Board of Director term limits
The homeowners of SunBird Golf Resort will be asked to vote on amendments to the CC&Rs in January 2015. Each amendment will be voted on separately.
In order to ensure everyone has an opportunity to understand the issues, a different amendment is being addressed each month in the SunBird News. This month we will discuss term limits for our Board of Directors.
Many homeowners’ associations in the East Valley have a statement about term limits in their CC&Rs.
The pros and cons of term limits:
Encourages directors to stay in touch with the membership so they continue to serve for the benefit of all rather than rule for the good of a group of members
Allows more openness and more people to be involved in the association’s governance
Invites fresh ideas and more energetic candidates
May discount the value of trustworthy, competent and effective experience
May create a lack of continuity
Encourages the community to develop a committee system that trains new leaders in the operations of the association
1. Research on the question of term limits recommends allowing Directors to serve for a maximum of six (6) years in order to give Directors the opportunity to reach optimum effectiveness.
2. SunBird has already addressed the issue of experience and continuity by staggering the election of our seven Directors over a period of three years. So currently our two new Directors serve alongside those with two to nine years of service.
3. The value of experience must be blended with the desire for fresh voices from the membership; therefore, the proposed term limits policy simply asks a Director to step aside for one year. The Director may choose to seek re-election the following year.
4. Should the case ever arise that SunBird lacks a candidate for office we have a policy in place to appoint someone to the position for one year. The policy below allows that person to be a Director just coming off a six year term.
The Task Force has proposed the following:
4.3(A) Board of Directors Term Limits
No Director shall hold the position of Director for more than two (2) consecutive three (3) year terms. No Director, after serving two (2) consecutive three (3) year terms, may serve as a Director again until out of the position of Director for no less than one (1) year. An appointed Director who serves to fill a vacancy shall be limited to serving for no more than seven (7) consecutive years.
A yes vote means:
1. Refreshing the community’s involvement in governance, both as candidates and observers.
2. Directors who have served for six years only have to step aside for one year before seeking to serve for nine or more years.
3. In the rare case where there are not enough candidates for election, the Board would appoint a Director. This could be a former Director who recently served six years.
A no vote means:
1. Directors who wish to serve more than two consecutive terms (six years) could continue to serve for nine or more years without interruption.
2. The community should be served by the same leaders for as long as possible.
View this amendment on page nine of the Amended, Restated and Consolidated Declaration of Restrictions for SunBird Golf Resort Homeowners Association, Inc. on the website @www.sunbirdhoa.com.