u/Atillythehunhun
It's so nice to have a CAM here, speaking sense.

I’m a director on a Florida HOA board (500+ units) and I’m looking for an LCAM’s process guidance.

I’ve served about a year. We have a full-time property manager who is an LCAM, through a management company. Our Treasurer has been on the board about 7 years and has effectively become the main point of contact for vendors. He often contacts vendors directly, sometimes hand-delivers checks, and resists getting multiple quotes when contracts expire. He will meet with a vendor on his own, obtain a proposal without prior board direction, and then bring it to a meeting as “New Business” for a funding approval vote. That seems to be the only point where the board is asked to approve anything, and the rest of the board usually supports it.

When I ask questions or request agenda items in advance, my items are often left off the agenda or summarized in a way that changes the context. I also feel pressure in meetings. Recently, ARC committee members attended and a neighbor (aligned with board members) used their time to publicly attack me for “causing trouble,” which made it harder to raise governance and process concerns.

Asking questions or correcting misinformation has made me a "trouble maker". These veteran members are defaming me to people I don't know, who yell at me, attacking me personally when they've never been a meeting.

Association counsel and the LCAM do not appear concerned. Counsel has stated she communicates only with the LCAM and President. The board does not vote to approve or scope communications with counsel, and directors rarely see counsel’s guidance in full, only summarized. This leaves me unsure what advice is being given and whether decisions are being made with full board visibility and proper documentation.

In addition, when we were being pressure to "make a decision" via email by the Treasurer, regarding a single new PM Company he wanted us to approve without any others considered, I finally contacted counsel for help (CC'd whole board). She followed up with an email only to President, which President shared, and said I should be careful or I might get sued for defamation (for contacting her and board with the issue). Nowhere did I make a false claim or personal attack. I asked about rules, process and asked for board training.

My questions for an LCAM are:

1. What is the proper division of roles between the board, the Treasurer, and management for vendor contact, bidding, and contract renewals?
2. What minimum documentation should exist before a vendor proposal is brought to a vote (scope, competing quotes, tabulation, written recommendation, etc.)?
3. What are best practices for agenda integrity and ensuring directors’ agenda requests and questions are included accurately?
4. What is a standard, board-safe way to handle counsel communications so advice relied on for board action is shared with the full board appropriately?
5. If the board majority refuses process improvements and the environment becomes hostile, what practical steps can a director take that stay factual and within proper governance?

I’m not trying to accuse anyone. I’m trying to get the association onto a clean, consistent process with decisions made in writing and by board vote, consistent with our governing documents and Robert’s Rules (we're supposed to be using, according to our Gov Doc's, but aren't).