Condo Legislation Pending

Are you aware that the General Assembly two years ago deprived many Connecticut Condo owners of having the same democratic rights as voters do in town  budget referendums?

As part of Condo "Reform" legislation, a new requirement was inserted under which all NON-votes on annual budgets constitute YES votes if the annual meeting is held under state laws, as opposed to condo bylaws.

That means that if 60 percent of a condo association meets on the budget, and 65 percent of the 60 percent votes no, it will get passed anyway because the 40 percent that didn't vote automatically became YES votes.

The Connecticut Condo Owners Assocation is working with key legislators in the final days of the General Assembly to do away with that provision and return true democracy to condo owners.

It is critical that you contact your state representative and state senator and ask that  GENERAL ASSEMBLY BILL No. 5511 – AN ACT CONCERNING THE BUDGET, SPECIAL ASSESSMENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF FUTURE INCOME APPROVAL PROCESS IN COMMON INTEREST OWNERSHIP COMMUNITIES  be adopted.

Currently the bill is stalled in the house of representatives and there are only a few days left before the General Assembly session ends.

This is not a theoretical issue.

Here is what happened at one of the largest condo complexes in Connecticut, Southbury’s Heritage Village, in an account in www.ctwatchdog.com:

The complex – for those 55 and older – has 2,580 units with an annual budget of $15 million, only slightly less than the town of Southbury’s $18 million budget.

 Heritage Village’s board of directors voted for a more than three percent fee increase. There was a huge turnout for the budget meeting, with 1,746 owners participating either in person or through valid proxies. Of that number, 1,191 voted against the budget and 595 voted for it. But there were no votes cast by 754 unit owners.

Under the current state law, even though twice as many voted against the budget as those voting in favor, the budget was adopted because the 754 non-votes were counted as YES votes.

 "It is grotesque,” Dr. Salvatore Pace, a retired physician [and resident of Heritage Village], said of the statute. “It is counterintuitive that a failure to vote should be anything but a no vote  … especially when it comes to this complex. It’s not at all democratic. I know of no other instance where this occurs.”

We don't want a repeat. So PLEASE, contact your respective Legislators to assist in the passage of this bill.  You can find your local representative by clicking  on the following link:  http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp

If you have not done so, it is also extremely important for you to contact these key Legislators to ask for HB-5511 to be called for an affirmative vote:

Christopher Donovan (D), Speaker of the House 860-240-8500, Christopher.Donovan@cga.ct.gov

Brendan Sharkey (D), House Majority Leader 860-240-8500, Brendan.Sharkey@cga.ct.gov

Lawrence Cafero (R), House Minority Leader 860-240-8700, Lawrence.Cafero@housegop.ct.gov