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Community Living

Board can guide, not prohibit, taping

By RICHARD WHITE
Published April 7, 2007

Q: May I tape and transcribe the board meetings without interference from the board?

A: The board can establish reasonable rules so that taping does not interfere with members or with the meeting. The rules could say, for example, that taping equipment must be set up at the back of the room before the meeting starts. They could prohibit noisy equipment, or disallow microphones on stands. They can limit distractions and annoyances, but they can't prohibit your taping.

Check-signing policy

Q: Should all board members be eligible to sign association checks? Our association does this, and we never know who has approved a payment.

A: As long as the board has a clear check-signing policy, I see no reason why all board members should not be authorized signatories. It certainly makes it easier to get checks signed if many people are authorized to do so.

That check-signing policy should say something like: Two directors must sign the checks. The payment must be for a board-approved item or for a recurring budget item. The check should be presented for signing with a purchase order signed by a third director or the manager and with the invoice. A monthly financial statement should be produced to show payments. It can be very educational for all the directors to sign the checks. It can be eye-opening for them to see what it costs to run the place.

Annual audit concerns

Q: Our annual budget exceeds $100,000, and our bylaws specifically stipulate that we are to have an annual audit by an accountant. The president says we do not have to comply with this requirement because we have fewer than 100 units. He also says the budget does not have to include the reserves. The board pays another board member who is not a CPA to do the end-of-year report. Can you clarify what we are required to do and whether our current procedures are acceptable?

A: FS 718.11113 says the financial report is based on revenues, not expenses. A third-party compiled report must be completed for associations with revenues of at least $100,000. For higher revenues, a reviewed financial and an audited financial report must be prepared.

I strongly discourage your board paying an unlicensed person - let alone a director! - to do the work. The board should want a squeaky-clean financial record of how they spent the members' funds.

Richard White is a licensed community associations manager. Write to him c/o Community Living, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Sorry, he can't take phone calls or provide personal replies by mail, but you can e-mail him at CAMquestions@cfl.rr.com Please include your name and city.

[Last modified April 6, 2007, 09:25:19]