How to Achieve Quorum for Annual Meetings

NOVEMBER 2022 | 21

By Kara Permisohn

Kara has worked in business development for Minkoff Company, Inc. since 2004. She is a past president of the Chesapeake Region Chapter of CAI (CRCCAI), has served on both WMCCAI and CRCCAI Boards of Directors, and is active on committees in both chapters. reception, or mixer will be held after the

meeting. Free food and beverages spark people’s attention! One community I know even does a raffle where one gift card drawn for those in person and a smaller gift card is drawn for those via proxy.

Promotion of the meeting date, time, and agenda in community communications such as emails, text messages, social media and websites mailings, and posters in common areas like bulletin boards or mail rooms might also be effective. Be sure to follow the association rules. For example, if your community doesn’t allow for items to be hung on walls or doors then using something like a hang tag might be more effective to target each house or unit. Committees such as governance or the social committee can be very helpful. Word of mouth is often the best way to recruit members to attend. They can also canvas the community to disseminate information about the meeting. Word of mouth is often the most persuasive. The easier you make it for homeowners to access the voting process or attend a meeting the better your turnout will be.

Fall and winter are typically the season for Annual Meetings in Communities. These often include large budget items and votes for major decisions as well as the election of directors. Most communities have rules written in their documents pertaining to what number or percentage of members are required to make quorum.

If the governing documents are silent on the quorum requirement, you should review the applicable statutes that govern the community for default quorum provisions. With condominiums, it’s important to consider if the units carry weighted votes or if each unit has an equal vote. Furthermore, depending on the dollar amount of a project or nature of the item up for vote, different quorum percentages might be required and if quorum isn’t met at a particular meeting, the governing documents may allow for a reduced quorum at the succeeding meeting.

Every community can be different so it’s extremely important to review the governing documents and market the needs to the community well in advance. Keep in mind that some owners might be remote from a second home or even deployed overseas. With technology there’s no reason they shouldn’t submit their votes to help make quorum. Allowing the members to appoint a proxy or use an absentee ballot can be a useful tool to obtain quorum. A proxy is someone the member designates to act on their behalf when they cannot attend the meeting in person. Be sure to review the governing documents and applicable statues for any restrictions regarding who can serve as a proxy and other requirements necessary for a valid appointment. An absentee ballot negates the need for a proxy and many jurisdictions provide that a member who casts an absentee ballot for any vote is considered present at the meeting for purposes of quorum. With the virtual world we’ve become accustomed to, this is very common.

If you have common areas where people congregate such as a community center, mail room/box kiosks, fitness room, dog washing station, bike storage room, or onsite office you might consider investing in locked ballot

boxes that hold hard copies of the proxy and pens. Signage should instruct homeowners to sign a proxy and drop it in the ballot box. Keep in mind that the applicable jurisdiction may not allow the association to send notice of a meeting via electronic means without the member’s consent. So, while it might sound old fashioned, the official meeting notice may have to be mailed to the membership with courtesy or follow-up notices sent via email or posted in the common areas. Proper notice and continuous reminders will help achieve quorum at the meeting.

Sometimes making Quorum will take a little creativity and ingenuity. Consider holding the meeting partially by electronic means to help achieve higher attendance, offering a fun activity or reason to attract homeowners to attend in person or virtually.

Often a speaker with valuable information a reception, or mixer will be held after the meeting. Free food and beverages spark people’s attention! One community I know even does a raffle where one gift card drawn for those in person and a smaller gift card is drawn for those via proxy.

Promotion of the meeting date, time, and agenda in community communications such as emails, text messages, social media and websites mailings, and posters in common areas like bulletin boards or mail rooms might also be effective. Be sure to follow the association rules. For example, if your community doesn’t allow for items to be hung on walls or doors then using something like a hang tag might be more effective to target each house or unit.

Committees such as governance or the social committee can be very helpful. Word of mouth is often the best way to recruit members to attend. They can also canvas the community to disseminate information
about the meeting. Word of mouth is often the most persuasive. The easier you make it for homeowners to access the voting process or attend a meeting the better your turnout will be.

 

Retrieve on December 17, 2022 from https://www.quorum-digital.com/0cbe9145ede46a098356a2b0de14a6dc/639d4fde/pp/CAWM1122-16680336280003a2b3cf2cf-pp.pdf?lm=1668033628000