Should Managers Attend the Annual Financial Reporting Session?
July 2011
Should the community association’s manager be present when our CPA discusses the annual financial report with the board? Board members are divided on the question. Some think it makes no sense to exclude the manager; others think it is “inappropriate” for the manager to attend. Is there an industry protocol or standard practice that might provide some guidance for us?

Right-to-Dry
June 2011
Some of the owners in my [Rhode Island] condominium community have asked the board to allow them to place clotheslines in their back yards or on their decks – both limited common areas, where our rules prohibit outside installations of any kind. The issue has divided the board and the community and we’re trying to find a reasonable solution. Can you give us some idea of how other communities are dealing with this question? Is it true, as some owners here maintain, that most states have enacted laws requiring boards to allow outdoor clotheslines if owners want them and that the trend is for communities to eliminate rules prohibiting them?

Anonymous Balloting
May 2011
As a relatively new condominium owner, I participated recently in my first association election and was surprised to learn that our ballots must include our name and address in order to be counted. We understand that votes must be tabulated according to the percentage interest of owners, but we don¡¦t understand why this can¡¦t be accomplished through anonymous balloting. Color-coded ballots could accomplish this pretty easily. Owners could identify themselves to obtain blank ballots of the appropriate color and then vote anonymously. Board members said that process would be too complicated and too costly. The association manager got defensive and said it appears that we doubt his integrity and or ability to tabulate the ballots honesty and fairly. Not so. We just think how we vote is no one else¡¦s business, including our property manager¡¦s, and we see nothing in the condominium documents specifying how the balloting must be conducted. Are there any statutory or other requirements that would prevent the board from implementing an anonymous balloting procedure?

Associations and Flood Insurance
April 2011
My mortgage lender has told me to produce a copy of the condominium association’s flood insurance policy. Are community associations required to have this insurance? And what happens if my association doesn’t have it?

Dryer Vent Concerns
March 2011
Units in our condominium have individual washer and dryer hook-ups. In buildings with shared laundry facilities, the community association is responsible for maintenance and ensures that dryer vents are inspected and cleaned. But in our community, the board has no way of knowing if owners are maintaining their equipment – a concern for us, because clogged vents could ignite a fire. Because of this potential health and safety risk for the entire community, can the board adopt a rule requiring owners to clean their dryer vents on a specified schedule?