A.R.S. §33-1804 addresses Open Meetings and Exceptions. It was written to encourage transparency within HOAs. But here’s the catch. The boards want secrecy and they’ll meet in an underground bunker when they need to. They’ll also close meetings mid-session with “we’re going into an Executive Session” which is your cue to leave. IF you read the follow-up meeting minutes you might catch them finishing the ES and returning to an open meeting. Keep copies of agendas, and verify when that closed secret session was scheduled and announced.
How do you know if Executive Sessions are more frequent? Go back and review meeting minutes before you started to attend and after. I suspect that before a Member sat in on the meetings there were virtually no ES's; once a member attends this is the boards proficient way to remove you.
The board must be clear about why they are closing the Open Meeting. And, it must be noticed that they intend to have a closed session. Sure they make use of the loophole; A.R.S. §33-1804 (A3). A3 starts with “Personal, health or financial information about an individual member of the association”. As a Member it’s impossible to know whether they are misusing this. If you bring it to their attention they'll become defensive, angry and might answer "Typo, we meant to remove (A3) when we were holding the ES for another reason". In other words, they and the MC can be very slippery about secret meetings.
Find out what's happening in Tucsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
With the internet chatter, it’s clear Members want to learn about the inner workings of their board. If the open meeting is to take attendance, read a financial opinion from the Treasurer and approve minutes, a Member won't learn much. You must learn to dig. If you are an interested party and challenge the board you are not wanted, period. Many Members fail to understand they can audio and videotape meetings. You can capture Cruella de Vil screaming at you on tape! And, further you can post it on YouTube and should. Know the board will go out of their way to make the meeting as inconvenient as possible, ie: meetings held during the day when working people can’t attend and the meeting may be held 20 miles from your community center. Do yourself a favor. Start snooping and keep it up until you find the underground bunker; it's there!
If you have suffered HOA abuse, please contact HOATruth.com. Dennis Legere is the principal advocate. And, you can reach me at EarsUp@iCloud.com. Full disclosure, we are not attorneys. We just don't like bullies.