and implementing day to day operations to best meet the needs of the community. Depending on how your governing documents read, some boards may allow for one officer to hold two or more positions.
The Committees
In many cases, an HOA Board may create committees including, but not limited to:
Architectural Review Committee – Helps to ensure that the standards outlined in most community governing documents are adhered to and reviews any applications for variances to the existing architecture and/or landscape designs.
- Nominating Committee – Reviews potential nominees for upcoming elections and nominates those that they deem qualified to run.
- Social Committee – Helps to organized community events and gatherings
- Grounds Committee - Initiates plans for improvement to common areas in the community.
- Security Committee – Serves as a liaison with Public Safety officials to assist in common area, residence and transportation safety issues.
The Community Management Company
Some communities’ governing documents may not require a “management company” or even a person hired to serve as the lone community manager. Most HOA’s have the option of “self-management”, but the time commitment and stress involved in effectively managing their own community usually dissuades HOA Boards from considering the task. While it is in our best interest to say so, we think that hiring a strong community management company makes all the difference. The community management company works FOR the community and helps to guide the community to success. The community management company implements the decisions made by the board of directors and manages all aspects of the operations that they have been hired by the community to oversee including:
- Accounting
- Billing
- Coordinating legal action
- Planning meetings
- Initiating and receiving homeowner correspondence
- Overseeing building maintenance
- Conducting inspections
- Processing work orders
- Coordinating landscaping needs
- Distributing information to homeowners
In many cases, a management company may be hired on to perform a limited scope of duties, while the Board of Directors handles the rest, depending on what needs to be focused on.
Whatever your community needs are, Community Focus of NC is here to help!