Should HOA Hire a Consultant?

Should The Summit's HOA hire a consultant and/or a Parliamentarian?

A consultant could teach, train, and guide board  members in efficiently and correctly conducting business. A consultant would explain to them why they should not "conduct business" (make decisions) in private, closed, secret, pre-board meetings that are not open to Members. He could resolve conflicts, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations of the By-Laws and the PRM.

When the Board failed to comply with the By-Laws, he could explain the risks of doing so. He could refer them for needed legal advice to avoid lawsuits and other legal actions.

These are things that a professional HOA management company should be doing. Is the present staff sufficiently educated, trained, skilled, and knowledgeable enough to guide the board members?

A Parliamentarian could keep the board on the straight-and-narrow during board meetings. Items such as

• speak up, so that all (on the board and in the audience) can hear;
• use the microphone;
• speak one at a time;
• no side-conversations while others are speaking;
• show respect and listen attentively, when an audience member is speaking;
• silence side-conversations in the audience;
• use the New Business and Old Business sections of the Agenda; 
• if a board member or member of the audience gets on a roll, re-direct them to the topic;
• carry incomplete business forward as Old Business;
• record who (on the board) is absent, as well as present;
• teach board members how to call a "Point-of-Order" when the meeting goes off-track.