November 2018 Newsletter

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The President's Message November 2018 C O N N E C T I O N South Florida's Community Association Publication serving Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties. Board of Directors 1st Vice- President - Mary Molina-Macfie 2nd Vice -President - Toby Feuer Treasurer - Alex Leonardo Secretary - Catherine Evanoff Director - Jill Aronofsky Director - Theresa Sortino Director - John Perrini Director - Ann Zucker Director - Alison Kallman Director - Joanne Sterner Marketing Manager - Luis Alicea Legislative Liason Michael S. Bender, Esq. Kaye Bender Rembaum Lisa Magill, Esq. Kaye Bender Rembaum Corporate Council Steven J. Weinberg, Esq. Frank, Weinberg and Black 23 Dear Broward Coalition Members, When you look up the definition of Thanksgiving in the dictionary it reads in part " the expression of gratitude". I would like to take this time to express my gratitude. Thank you to all my colleagues on the Board of Directors of The Broward Coalition. Thank you for all the hard work do you on monthly basis. Thank you to all our Vendors that support us every month whether by hosting a monthly meeting, advertising on our newsletter or just being a Corporate Member. My biggest Thank you will go out to you, our Members without you we wouldn’t be the largest Community Association Organization in Broward County. We are all Thankful for something. Whether it's our Families, a loved one, a new job or being newly retired. Let's not wait till the 4th Thursday of November to express our gratitude. Sometimes a simple Thank you to those that are around you all the time makes all the difference. I'll leave you with this quote by Melody Beattie about Gratitude. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Warmest Regards, Mary Molina-Macfie 1st Vice-President
ELECTIONS DO’S AND DON’TS By Matthew Goode, Esq. Hollander, Goode & Lopez, PA Election season is upon us again for Condominium Associations across Florida. Before anyone begins sending out notices and ballots, it would be wise to brush up on the condominium election law, as a strict procedure must be followed. Failure to follow the proper procedure can void an election so read this article carefully and contact your Association attorney to avoid having to redo your election. The first step should be for the Association to determine when the Association must hold its annual meeting and election. The Association’s By-Laws generally provide a date or time that the Association must hold its annual meeting. Oftentimes, it will state something to the effect that the election is to be held on “The third Thursday in January each year.” If the By-Laws specify a certain date, then that date must be used for the annual meeting and election. Alternatively, the By-Laws may give discretion for the Board of Directors to determine the date, time, and location of the annual meeting. If so, the Association must generally hold their annual meeting no later than 13 months after the last annual meeting and election. It is important to determine the proper date to hold annual meetings as all deadlines are calculated from this date. Florida Statute 718.112 and Florida Administrative Code 61B-23.0021 require that the first notice of the date of the election must be mailed, hand delivered, or electronically transmitted to those who have provided consent, not less than 60 days before a scheduled election. The first notice must also set forth the manner in which a unit owner can submit their name to candidacy for the Board. A unit owner or other eligible person desiring to be a candidate for the board of administration must give written notice to the association not less than 40 days before a scheduled election. Notice is effective when received by the Association and can be sent by certified mail, person delivery, regular US mail, facsimile or other method of delivery to the Association. Candidates must be eligible to serve on the Board on the deadline of the notice of intent to run (40 days before the election). A person suspended or removed by the dvisiion under the Condominium Act, who is delinquent in the payment of any monetary obligation, or who has been convicted of a felony and whose civil rights have not been restored for at least 5 years are not eligible for Board Membership. The Association’s By-Laws may also impose an additional requirement that all directors must be Unit Owners or members of the Association. The Condominium Act was recently amended precluding a board member from serving more than eight consecutive years unless approved by an affirmative vote of unit owners representing two-thirds of all votes cast in the election or unless there are not enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board at the time of the vacancy. Since the recent amendment only applies to service on the Board, a unit owner who has served more than 8 years may still run for the Board. Candidates also have the right to require the Association to mail a candidate information sheet which does not exceed an 8 ½ X 11 piece of paper. The Association may not modify this candidate information sheet, however, the unit owner is responsible for all content that is included in the candidate information sheet. This information sheet must be provided to the Association not later than 35 days before the election. Once the Associaiton has a slated list of candidates, it must determine if an election is necessary and prepare a ballot. If there are more open spaces on the Board then there are candidates, no election is necessary and those members shall automatically take the positions at the annual meeting. If there are more candidates then open spots on the board, 3 then the Associaiton must prepare a ballot of the eligible candidates in alphabetical order by surname. The ballot may not list incumbents and may not contain any signature lines or request unit information which can void the secrecy of the ballot. The association must then mail or deliver a second notice and ballots not less than 14 days and no more than 34 days prior to the election. The second notice and accompanying documents shall not contain any communication by the board that endorses, disapproves, or otherwise comments on any candidate. Accompanying the ballot must be an outer envelope and a smaller inner blank “ballot” envelope in which the ballot shall be placed. The exterior of the outer envelope shall contain a space for the owner to indicate the name of the voter, and the unit or unit numbers being voted, and shall contain a signature space for the voter. Any exterior ballot that is not signed by an authorized voting member of the Association shall be deemed “Disregarded” and shall not count in any election. On the night of the election, no quorum of the membership is required by the Condominium Act to have an election. However, at least 20% of the units must cast a ballot for the election to proceed. The exterior envelopes must be checked against the Association’s roster of eligible voters. Once all of the exterior envelopes are checked, they may be opened and separated from the interior ballot envelopes to preserve the secrecy of the ballots. The Association then tabulates the ballots. The Association may wish to have an election monitor present on the night of the meeting. Elections are required to be completed and ballots counted by an impartial committee. This means that the election must not be conducted by current board members, officers, or candidates for board. However, this does not always occur. Unit owners are often wary that the election procedure is not neutral, fair, and open. Our Firm has heard complaints where the election committee will take voting ballots to a closed room for counting. Ensure that the votes are counted publicly to ensure that votes are not destroyed or not counted. If you suspect that there could be impropriety with a condominium association election, the Florida of Condominiums Ombudsman’s office can appoint a monitor to act as a neutral party to conduct the election and ensure the proper procedures are followed on the night of the meeting. Contact the Florida Condominium Ombudsman and request a Petition Form for the appointment of an election monitor. Mail a completed petition to the Ombudsman with the signatures of 15% of the unit owners or 6 unit owners, whichever amount is greater, and other pertinent information such as time, date, place, number of directors to be elected, units and name of the association. An election monitor will then be appointed to conduct the Association’s election and ensure the correct procedures are followed on the night of the election. After completion of the election, all election records including the exterior envelopes, ballots, notices, and all other election documents must be maintained as part of the Association’s official records for at least one year. Matthew Goode, Esq. works at the law firm of Hollander, Goode & Lopez, PA that is a full service community association law firm. The Firm is located at 314 South Federal Highway, Dania Beach, FL 33004. If you wish to contact the Firm to inquire about representation or its upcoming Association classes, please contact them by telephone at 954-523-3888 or by email at Contact@HGL-Law.com.
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Page 5 and 6: Updated Methods for Preserving Asso
Page 7 and 8: Trust is more than just a word. let

November 2018 Newsletter

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