Welcome to Ungated

This year, CAI has created a new regional manager conference program designed to provide a forum for managers at all stages of their careers.  The Southwest Regional Conference is coming to Phoenix/Scottsdale on September 29th and 30th with programming that has been specifically selected to meet the needs of managers in Arizona, California, Nevada and the rest of the southwest.

Even better, due to the outstanding generosity of our platinum partners, we have reduced the price of attendance by $100 for the first 100 attendees.  With sessions addressing a wide variety of topics including leadership, human resources, effective meetings, and transition management, the conference promises to be a wealth of information.

Managers in the Southeast haven't been forgotten either.  Our Florida Regional Conference has been designed to meeting the needs of managers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and other southeastern states.  Coming to Orlando on November 9th and 10th, the conference will address a wide variety of topics including disaster planning, insurance issues, managing "green", and mediation tools and techniques.  Southeast managers are also eligible for the reduced registration rate courtesy of our platinum partners.

Not in the southwest or southeast?  Look for a regional manager conference coming your way next year.

Thanks again to our platinum partners for their outstanding generosity in supporting these events.

AssociationVoice

Banco Popular

Community Association Banc

Merlin Law Group

SenEarthCo

U.S. Bank

Making and Enforcing the Rules Fairly

Rules are part of the contract between each homeowner in a community and their neighbors.  The Board's responsibility it to interpret and apply the rules fairly and reasonably.  In most cases, conflicts over rules come in one of two varieties.  First, there are those individuals who don't believe that the rules should apply to them, but should apply to everyone else.  Second, there are those boards and communities who apply the rules inconsistently, creating confusion and hard feelings.

A final challenge is the changing nature of the community.  As communities change over time the rules need to be regularly reviewed and revised.  For example, what started out as a community of young families can become more empty-nest oriented in a few short years.

Some helpful hints on enforcing the rules:

71. Give residents a voice when creating a rule.

72. Make rules specific and reasonable.

73. Communicate the rules.

74. Review the rules - new ones may be needed, old ones may need to be discarded.

75. Make the first contact with violators informal, if possible.

76. Never "look the other way".

77. Offer compromises.

78. Hold a hearing.

79. Try arbitration or mediation if things get tough.

80. Hold public meetings on divisive rules.

CAI has several publications that can help with assessing, changing, and enforcing your rules.

Be Reasonable: How Community Associations Can Enforce Rules Without Antagonizing Residents, Going to Court or Starting World War III.

Reinventing the Rules: A Step-By-Step Guide for Being Reasonable

Drafting Rules How Community Associations Maintain Peace & Harmony

I am proud to announce that as of August 31, 2006 CAI has broken the 28,000 member level - 28,074 to be exact.  Since our restructuring of membership in July 2005, we have increased overall CAI membership by more than 10%. 

This growth reflects the continued robustness of our industry, the increased need for education among volunteer board members responsible for ever more complex associations, and the recognition of the profession of community management as a unique, challenging, and rewarding field.

A special thanks to all our Recruiter Club members, who are responsible for many of the new members joining CAI.

CAI and NBC-CAM, along with many other organizations, have partnered with the Department of Homeland Security to promote National Preparedness Month.  As we have all learned too well over the past several years, no part of the country is immune from unexpected disaster - whether natural or man-made.  As we recall the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the fifth anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, it is clear that every community and every family needs to think about and plan for the unexpected.

It can be a simple as a family emergency contact plan to locate loved ones in time of crisis, to as detailed as a community-wide disaster response plan integrated with city and county resources, but it is imperative that we all plan and prepare for the worst-case. 

As the number and size of community associations across the country continues to grow, it is important that preparedness become a required component of an effectively managed community.  If you haven't already done so, now is the time to have a conversation with your community, your board, and your manager about how well prepared your community is and to ask what you can do to be part of the solution.