Board members having coffee might be considered a meeting

Q: I am an avid reader of your column and appreciate all the answers you give. I have two questions that are not addressed in my community's rules and regulations.

First, if three members of a five-member board, or two of a three-member board, get together over coffee and discuss homeowner association matters, is it considered a "meeting?" If, yes, would all HOA members have to be informed and invited? In other words, is that an illegal meeting?

Second, if parking violations are covered in our rules and regulations, can they be amended by the board, or does it require a vote of the association members?

A: Changes to rules and regulations do not require the vote of the membership. Boards have the authority to change them, but membership needs to be notified of the proposed changes on a meeting agenda.

Open meeting laws do not apply to associations. Nevada Revised Statutes (116.3108) require the membership be notified of meetings to be held by the board of directors. Under subsection 12, an exception under the definition of "emergency" meetings provides for times when it is impractical to have a meeting. That would pertain to a maintenance emergency that requires the immediate attention and possible action by the board. It would also include a decision on a short sale. Emergency situations would be considered anything that could not have been reasonably foreseen and could affect the health, welfare and safety of the unit owners or residents of the community,

The law does not explicitly address the issue of board members meeting over coffee and discussing association matters. The Nevada Real Estate Division has a position paper on the issue that basically states three directors can constitute a meeting. The division would review any complaints on a case-by-case basis.

Q: Your work is very much appreciated. My question is this: Recently a board member was asked whether he had a conflict of interest regarding employment with an entity of our community. Instead of answering yes or no, he chose theatrics ala Newt Gingrich, and skirted the question by saying it is nobody's business. How are we to proceed because we will have enormous amounts of negotiations to go through with that entity.

A: According to NRS 116.31084, a board member who stands to gain any personal profit or compensation shall disclose the matter to the board and abstain from voting on that matter.

Q: I am in the final stages of closing on a home that is in a community-governed homeowners association. My assessments will be $85 monthly. Initially, I was told that my water and sewer bill would be paid by the HOA. But I double-checked with the city of North Las Vegas, and staffers there were adamant that there was no master meter in my community, and that everyone on my street was paying their own water bills. They said I needed to call them after I closed escrow to start my service.

So I went back to the HOA with that information, and they checked with the accounting department. The HOA accounting office said they did pay water and sewer. I called and talked to the accounting department and was told the community did not pay water and sewer. So the city was correct and I was a bit upset at being misled.

But that's not the brunt of my issue. The issue I have is that I have the resale package from the HOA. In it, there is a budget of 30,000 a year. I checked with my Realtor, and she said there is no way it could be that much. The material also states that the HOA pays the water and sewer bills.

So I have given all that information to the property manager and politely asked for a logical explanation. I have done so via phone and over emails during the course of the past two weeks. At first I got the standard response of "I'll have to check into it."

Now, I am not getting any responses at all.

I am a persistent person, and I think my question is valid and warrants a logical explanation. Where is that $30,000 going if it's not paying the water and sewer bills? This is a small community of about 90 homes.

A: This should not be a brain-teaser. The community manager should know whether the association pays for water and sewer. If there is some reason why the manager does not know, he or she needs to make a simple call to the city and give them the appropriate account number on the association's billing statement in order to obtain the answer to your question. The city of North Las Vegas does combine water and sewer on one monthly billing statement. So it is conceivable that an association could be paying $30,000 a year for water and sewer in a condominium community.

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. To ask her a question, email support@hlrealty.com.