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Community Living: Double duties may present conflict
By ROBERT WHITE Question: Our maintenance manager is retiring. The current president of the board is interested in applying for this job, which is a paid position. Can a sitting president become an employee? Must he, or should he, resign as president? Must he, or should he, resign from the board? Answer: Examine your documents to see if members of the board can be paid or if there are restrictions that prohibit this. If the maintenance manager performs management tasks, he or she must be licensed as a community association manager. Usually, an employee of an association is supervised by the president or the manager. Can the president supervise himself? Can another board member supervise the president as he does the maintenance tasks? There's an inherent conflict of interest here, and I suggest that the president resign from the board if he takes the position. Nonowners on boardQuestion: My friend lives in her son's condominium. He has given her power of attorney. Does this give her the right to serve on the board of directors? Answer: Look in your documents, most likely in the bylaws, to determine who can serve on the board. Some documents say only owners can serve. Some allow nonowners to serve. A power of attorney does not grant all ownership rights. It is not a substitute for a proxy to vote, and it does not allow the holder to substitute herself for someone who is named on the deed. If your documents do not allow nonowners to serve on the board, the only way she can do so is by having her son add her name to the deed. Need for anonymityQuestion: My husband works in a sensitive government job. In our building, names and unit numbers of all residents are posted on a bulletin board. We have asked that our name and number not be displayed there for our own safety. The association refuses, saying that's the way they do things here. Can you back up our request? Answer: Owners have the right not to have their names listed on public view. Send the board a certified letter asking to have your name removed. If the board declines, have an attorney -- perhaps the attorney who handles legal matters for your husband's office -- send the board a letter. I once had an owner in a very sensitive position who used a fictitious name for all association records. He even had a special checking account under that name. Properly done, there is nothing wrong with using a fictitious name. - Write to Richard White, 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@att.net. Please include your name and city. Questions should concern association operations; legal opinions cannot be offered. For specific legal advice, contact an association attorney. Readers may call the state Division of Condominiums Bureau of Customer Service at (800) 226-9101 with questions or requests for materials. Or write to Bureau of Customer Service, 1940 N Monroe St., Northwood Centre, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1032. Please note that this office provides no information about homeowners' associations. The state has no bureau or department covering those associations. You can access the Bureau of Condominiums Web site at www.state.fl.us/dbpr/html/lsc/co_page.html.
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