Q: Is homeowner open forum a requirement in California or just handy for everyone involved? Or, should I speak with each board member individually to ask for that time in the monthly board meetings? Or, is that only an agenda item at the yearly membership meeting? — S.L., El Centro.

A: An open forum opportunity is required by Civil Code Section 4925 in all open board meetings and in membership meetings. This is mandatory. The board “shall” establish a reasonable time limit for members to speak.

A common limit is 3 minutes per speaker, with many boards allocating up to 30 minutes for the open forum session portion of the meeting. It’s also a good idea to establish some reasonable open forum policies so attendees know what is expected.

Open forum is not only required but is a valuable opportunity for boards to hear from their members; their neighbors. It’s an important aspect of healthy HOA governance, showing that members are heard.

Q: I learned that our board authorized themselves to approve non-emergency expenses up to a stated amount between meetings if two or more directors agree to it. Isn’t this a violation of the Open Meeting Act? There have been items such as holiday lighting that never appeared on the agenda or reflected in minutes due to this self-imposed power. — L.C., Anaheim Hills.

A: The board should avoid granting directors blanket authority to spend funds outside of official board meetings. If the board does so, then decisions are being made outside of board meetings. Corporations Code Section 7210 allows the board to delegate certain activities to the manager, a committee, or other persons but the board still must ultimately be in control.

So, at minimum those decisions should be disclosed and ratified by the board in its next open meeting. I suspect many of your neighbors may agree with you that your board’s current practice is not transparent. I can understand the practice if your HOA does not have a professional manager, but otherwise I think it’s a bad idea.

Q: Our HOA board members have discussions and decide who will serve as president, VP, etc prior to a board meeting.  This occurs annually in preparation for the new term and in some cases, before the election of board members and/or after the election of board members but before their first meeting.  Should these discussions and decisions be part of the open meeting and should these discussions and decisions occur outside of board meetings? — L.O., Nipomo

A: The selection of officers is not a topic permitted for executive session under Civil Code Section 4935(a). Some boards mistakenly refer to officer discussions as “personnel” (one of the few topics allowed to be handled in closed sessions) but “personnel” refers to HOA employees. Officer appointments are decisions of the board and must be made in open session.

A common mistake after annual meetings is to forget to announce four days before that after the election there will be a short board meeting to elect officers. If the board does not wish to have a meeting (with agenda notice and open forum opportunity) right after the membership meeting, then it should hold off on electing officers until its next announced meeting.

Richardson, Esq. is a fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and partner of Richardson Ober LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit column questions to kelly@roattorneys.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com.