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Modified Procedure For Electing
Governors to the Board at
Paul Revere
Village
Previous Elections:
In the past, Governors were elected at the Annual Meeting by
members of the Association or by their designated proxies.
Unfortunately, very few unit owners even bother to attend the
Annual Meeting. Some members
may give a written proxy to a designated person, giving that person
permission to represent the member at the Annual Meeting and it also
authorizes the person holding the proxy to cast votes at the Annual
Meeting. Some members do not even bother to give their written proxy to
anyone.
- Importance
of Attending the Annual Meeting:
If a unit owner wants to know how his money is being
spent, he should make every effort to attend the Annual Meeting.
Unlike owning a single-family house, there is a direct
proportion between the value of a condominium unit and the financial
stability of the Association. In many cases, the unit is the owner's
single largest investment.
- In
the Event a Unit Owner Cannot Attend the Annual Meeting:
If a unit owner is unable to attend the Annual Meeting,
it is critical for
that unit owner to give his written proxy to a trusted individual in order for that individual to
represent the unit owner at the Annual Meeting.
The unit owner should discuss his thoughts with the proxy
holder as to how the unit owner would like the proxy holder to vote
when it comes to electing Governors and voting on any other business
which may be brought forth.
- If
a Unit Owner Fails to Attend the Annual Meeting or Submit a Written
Proxy: In order for
the Association to conduct an Annual Meeting, as required by
Massachusetts
law, 51% of the unit owners must be present in person or by proxy.
Otherwise, a meeting cannot be held, which means that
additional time and financial resources must be spent scheduling
another meeting.
Potential Problems with Proxies:
Giving your proxy to someone without instructing them how you
want your vote to be cast could result in decisions that will negatively
affect you and your asset. You
run the risk of having people elected to the Board of Governors who may
have personal reasons for getting on the Board. If one or two
individuals held a majority of the proxies, they would be in control of
the meeting and outcome of the voting.
If they did not cast their votes in a responsible manner, serious
financial damage to the Association could result, which means you could
see your investment value decrease, and your condo fees increase
unnecessarily.
The Obvious Solution:
The obvious solution would be to change the way Governors are
elected to the Board. There
are numerous alternatives – absentee voting, internet voting
(something many Associations and organizations are making use of today),
and direct voting by ballot on a specially designation election day.
Unfortunately, none of these alternatives are a viable option for
our Association at this time because the Corporation must be run
according to the By-Laws. Specifically,
Section 5 of the By-Laws states how Governors are elected:
At each Annual Meeting, beginning with the Second Annual
Meeting of the Members of the Association, all the members of the Board
of Governors shall be elected by the Members of the Association.
Section 6 of the By-Laws define how voting is to take
place: The Member of
the Association or some person designated by such Member of the
Association to act as proxy on his or their behalf, who need not be a
Townhouse Owner, shall be entitled to cast the vote.
In plain English, this means Governors must be elected at
the Annual Meeting by members (unit owners) of the Association or by
their proxies, who can be anybody. This
cannot be changed unless sixty-six and two-thirds of the unit owners
vote for a change. Furthermore,
a majority of the first mortgage holders must approve this change in
writing, a task which will be next to impossible to accomplish.
An Alternative Solution: We must abide by
the By-Laws of the Association, or we run the risk of having an election
or Annual Meeting declared null and void.
That means we must adhere to the following:
- Governors
must be elected at the Annual meeting.
- Votes
must be cast by members (unit owners) or by their designated
proxies.
What the By-Laws do not define is how a written
proxy is to be designed. Presently
the proxy only states that a designated individual is to represent the
unit owner at the Annual Meeting and cast votes on behalf of the unit
owner. The way to make the
system more fair and to allow the unit owner to have some control over
how the designated proxy holder casts his/her vote(s) is to have the
written proxy instruct the proxy holder how to vote.
The written proxy will then be attached to the ballot at the
Annual Meeting. During the
counting of votes, the written proxy will be compared to the ballot to
ensure that the proxy holder voted the way the member instructed him to
vote. We have included a clause on the proxy stating that the proxy is
null and void if the proxy holder does not cast his vote as instructed
to do so by the written proxy. Some
unit owners who submit written proxies may feel uncomfortable having
others know how they chose to have their votes cast.
Those people still have the choice of allowing their proxy holder
to vote as he/she sees fit. However,
we strongly encourage unit owners to instruct their proxy holders, in
writing, how they want their votes cast.
This modified
proxy was used at the 2003
Annual Meeting. (back to
Annual Meeting page) |
