CONTROLLING THE CONDO COMMANDO
One of the main goals of an Association is to run it like a business, but make it feel like a community. Every community has at least one Condo Commando, and some communities seem to attract more than their fair share.
A Condo Commando is an expert at criticizing, pinpointing errors of others, demands change, but rarely devotes the time or energy to create “positive” change. They may mean well, but never funnel those good intentions into constructive effort.
A Condo Commando seems to live for the Association meetings, and creates an atmosphere of chaos. They will raise parliamentary issues, and make allegations of non-compliance in the Documents or laws. They will attack the Board’s personal integrity, and make allegation of conflict of interest.
This is one of the reasons we find it so difficult to get good people to volunteer to serve as Directors. I often remind owners that they may not agree with the Board, but remember they are volunteers and neighbors. You may disagree on an issue, but disagree with civility.
Boards need to remind all owners that while Board Meetings by law must be open, the meeting is for the Board to conduct the business of the Association, not a forum for the Condo Commandos to attack the Board. Condo Commandos are not entitled to interrupt by speaking out of turn and/or raising irrelevant issues.
Solution: The Board needs to set up a policy on when and how long it will listen to owners’ comments, but must also be consistent to the policy, not just the Condo Commandos. At the beginning of every meeting, the President should go over the ground rules on how the meeting is to be conducted. Many Boards schedule a few minutes before or after for owners to express their opinions. Some Boards require all questions or comments to be in writing prior to the start of the meeting. Sometimes it is useful to have a Special Meeting for open forum. These rules help the Boards run productive meetings stick to the agenda and discourage aimless or spontaneous speeches from owners.
Don’t be baited into trading insults with the Condo Commando. Let them make a fool out of themselves, and don’t get in the gutter to fight which is sometimes hard. Ask for the silent majority support. If you have to, you can correct the “record” after the meeting. Remember, the Condo Commandos thrive on hostility and confrontation.
One of the best ways to control the Condo Commandos is for the Board to use the parliamentary procedure. A good working knowledge of parliamentary authority can mean the difference between paralysis and efficiency.
By Steve Inglis, PCAM
