One of the greatest challenges in representing community association board is keeping boards educated about their powers and duties. Too many mistakes are made not from ill-intent but, ignorance. Most Connecticut community associations are subject to the provisions of the Common Interest Ownership Act (CIOA). CIOA is not an intuitive Act. Many of its sections are arcane and make little sense to lay board members trying to negotiate their way through the governance of their communities.
Notice and meeting requirements can be frustratingly complex as are the strict requirement of annual budget passage. The mistakes made often involve incomplete adherence to the mandate of the statute that can result in jurisdiction bars to enforcement and challenges costing time and money. Many Board members find that they are already stretched given the time demands of their positions. Nevertheless, those stepping up to the leadership positions in the communities inherit the responsibility to understand the rules of governance and the limits of their authority.
The Connecticut Chapter of the Community association Institute (CAI) does a fabulous job of providing educational opportunities in the form of its Condo, Inc. efforts, the seminars and trade show and its monthly Common Interest publication. The National Community Association Institute also provides terrific conferences that also keep Board member updated on the latest trends in community association law, resources and governance guides. Boards should pursue those opportunities when they present themselves.
By way of shameless self-promotion, Bender, Anderson and Barba is offering such an educational opportunity for any board member of Manager. The 2024 Board Member bootcamp is designed to give newly elected Board members the information necessary to understand their role and some common sense strategies for managing challenges facing so many communities. The Bootcamp will also cover more advanced subjects like the newly established obligation imposed on Board by the Corporate Transparency Act.
The Bootcamp is being held on Saturday, October 12th at the Wallingford Hilton Gardens Inn located at 1181 Barnes Road. Registration starts at 8:30 and the conference will begin promptly at 9:00 am; ending at 1pm. the list of attendees is rather large, but there are still spots available. Anyone interested in attending should contact Amy Spears by email: [email protected] to get a seat. I hope to see you there.
Ron Barba