The number of embezzlements by HOA officers is almost laughable. I’d say unbelievable but that’s not the right word. Greed is part of the human condition and has been around since Cain and Able.
Still, you’d think that some embezzlers would feel a little bit guilty.
Enter Elizabeth Mills Wilson, treasurer of the Manor at Harmon Lake Homeowners Association in Forsyth County. Now I’m not saying she’s guilty. That’ll be determined by a jury, or by a guilty plea. Her Sheriff’s booking photo makes her look a little bit arrogant.
But then, you’d have to be a little arrogant to steal $40,000 from your neighbors. A judge will give her a suspended sentence and maybe a tongue lashing. What this country really needs is some real lashings!
“HOA constitutionality will cause the collapse of CAI”
Such statements made in court filings are astonishing! It is a complete refutation and about face to CAI’s propaganda material made for public consumption. It repudiates our democratic system of government and the US Constitution!
What would cause CAI to argue such statements without merit before a state supreme court? Maybe because CAI knows that if HOA constitutionality is accepted and HOAs are seen as state actors or made to become state entities, it would no longer control and dominate the industry. All would be lost!
HOAs would not be lost as CAI has argued from time to time. CAI would be lost! It would have to rethink its public policies, its Best Practices, its training seminars, etc. It would need to include such courses, which are not and never have been in the CAI vocabulary, understanding the Constitution and Bill of Rights, good local government, best city management practices, etc.
Great news! The Supreme Court of NJ did right by the First Amendment, upholding free speech rights for residents of HOAs, Condos, and Co-ops in the state.
It took six long years, and the determination of resident of Mediterranean South, Robert Dublirer, a semi-retired, former criminal prosecutor from NY.
Dublirer was a critic of the former condo Board, and in 2008, contemplated running for a seat on the Board. However, the Board at the time prohibited him from placing campaign leaflets under the doors of residents, so Dublirer sued the Association for violating his rights to free political speech.
The Supreme Court’s finding sets the records straight: First Amendment free speech residents in HOA, Condo, or Co-op in NJ must be upheld, and cannot be unduly limited by the Board. Constitutional free speech protections trump CC&Rs and Rules barring solicitation of residents, when such speech goes to the heart of democratic process of engaging in political discourse.
Kudos to Frank Askin, Rutgers School of Law professor who filed an amicus brief on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
Thanks to the NJ Supreme Court’s unanimous decision upholding the state’s Constitutional rights in Common Interest Communities, the tide of decades of injustice is finally turning.
In complaining the other night about health problems, age problems and computer problems, I completely forgot the main point of bringing all of this up in the same post. It was a way of directing you to one of the funniest commentaries on old age that I’ve ever seen. It was a speech to the Conference on Aging done by a well known California weatherman.
You may end up with some laughter-related medical problems of your own.
In 2011 a friend of mine sent me a news report about 3-year-old Cooper Veloudis who has cerebral palsy. Cooper’s therapist suggested that a playhouse be built in the backyard of the family’s home. The playhouse cost about $5000.
However, the Andover Forest Homeowners Association in Lexington, Kentucky, said little Cooper’s house had to go because the HOA says it’s a structure and is prohibited. Cooper’s parents were fined $50 a day until they complied. What the HOA didn’t say is that there are other such structures in the same development. But nobody seemed to really care about those.
This story literally kept me up at night thinking that little Cooper was basically being foreclosed upon by the HOA. Where were the folks down at Fair Housing or the Americans with Disabilities Act people? Couldn’t anyone have stepped up to the plate and defended this little tykes therapy house?
As usual, the Homeowners Association won, and little Cooper’s playhouse was ‘foreclosed’ upon by the big, bad and powerful HOA. Somehow, this story still haunts me like the Ghost of Christmas Past, but also reminds me to be a little more understanding with the children in my own HOA community.
I sure hope I’m not the only one who’s haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Past. In time, just like in the Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, each board member and the pond-scum attorneys who represented Andover Forest Homeowners Association deserves a visit from one of Dicken’s ghosts.
If you are going to watch the news report linked below, you might want to have a Kleenex handy. I sure needed one.
