Condominium Financial Management

The CFM Distinction, Summer 2012 Newsletter

Welcome to the summer edition of our company newsletter. It has been a long time since our last publication, but much has happened during that time. On the personal front, Stacie has added to her family with a beautiful baby boy named Conor. He is already 9 months old and her 3 year old twins round out the very busy household! As for business, we have a very exciting announcement! THE BOARD PORTAL IS READY AT LAST!!! What does this mean for our clients? Our boards will now be able to approve invoices online automating our check writing and disbursal process. Additional features include the ability to view invoices online, both current and historical, as well as Association financial reports. We will be getting everyone setup as soon as possible. Would you like to be one of the first to try it? Please email [email protected] and she will setup a time to get this process started for you. We hope you are as excited as we are for these technological advances we are now able to offer our clients. Until next time, we wish you a great summer and a Happy 4th of July!

Sincerely,
Linnea & Stacie

Are You in Compliance?

As most of you are aware, a new law went into effect Jan 1 of this year changing the way boards may, or more importantly may not, conduct business. There were several facets to this new law but the biggest change contained in Civil Code 1363.05 states that boards of directors 'shall not conduct a meeting via a series of electronic transmissions, including, but not limited to, electronic mail'. A meeting is defined as any discussion by a majority of the board on any item of business within the authority of the board. There is an exemption to this law for emergency meetings. The Code defines an emergency meeting where 'there are circumstances that could not have been reasonably foreseen which require immediate attention and possible action by the board'. What does all this mean? Very simply, you may not use email as a communication vehicle to discuss business between meetings among board members.
What is the purpose? To increase transparency in the business of the HOA.
What can happen? A challenging member can file a lawsuit and a board may be found in violation of the Open Meeting Act. Fine is $500 per violation + challenging member's attorney's fees and court costs. What should you do? Be very careful when using email and work with counsel to determine what could constitute an emergency to justify the use.