Page 24 - CooperatorNews New Jersey Expo 2021

24 COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY —EXPO 2021 NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM 24/7 ACCESS Life can be unpredictable. You can count on us to be there for you, ensuring things happen promptly and efficiently, always with the objective of getting your life and business back to normal as quickly as possible. Our goal is to have your insurance information available at your fingertips. MACKOUL RISK SOLUTIONS | WWW.MACKOUL.COM | (866) MACKOUL | INFO@MACKOUL.COM CLIENT PORTAL Use our client portal to view your policies, request insurance cards, report a claim, pay a bill or print a certificate. MOBILE APP Our app allows you to report a claim while on site, access your client portal, chat with our staff or pay a bill, on the go! TO EVERYTHING YOU NEED WEBINARS Free online and customized classes for new & experienced board members. place of mutual respect,” says Teresa Vig- giano, community manager of the Riviera ing that maintenance or common charges at East Windsor HOA in Cranbury. “Ev- eryone must afford each other the oppor- tunity to be heard and to voice their opin- ion. After all, they are operating an often just if necessary to best address the condi- multi-million-dollar business.” “I think that the key to harmony on a presented. This does not necessarily mean board is that its members have the ability abandoning wholesale the positions they to agree to disagree,” says Tina Straits, vice espoused when running for the board, or president and general manager of Baum their deeply-held views about how best to Property Management in Aurora, Illinois. manage the building. But it does mean be- “Any one group of people is not going to ing open to consider a variety of possible reach a consensus on every issue. Where options. there is disagreement, it is vitally impor- tant that board members listen respect- fully to each other and understand that perts regarding matters within those ex- having a difference of opinion is nothing perts’ fields. Few board members—even to take personally.” Communication—and the ability to details of the many subjects with which calmly articulate why one board member they must deal. That’s why boards retain may disagree with one or other persons— is critical. “Some disputes are caused by aging agents, and why successful boards a lack of understanding among board have different members with construction, members as to the regulation and opera- tion of the as- sociation and the function of the board, which can be due to the in- experience of some of the directors,” ex- plains Eliza- beth A. Bowen, a shareholder with Flor- ida-based law firm Siegfried Rivera. “To this end, a good management company with the ability to effectively communi- cate with a board regarding the needs of the association is important. “Truth be told,” Bowen continues, “some board members assume their posi- tion with aspirations of control and world domination—even if that world only consists of the association. Those board members are potentially the most diffi- cult personalities to incorporate into what should be a ‘team.’ It is important for the members of the board to be reminded that their function is to effectuate the adminis- tration and governance of the association pursuant to their best business judgment. Sometimes that purpose gets lost if direc- tors come with personal agendas. Many times, association general counsel can act as an experienced ‘voice of reason’ and assist the board in attempting to move through its difficulties to keep the corpo- ration moving forward.” “In a harmonious board, members are genuinely committed to either supporting or opposing matters that come to them based on whether or not those matters are in the best interests of the building and its residents,” adds attorney Michael E. Fleiss, a partner at Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas, LLP, a law firm in New York City. “Also, the members are free of hardline or absolutist positions when it comes to the building and building-relat- ed issues. For example, instead of insist- must never be increased, or that the lobby must be renovated before any other proj- ect is undertaken, they are willing to ad- tions and situations with which they are “Finally,” Fleiss continues, “effective board members respect the views of ex- long-serving ones—can master all of the architects, accountants, lawyers, and man- financial, and legal backgrounds. Harmo- nious boards give ap- propriate weight to the expert opinions of their members and of the professionals they hire.” Fighting Toward Consensus While some mi- nor conflict can be allowed to simply blow over, some intra- board squabbles are not likely to fix them- selves without some kind of intervention. In these instances, members who find themselves outside the conflict—or even third parties—may need to insert them- selves into the melee in order to guide it to a reasonable solution. It’s important to handle matters in- ternally before they spill out and create issues among the broader association. “Generally, there is an odd number of members on a board so that when a vote needs to be taken, the board can move forward” without being stuck with a tied vote, notes Robin B. Steiner, president of RMR Residential Realty, LLC, in Elms- ford, New York. “But, while it shouldn’t happen, sometimes the losing side of a vote will express their disdain for the de- cision to the community at large, and, all of a sudden, gossip is circulating at break- neck speed.” “Occasionally, board members can’t see the big picture due to their percep- tion of certain people and will be unable to make rational decisions,” adds Edie Da- vis, senior property manager with Maine Properties in Scarborough, Maine. “On the rare occasion that a vote reaches a stalemate, I have had mediators come in to resolve conflicts.” “Harmony on a board comes from a place of mutual respect.” —Teresa Viggiano MANAGING BOARD... continued from page 1 See us at Booth 320 See us at Booth 620