Common Mistakes HOAs Make When Setting Up Committees

Most HOA boards work with committees of homeowners to achieve certain goals. There might be a social or an events committee, a landscape committee, a social media committee, and more. Every HOA can tailor their committees to work for them, so they are maximally effective at running their community.

However, it’s not enough to just set up a committee. Instead, the board needs to do a few more things in order to make the most out of every homeowner’s involvement. Here are some of the most common mistakes made with committees in an HOA and how to avoid these issues.

They Make the Guidelines Unclear

Every committee needs clear guidelines. The clearer they are, the better the committee will be able to help the board and fulfill their function. For instance, the board can set up a social committee and tell them to “Plan events.” However, the committee will be more effective if their instructions are something like, “Plan one community event every quarter with a budget of $X per event.”

Clear guidelines set people up to succeed, rather than to fail. They tell people exactly what is expected of them and what they can expect as far as help or oversight.

They Leave the Committee Without Oversight

Speaking of oversight, every committee needs some sort of oversight from the HOA board. This can be as simple as checking in with a board member once a month or once a quarter, or it can involve having a board member on the committee or present for meetings. Committees can also be asked to submit regular, written reports detailing their activities, and the board can put a dollar amount on the decisions that they can make without full board approval.

Every decision that a committee makes is, ultimately, the responsibility of the board. If the committee makes a major mistake that affects the entire community, the board will have to answer for that. It’s better for the board to put effort into overseeing their committees before something like that happens.

They Use Committees to Get Rid of Troublemakers

When there’s one person, or a small group of people, who regularly and repeatedly bring up the same issues over and over again, one solution is to tell them that they can be or form the neighborhood’s official committee on that topic. While this may get rid of the problem for a while, it can create bigger problems in the future.

For one thing, these people may make decisions that are opposed to what the board wants or to the good of the community. They may also spend more money than is in the budget if it achieves their goals. While involving people in community government is always good, sending dissenters off on their own to make decisions may not be the best policy.

Get Help For Your Committees Today

If your HOA board needs some help forming and guiding committees, contact us at Advanced Management Inc today. We’ll help you get the most out of every committee you have in your association!

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