Letter
to Editor of the Sun Sentinel
By
Donna D. Berger
Executive Director Community Association Leadership Lobby
hollywood
Posted August 24 2005
For months, Florida Condominium Ombudsman Virgil Rizzo has complained that his
office is severely underfunded and understaffed. Now, it appears we may be
seeing the result in his office's issuance of an incomplete and tangential
Condominium Ombudsman's Quarterly Report (April-June 2005), as reported in the South
Florida Sun-Sentinel ("Rampant mismanagement plagues condo boards,
report finds," Aug. 19).
Having reviewed Dr. Rizzo's report in full, I can say that for the tens of
thousands of outstanding board members of condominiums who volunteer their time
and energy for the betterment of their communities, this report is a slap in the
face.
Dr. Rizzo's report concludes that "the major problem continues to be the
incapability and inability of board members to properly manage the operation of
the association, as required by statute, articles of incorporation, declaration,
bylaws, and rules and regulations." Yet, the basis for this conclusion
would seem to be largely anecdotal, rather than statistically sound.
Your newspaper summarized that "most of the 4,000 queries" received
during April-June involved directors of associations. But what does that tell us
exactly? Independent reports show a handful of individuals filing "repeat
complaints" are responsible for skewing the overall number of complaints
against boards. A recent state-commissioned audit of complaints showed just 54
unit owners filed 833 "repeat complaints" for 46 percent of all
complaints against boards during 2003-04.
Perhaps if Dr. Rizzo's office had either more resources or greater capabilities
in collecting and analyzing statistically sound data, we would be provided with
constructive information about the true nature of complaints and abuses that
sometimes do occur in condominiums. What we have in this report is an
irresponsible snapshot that shifts blame onto all those individuals who
selflessly take time to volunteer to serve on their community association
boards.
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