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November 27, 2005
Transparency is usually a good thing
It pops up in the news every now and then - an owner asks to see some association records and gets stonewalled by the board or management. Yes its a pain, it takes time and costs money, but in the end, the owner always wins. Either a court orders it, or the legislature passes laws to require it, or it ends up in the news and the association looks like it has something to hide and caves as a result.
This is the information age, and people have grown to expect that they can access information about an organization that they belong to and pay money into. Telling them they can't see financials or minutes won't work anymore. You're going to have to come up with some type of reasonable policy and mechanism to provide basic information to the members of the association.
Secure web sites are the easiest and cheapest. Letting a logged-in owner browse through documents at their leisure reduces the potential for conflict. Newsletters that publish a well-edited version of the minutes and financials, as well as updates on projects and other activities is also good. In reality, the more information yu provide, the more bored they're likely to get. Its when they get told they can't see something, that suspicions arise and confrontations occur. They have a right to know what's going on and how their association is operating. Find a way to make it work.
Posted by joewest at November 27, 2005 11:07 PM