How Committees Can Help Your Community

Members of an association often have tasks that require more in-depth study by a small group. That’s where a committee comes in.

A committee is a body of persons delegated to consider, investigate and take action on tasks that require a small deliberative assembly. Although most homeowners association committees are advisory in their functioning, they increase the ability of an association’s directors to complete tasks efficiently. Committees provide the additional data necessary for decision making by the homeowner association. Committee participation increases information available to the homeowners and participation in decision making for the association

So what do committees do?

• Committees provide the community the ability to prepare for preventive maintenance, future capital improvements, financial or investment planning; architectural review and landscape design. A finance committee frequently has the responsibility to oversee income and expenses, and to ensure the reserve fund is satisfactory. An architectural review committee is charged with approving external changes to individual units and making sure that requests meet the architectural guidelines of the community.

• Committees can focus on the social aspects of the community. These types of committees are the heart and soul of the community. They provide a night out for many residents that include dancing and music; to group events that take residents off property to enjoy a day at a casino, cruise ship or concert. A social committee may also offer services to new homeowners by welcoming them and providing them community information that will help them become acclimated to the community.

A large-scale community that provides a resort style feel, multiple amenities including a restaurant and that could be considered a small city would be more demanding than that of a small condominium with one pool and limited common grounds. Not more important, just more demanding. Where the smaller community would possibly require a finance or landscaping committee, the larger community could quite possibly need 10 or more committees. Add into the equation the lifestyle of the owners. Large scale communities of retirees have varied and different social atmospheres than that of a development made up primarily of families who work full-time and are busy with their children's sports or school activities outside of the community. 

Committees function best when the members work with a unity of purpose. Cooperation within the committee serves the needs of the entire homeowner association. In their advisory capacity, committees present their findings in the form of a report to the directors of the homeowner association who have the final responsibility for decisions. The benefits of committees to the homeowner association is that volunteers from the community bring life lessons, professional experience, education and common sense approaches to the tasks they are given. Associations should be considered a business and with any business, its size and demands determines its needs. Committees are an essential part of the process, in order for the association to be a successful business.