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REASONABLE RULES FOR
VIDEO-TAPING?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published November 30, 2018
Florida statutes (see below) clearly allow owners to video-tape
any board or membership meeting. But, as usual, the legislature
allows the board to make “REASONABLE RULES”
regarding the taping of these meetings. And I think we all know
that people have a very different understanding of the meaning
of the word “REASONABLE.”
We all know that many board members don’t like the meetings to
be taped since they don’t like proof of what really has been
said at these meetings.
So they come up with all kinds of rules that are definitely
anything BUT reasonable.
Some examples of “rules” made up by boards or management
companies that plainly make me laugh and are definitely anything
but “reasonable.”
“Any owner who wants to video-tape the meeting has to give
written notice to the board five days in advance of the meeting.”
That’s pretty difficult since the owners only get a 48-hour
notice that a meeting will take place.
“Before video-taping the meeting the owner has to get consent
from all people present in the room.” Who are they kidding?
“After taping the meeting a copy of the tape has to be given
to the board for approval!” Yeah, right!
And the list of “UN-REASONABLE RULES” created by
board members , CAMs and attorneys goes on!
In my opinion board members who don’t like to be video-taped
surely have something to hide – and have obviously a bad
conscience they are trying to conceal by avoiding owners making
video-tapes of their misbehavior.
FS720.306(10)
RECORDING.—
Any parcel owner may tape record or videotape meetings of the
board of directors and meetings of the members. The board of
directors of the association may adopt reasonable rules
governing the taping of meetings of the board and the
membership.
FS718.112(2)(c)
Board of administration meetings.—
Meetings of the board of administration at which a quorum of the
members is present are open to all unit owners. Members of the
board of administration may use e-mail as a means of
communication but may not cast a vote on an association matter
via e-mail. A unit owner may tape record or videotape the
meetings. The right to attend such meetings includes the right
to speak at such meetings with reference to all designated
agenda items. The division shall adopt reasonable rules
governing the tape recording and videotaping of the meeting. The
association may adopt written reasonable rules governing the
frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner statements.
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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