One Right Way to Become a Voting Member

 

Are you a Voting Member? Do you want to be a Voting Member?

Several years ago homeowners who were interested in being Voting Members may have been told that all they had to do was show up in November at the Annual Meeting of Voting Members and vote for directors.

I heard that from a long-time "Voting Member".

Is that true?

Read the "Voting Members/Alternates Memo Concerning Voting Member/Alternate Right [sic] & Responsibilities".

Voting Members have Rights and Responsibilities. They also have duties, obligations, and liabilities.

You can read the rules on the HOA's website. Stay on the homepage. Scroll down to and click on Neighborhood News. Scroll down to the headline for Voting Members/Alternates Memo, and click on "HERE".

The Memo is dated August 7, 2020 and was written by the late George Reynolds, long-time Treasurer of the HOA. Most of it re-states the CC&Rs and the By-Laws.

What isn't included are the liabilities that go with being a Voting Member. 

For example, what if you act as if you are a Voting Member, but you are not. There are requirements for becoming a Voting Member. They are clearly stated in the By-Laws. There is one way, and one way only, to become a Voting Member.

Hopefully, the office will tell you, if you call, that a Voting Member is elected by a three- member Neighborhood Committee. And the Neighborhood Committee is elected by a quorum of homeowners in your Neighborhood. The By-Laws do not allow just anyone to collect signatures and then become a Voting Member.

If the office tells you anything else, you might want to talk to your own personal attorney and ask about any personal liability you could have, if you exercise any of the rights and responsibilities of a Voting Member (such as voting for candidates for Directors).

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