The Role of the Condominium Manager in Board Education
Condominium managers support boards in meeting their legal obligations by:
Providing procedural guidance on meetings, quorum, and voting structures.
Ensuring compliance with the CPA by educating boards on decision-making and documentation requirements.
Facilitating board training on governance principles and strategic decision-making.
Training Board Members on Meeting Procedures
Board members must understand the legal requirements for meetings, including:
Meeting Types & Notice Requirements:
Annual General Meetings (AGMs): Must be held once per fiscal year and provide financial statements to owners.
Special General Meetings (SGMs): Can be called for urgent issues, requiring at least 15% of unit factors to request the meeting.
Board Meetings: Regular meetings must be properly documented, and decisions recorded in meeting minutes.
Quorum Requirements:
Meetings can only proceed if a quorum (minimum required attendees) is met, as defined in the corporation’s bylaws.
Voting Procedures:
Decisions require either a majority vote or a special resolution depending on the issue.
Proxy voting is permitted if allowed by the bylaws.
Common Compliance Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Boards often fail to comply due to:
Improper Notice: Failing to provide written notice within CPA-mandated timeframes.
Bypassing Quorum Requirements: Making decisions without meeting the minimum attendance threshold.
Invalid Voting Procedures: Using informal decision-making instead of formal votes recorded in meeting minutes.
Poor Record-Keeping: Not properly documenting resolutions, which can invalidate board decisions.
Correcting Board Missteps: The Manager’s Role
Condominium managers should take the following corrective actions when boards make procedural errors:
Clarify Bylaws & CPA Rules: Regularly review and educate board members on their legal obligations.
Encourage Transparency: Ensure all notices, agendas, and meeting minutes are properly documented and accessible.
Review Decision-Making Processes: Ensure that all board decisions follow the correct procedural steps.
Provide Governance Training: Offer ongoing training sessions for new and existing board members.
Board Training Plan Development
Scenario: A New Condominium Board Needs Training
A newly elected condominium board is unfamiliar with CPA meeting procedures and has already made decisions without properly recording them.
Task:
Create a short educational session outline that covers:
Meeting types and procedural requirements under the CPA.
Voting and resolution procedures to ensure compliance.
Best practices for record-keeping and decision-making transparency
