Top 10 Issues for 2010 and Beyond….
I’ve finally settled on a blog format and program so it’s time to start writing again. I thought I’d start out with a list of things I think associations are going to face in the coming year and near future. This is based simply on observations from news items I’ve seen over the past year, watching the issues grow in number and expand to other geographic areas. In my opinion, these are some of the items boards need to be looking at in order to stay of ahead of potential problems:
10) Multi-cultural Issues - More than ever before, our society consists of citizens of widely diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. Yet, community associations are often centered around keeping things the same, and the same often looks like white, middle and upper class suburbia, or gentrified urban enclaves. The documents are designed to keep things the way they are, making change a major effort. This can create problems with even the simplest of things. In Illinois, New York and Florida, a small religious item caused lawsuits and discrimination complaints – one of the bases for the complaints was that Christmas wreaths were allowed, but their religious symbol wasn’t. I wonder how many of your documents or rules have a “holiday decoration” policy that really only deals with Christmas. Associations are going to have to seriously look at their documents and policies as to whether they can be enforced fairly (and legally) among many cultures and religions.
9) Health-related Issues – smoking in and outside of units, comfort animals, handicap parking and ramps, younger caregivers in senior-only communities - all are just the tip of the iceberg heading our way as the largest part of the baby boomers head into retirement. These issues are something the media live for – the big, bad association beating up the crippled senior citizen. The demands placed on associations for health-related exceptions to the documents are only going to grow; and being pro-active and considering them now, means you may not look like an ogre on the evening news.
8) Security/Crime/Privacy- I think everyone who moves into a condo or homeowner association somehow thinks they’re more secure against crime than normal neighborhoods. While the location may have something to do with this, the fact that there is an association really doesn’t have much to do with security. To make the problem worse, lawyers understandably don’t want association to even imply they have anything to do with security, much less taken an active role in providing any. They have seen cases where associations were held liable where security was implied or in place, but a crime occured anyway. At the same time, associations can’t ignore possible security issues, i.e. if you have outdoor lighting that could be considered security lighting, then make sure they work, with little or no down time if a bulb burns out. The reason I listed this as a problem (and a growing one) has to do with the economic problems we’re now facing. As people lose jobs, more turn to crime; as states cut back budgets, criminals are let out of prisons sooner to a jobless economy. In other words, crime, especially property crime, will probably increase. The other side of that coin – associations are looking at tighter budgets and saving money. An association might decide to adjust the timers on the exterior lighting to save electricity, or put a gate at the entrance, instead of a guard – actions that could be construed as reducing not just costs, but security. The association’s responsibility for security (none, some or a lot) has to be determined and then actually carried out. One of the items some associations are turning to is security cameras. In addition to whether or not they actually provide any security (or increase your potential liability), cameras bring the whole privacy issue into the discussion. What do you think your association’s responsibilities regarding security are?
7) Media/Internet and Privacy again- raising the privacy issue in the last item allows me to segue into the question as whether or not any privacy still exists? Take a run through YouTube and you’ll see videos of board and annual meetings, most of which make some board members, and owners, look like complete idiots. Why are they there? Because someone can’t seem to find any other way of getting their point across ( or they just can’t take defeat gacefully). The internet now provides every person who lives in a community association with an outlet to vent, and the public media has discovered that community associations provide wonderful drama for all kinds of articles and news bites. Boards need to have a solid media policy which provides for who can speak to the public media, as well as how the taping of meetings should be dealt with. How should you deal with TV or newspaper stories, or web sites, or blogs, that attack your association or individuals in it? Should you have a membership directory, and if yes, what information should be included? Should the owners have the ability to opt in or opt out? Should you have a web site and what should be on it? How much should be public, how much for members-only? You get the idea….
