About Committee Membership
Criteria for selection of HOA Committee membership, including chair position
approved by the Board on October 20, 2020
Committee membership has functioned as a relatively informal process, with individual Committees following varying recruitment and member-approval practices. Board participation in the process has also lacked consistency. To clarify the process and provide consistency across all Committees, the following criteria were developed by Board Chair Lee Farrell and approved by the Board at the October 20th open meeting.
Board member Pete Tuana’s comment at that October 20th meeting put Committee contributions in perspective: “Creekside has worked through a lot of good people, and it will could cost more money to hire professionals to replace them if we don’t continue to attract new members to our Committees.”
The newly approved membership criteria:
1. Principles and Goals
- Encourage volunteerism.
- Help to train future volunteers through inclusion--especially important for standing and/or long-term Committees.
- Recognize relevant skills and historical knowledge.
- Apply membership criteria equally and consistently.
- Differences of opinions are acceptable, but deliberate and repeated disruption to Committee progress is not.
2. Selecting Chairs
- In all cases, the Board has the final responsibility and decision power to select Committee Chairs.
- To ensure a broader set of candidates for possible Chair appointment, an announcement should be made to solicit interested individuals from the Association before selecting a Committee Chair.
- Whenever there is an opening for a Chair position in an existing Committee, the Board should also request recommendations from the members of that Committee.
3. Selecting Members
- In all cases, the Board has the final responsibility and decision power to select Committee Members.
- Unless a majority of the Board has explicitly delegated the selection process to a Committee Chair, all volunteers will be considered by the Board. If a Chair exists for a given Committee, the Chair may interview the volunteers and provide input/recommendations to the Board on the selection process. If no Chair exists, but other Committee members do, they may interview the volunteers and provide input/recommendations to the Board.
3.1. Special Criteria for Selection
- When appropriate to the purpose of a Committee or if Committee size is a practical concern, it can be acceptable to weigh relevant skills/background/experience over willingness as a selection factor.
- If a Committee Chair has a reason or suggested criteria for limiting membership, it should be presented to the Board for their evaluation and acceptance before being applied.
4. Removing Committee Members
- In all cases, the Board has the final responsibility and decision power to remove Committee Members.
- If a majority of the Committee finds an individual member repeatedly disruptive to the progress of the Committee goals, that individual should be given a warning about their behavior. If this does not alter the behavior, then the concern should be raised to the Board for their evaluation of possible dismissal from the Committee.
5. Removing Committee Chairs
- In all cases, the Board has the final responsibility and decision power to remove Committee Chairs.
- If the Committee Members feel that a Committee Chair deserves to be sanctioned or removed from his/her position, then they should contact the Board to discuss the matter.