Cyber Citizens For Justice Weblog

In the small town of Washington, CT (Source: New Milford Spectrum), a Finance Board of 6 people has been penalized by the State for using public funds to influence the outcome of a referendum (Source: New Milford Spectrum, 08/18/16).
In a widely distributed mailing, the Board was found to have advocated defeat of the proposals in the referendum.
One citizen filed a complaint and the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) got involved.  Each Board member was subsequently ordered to personally pay $200 to the State, and $59.50 to the Town of Washington, CT - to cover his/her portion of the cost of the mailing.
Despite paying the fines, the Board insisted that any violation of the rules was “inadvertent and unintentional”.
The SEEC also ordered the Board to “henceforth strictly comply” with the statute authorizing only “concise explanatory texts” for public distribution.

 In another story (Source: ccfj.net), the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) responded to a complaint by the Secretary of Cove at South Beaches Condo Association in Melbourne Beach in March, 2006. DBPR found the following statutory violations:

1. Altering a candidate information sheet.
2. Sending out information sheets exceeding the allowed one page.
3. Failing to properly notice the annual meeting/elections. 

Ballot irregularities were also discovered amid allegations that the President postponed the election in order to have more time to sway voters and complete pet projects.
The Board was ordered to conduct a new election by a specified date with corrected information sheets and proper notification. Failure to do so could result in a $5,000 penalty per violation, against the Association.

In both cases, Boards were perceived to be using their influence to manipulated election results. One Board used public funds, the other, Association funds. Complaints were filed with the appropriate authorities. Those commissions found wrongdoing, whether intentional or inadvertent. Both demanded corrective measures which were minimal in penalty but significant in delivering a clear message; the statutes are to be taken seriously, and someone is paying attention.
The main difference, however, is that in Florida, despite the Board’s errors, the financial penalties were threatened against the Association - the victims, not Board members - the perpetrators.
This begs several questions and points of discussion:

1.  Should there be a minimum educational requirement for Board members regarding statute, rights and responsibilities?
2. Whether paid or unpaid, should Board members be held financially responsible as individuals, for violations of statute?
3. Should Associations have to pay for Board negligence, ignorance, or wrongdoing?

 Some argue that if members are held financially accountable, no one would want to run for office. In the case of Washington, CT, it doesn’t seem that the penalties were substantial enough to deter one from running. Hopefully, they were enough to precipitate positive change.
Perhaps Florida condo law could learn from Washington, CT, and move toward protecting unit owners from incompetent Boards, instead of  insulating Boards from being accountable for their actions or non-action. (more…)

AARP recognized the plight of Condo & HOA owners nationwide when it published “A Bill of Rights for Homeowners in Associations“.  The document is designed as a guide for state legislatures who are developing laws for such associations.

But will this Bill of Rights bring relief to the Florida Condo or HOA owner?

The Bill outlines 10 principles:

1. The Right to Security against Foreclosure
2. The Right to Resolve Disputes without Litigation
3. The Right to Fairness in Litigation
4. The Right to Be Told of All Rules and Charges
5. The Right to Stability in Rules and Charges
6. The Right to Individual Autonomy
7. The Right to Oversight of Associations and Directors
8. The Right to Vote and Run for Office
9. The Right to Reasonable Associations and Directors
10. The Right to an Ombudsperson for Homeowners

But Florida already has laws covering many of these principles.  In fact, Florida has more laws “protecting” such homeowners than most other states.

There is therefore a risk that our Florida legislators will congratulate themselves with having the forsight to adopt these laws - and take no further action.

But the problem in Florida is that enforcement of these laws is weak, and the laws themselves are written in language which is vague or ambiguous.  So uneducated boards violate the laws because they are unaware of them, and abusive boards violate the laws by exploiting their ambiguity - or ignoring them with impunity.

So, while our Florida legislators do deserve credit for the laws they have enacted for protecting Condo & HOA owners, we need to let them know that their work is not complete.  Our Florida laws need to be reviewed within the context of the AARP Bill of Rights, they need to be clear and unambiguous, and they need to be enforced.
property

In 2002, the Florida State Legislature made it unlawful for any Condominium or Homeowners Association to place restrictions on displaying of the American flag.  This arose out of a case where an HOA owner had been fined for flying the flag on a 12-foot pole in his front yard instead of from brackets attached to the house, as required by an association rule.

On Jul 24 this year, President Bush signed into law a federal measure which makes it illegal to prevent an owner from displaying the American flag.  But that same measure permits associations to impose “any reasonable restriction pertaining to the time, place or manner of displaying the flag”.

 Does this sound like a step backwards?  Well, not quite.  It’s not clear which law takes precedence - the Federal law, or the more restrictive State law.  In the end, some other hapless owner is going to have to bring another law suit - to discover which way the courts will rule.

We used to wonder if the DBPR ever listened to anyone! This time, to our amazement and delight, they are soliciting our input - on three issues facing Condo and HOA owners.

Don’t miss this opportunity!  Check out this DBPR web page.  Send them an email, and show that we do exist, we do vote, and we do care about our homes!

Of course, asking for input and heeding it are two very different things. Is the DBPR finally becoming responsive to home and condominium owners? Time will tell.

100ideas.org is a web site created by the Republican legislators in Tallahassee.  Regardless of your political allegience, it’s an easy way to be heard - either by submitting a new idea - or voting on an existing one.  And, if your a snowbird, you don’t need to be a registered voter in Florida.

Click on “Ideas” at 100ideas.org, then search for either “condominium” or “homeowner associations”.  Take a look at some of the ideas already posted.  You may agree or disagree but, by rating the idea, your opinion can be heard in Tallahassee.

Or, take it one step further, share your own idea at 100ideas.org, and see how many votes you get!