By Robert Holloway
The Commission for Common-Interest Communities is a five-member body, appointed by the governor, that acts in an advisory capacity to the Division, adopts regulations, and conducts disciplinary hearings. This commission is a relatively new addition to the already substantial group of state officials having responsibility to sort out and try to contain the frequent disputes arising in homeowner associations. The state cannot quite keep up with the large number of disputes that associations produce.
As of June, 2007, the commissioners are Michael Buckley, Shari O'Donnell, Karen Brigg, Diane Radunz and Marilyn Brainard. Three of the five members are designated as representing three of the major groups having an interest in HOA affairs. For example, Shari O'Donnell is designated as the Developer Representative, Karen Brigg is designated as the Management Representative and Marilyn Brainard is designated as the Homeowner Representative. Then the other two, Michael Buckley and Diane Radunz are designated as the Chairman and Certified Public Accountant, respectively. So much for theory. In practice the association management industry dominates the commission with four out of the five commissioners having backgrounds in HOA management. At least three of the five commissioners have ties with the Community Association Institute, an organization that often opposes laws intended to reduce the power of abusive boards and community managers. After studying the situation for several months, I have come to believe that the Community Association Institute is a major reason for the strife in homeowner associations.
Along these lines, it is worth noting that Marilyn Brainard is listed as a "Homeowner Representative". Undoubtedly, she does own a home in an association but she has been a board member of Community Association Institute (and perhaps still is a board member) and is likely to do a better job representing the management industry than homeowners. Make no mistake about it, the management industry gives their industry a higher priority than they do the rights of homeowners. As a general rule, in their everyday work, management companies represent only the boards and not individual homeowners. Apparently whoever thought of the idea to designate certain people as representatives of special interest groups did not see the idea carried out as intended. The idea that seats on the board are divided among various groups is a farce. I don't think that this means necessarily that the board cannot be impartial and objective but it certainly does not look good and gives the impression at least that the management industry controls the board. This control by those with property management backgrounds is probably not good for the overall health of the HOA system. Note that the management industry is doubly represented on the commission because they have both the seat designated for the management industry as well as Marilyn Brainard's seat, which is the seat supposedly designated for homeowners. I think the public interest would be better served by having that seat occupied by someone who has not made a career in working in the HOA management industry.
There is a quote below from the website of the Nevada chapter of the Community Associations Institute commenting on the appointment of Ms. Brainard to the commission. Note that the quote gives some lip service to the notion that Ms. Brainard is taking the seat designated for homeowners but prominently mentions her dedication to the community association industry. Which interest group do you think she will represent best, homeowners or the HOA industry?
"At the November 14 meeting of the Common Interest Community Commission (CICC), former LAC member Marilyn Brainard was seated for her three-year term on the Commission. Knowing Marilyn’s dedication to the community association industry and her passion for representing the view of homeowners, we know that she will be a great addition to the CICC and we look forward to watching her in action."
The above text is from this link: http://www.cai-nevada.org/April-Legislative-Update~63184~10332.htm