Annual meeting time is just around the corner. For board presidents who don’t have much experience moderating meetings, that annual meeting can be the most intimidating thing on your calendar. Well, maybe the MOST intimidating thing is the idea of moderating that annual meeting with “Mrs. Jones”, a formidable retiree who’s a stickler for proper procedure, sitting front and center as she does every year. She likes to make motions, objections, and often ties the meeting up in knots.
Best Practices for a Smooth Budget Process
Does your association have a budget? If it does, how is it prepared? Is it even followed? Here, we provide tips for creating a budget process that works well for nearly all associations.
Know fundamentals first
Start your budget process by understanding why budgeting is important. Aside from the obvious benefit of creating a well-run association, having a solid budgeting process helps protect the value and marketability of your association’s units. Without it, lenders may be unwilling to lend for the purchase of a unit or to the association, and buyers may feel burdened and walk away because they don’t want to assume the fallout of bad decision-making in prior years.
The President’s Job Description
Serving in the role of HOA president is not an easy job. It is one that demands leadership and exemplary skills in presiding over meetings. Many HOA’s are registered as non-profit corporations and in turn, the president can be thought of as the CEO of the corporation, (serving of course in a voluntary capacity without pay). Perhaps more importantly, he or she is elected by the membership to serve the community and elected by the board to lead the board through challenging situations and decisions.
The Benefits of Having a Reserve Study
As budget season approaches, many associations are focusing on their reserve stud-ies for two reasons only; one, it is required, either by state statutes or governing documents, and two, to make sure that the reserve assessment fits within the de-sired overall budget of the association.