Serving on a board is a volunteer job with real legal duties. These resources are the ones we hand every new board at orientation.
Ohio law, Kentucky law and your governing documents give the board authority over the association’s finances, common property and rules, and with that authority comes a duty of care, a duty of loyalty and a duty to act within the documents. Eclipse administers and recommends; the board decides. We prepare the agenda, the financial package and the decision materials at least three business days before each meeting so that every director can read before voting.
Every new director should have these on hand, and all of them are in the board section of the Owner Portal:
Directors receive the agenda, the management report, the financials and the decision materials at least three business days ahead, so the meeting is for deciding rather than reading. Minutes record what was decided, not everything that was said. Legal, personnel and contract negotiations belong in executive session; everything else is open to owners. Every decision that requires follow-up becomes a tracked action item with an owner and a due date, and the board can see its status at any time.
Start with the balance sheet and confirm that operating and reserve cash are where the budget said they would be. Check that the reserve contribution was made. Look at the receivables aging for the trend, not just the total, and ask about any account that has aged past the collection policy. Confirm that every payable over the approval threshold carries a board approval, and that each bank account has a signed reconciliation. If those five things are in order, the rest of the package is detail.
A reserve study tells the board what the roofs, roads, ponds and pools will cost to replace and when. Funding the reserve on schedule is the cheapest way to pay for those projects, because deferring contributions does not defer the roof. Special assessments and loans are the expensive way to catch up. We recommend an updated study at least every five years and a funding plan the board revisits every budget season.
Your association should carry a master property policy, general liability, directors and officers coverage that protects volunteers personally, and fidelity coverage for the funds the association holds. We review the declarations annually with your agent, track every renewal date so coverage never lapses, and alert the board when a change in the community or the law affects what you should carry.
When a director or a relative stands to benefit from a decision, the director discloses it, abstains, and the minutes record both. Work that needs to be bid gets a minimum of three competitive proposals where the market allows, presented side by side, so the board selects the vendor on the merits. Every owner is treated the same way under the same documents, which is the surest protection a board has.
Boards should consult the association’s attorney before amending governing documents, pursuing collection beyond the adopted policy, responding to a threat of litigation, or terminating a significant contract. Eclipse follows Ohio and Kentucky legislative updates and the client alerts of community association law firms, and we tell the board when a question needs counsel rather than guessing at the answer.
Every board we serve receives an orientation at transition that walks through the governing documents, the financial package, the portal and the decision calendar for the year ahead. After that, periodic board education sessions keep directors current on changes in the law and in the community, and new directors elected mid-term get the same orientation their colleagues had. If your board would like a session on a specific topic, from reserves to enforcement to running an annual meeting, ask your community manager and we will schedule it.
Whether your community is already with Eclipse or considering a change, we are glad to spend an hour with your board. Request a board education session or ask for a management proposal.
