Article Courtesy of The
Town-Crier
Letter to the Editor
Published December 22, 2019
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In an era where political madness governs the country, half the electorate
is made to believe the president has to be impeached and the other half is
convinced that this is based on a hoax, and nothing else attracts the
profiteering news media, it is no wonder that also on a lower level, such as
in homeowners’ associations, basic dignity and fair play often are on
decline.
As in most municipalities, part of Royal Palm Beach is governed by HOAs,
ruled by Florida Statutes 718 or 720 and by the respective associations’
bylaws. The problem is that neither of those documents has any teeth. There
is practically no legal body for the oversight of the implementation of
those rules. The governed are left by themselves without any practical help
other than hiring expensive lawyers in matters of conflict, mismanagement or
disregard of the official rules. Unless association members organize
themselves and supervise their boards, their individual interests easily can
be ignored.
We like to criticize countries like Ukraine that are well known for
corruption, and we see domestic lobbying in Washington, D.C. not much
different. Thus, no wonder when on the local level, like on HOA boards, a
similar greedy approach can be found. The magic word here is kickbacks. One
of the current appearances of such a problem in our area is particularly
worrisome.
One of the nation’s monopolistic enterprises that offers bulk cable
contracts for TV consumption uses its power to impose its service on whole
memberships without exceptions. People who don’t want cable have to pay for
the unwanted service anyway. Free TV that is offered on air for them is
meaningless. Dishes or streaming alternatives would have to be purchased
additionally. In at least one particular RPB community, the membership has
not even been asked to join a bulk cable contract, but it has been included
into their association dues. Individuals who protest against this procedure
are being harassed with cease-and-desist letters from the association’s
lawyer, which is basically an attempt to undermine their constitutional
right of free speech. In my opinion, this is unacceptable.
The Florida Legislature should change the statutes in order to protect
individuals from unfair majority rules.
Guenter Langer, Royal Palm Beach
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