6) Going Green- everyone wants to do right by the Earth…but not if it means someone’s skanky undies are hanging off a line attached to the house next door, or my neighbor tearing out their beautiful green lawn and putting in rocks, or the family across the street putting those ugly solar panel boxes on their roofs, etc. Associations (as an institution) are having a rough time dealing with these tree huggers. Part of the problem is that there is no comprehensive playbook giving associations an understanding of the various technologies, what’s coming down the pike, how they can be blended in to the aesthetics of the association and how to develop a comprehensive, elastic policy to deal with all of this. Instead, boards are seeing an owner here, an owner there, asking to do something everyone agrees helps the environment, but no one wants next door. However, government is listening to them and states are doing what they do - run over association documents. This is an area where I would love to see associations in geographic proximity to each other, put together a group with representatives from each, to serve as a research and testing panel for all of them. The more information that can be gathered and refined, the better the chance that boards will make good choices before they’re forced on them. To get some ideas, visit www.sustainablecreekside.org
5) Apathy/Ignorance – a perpetual, perennial, eternal problem. This has been written about, talked about, argued about until everyone just wants it to go away….did I just write that? Simply put, there is no golden fix, no absolutely sure way of getting your members involved in a positive way. You just have to keep working at it, and if something doesn’t work, try something else. Giving up is not an option.
4) Water- drought, floods, retention ponds turning green, unsafe dams, lakes needing work, slopes washing down, US Army Corps of Engineers changing flood maps, insurance or no insurance, rising water and sewer costs, and on and on….. Water is going to be a problem for every association in the world. Fold this issue into the group handling “Going Green” and see if your association can deal with all of the potential issues in a pro-active way. I’ve seen a dramatic increase in news stories about associations and local governments going head-to-head over water issues, and the liklihood of getting any help with a water issue from your local government is disappearing as budget deficits grow.
3) Infrastructure – the first major boom in the construction of community associations, especially condos, came in the ’70′s. This means many of them are now 40-50 years old. This is the age when you start to see the breakdown of the very expensive items like water and sewer lines, foundations, masonry, etc. All-too-often, there are no reserves for these items, probably because to have included them in the funding, would have caused a significant increase in assessments over the years. However, unlike our older cities, which are facing similar problems, association can’t float bonds, or spend annual fortunes doing patchwork repairs. This year I’ve seen many stories where associations were forced to adopt extraordinary special assessments, forcing some owners into foreclosure, for major structural items that should have been reserved for over the prior 40-50 years. Take a close look at your association, its reserve plan and the infrastructure, and if things are out of whack – get the fix going now.
2) Economy – I won’t re-hash the problems the economy has visited on community associations. It is and will continue to be a major problem for years to come. Even if the economy improves and delinquencies and vacant units disappear, the problems of deferred maintenance, tapped reserves, and half-built associations will linger. Continuing news stories about how bad the economy is impacting associations will make sure that their recovery is slow, as people will be wary of the economy cycling back down again and the problems affecting them.
1) Government – take items 2-10….if an owner has any problems with his/her association regarding them, or anything else for that matter….their next step is often to the media. If the media picks it up, our elected officials won’t be far behind. And, once they are involved, anything can happen. One thing you can be sure of though….it’s going to take more of the volunteer board’s time and it’s going to cost the owners more. I know there’s a need for good legislation, but the problem is that the state legislatures generally deal with community associations in a patchwork, piecemeal fashion, reacting to a specific issue, basing their proposed laws on anecdotal testimony, few hard facts and very little hard data. They also have a problem dealing with the front end of many of the problems, the development and sales period and construction defects. The Federal government (and its agencies, independent or otherwise) is getting more involved, with FHA imposing new guidelines that will cost the association a decent amount of money to deal with; discrimination and handicap issues; a Federal “Right to fly the American flag” Act which gave every owner the belief that they can fly the flag anywhere, anytime, anyhow (and has Fox News on speed dial if you try to tell them different). In addition I’m now seeing local governments taking a harder line on who’s supposed to take care of what when it comes to roads, drains, ponds, trash, and other items. Where in the past, they may have helped the association out, their budget problems are making sure they are not doing anything that someone else is supposed to do. They are no longer giving association’s a break.
That’s a lot of words for a first post. I probably should have kept the list short, and expanded on each item later. Actually, I barely touched the depth of each issue, so I’ll have plenty to write about in the future. Community associations are a never-ending source for writing about. I love ‘em.
