Many condo boards are plagued by high turnover. This may be the result of heavy demands being placed on volunteers or their own limited availability. Mandated terms of office require regular elections where owners may prefer new directors over stability and, possibly, experience.
Turnover on a condo board can result in inexperienced directors making decisions and managing millions of dollars. They may do so without an understanding of fiduciary responsibility, the issues at hand or experience. They may rely on paid advice that does not always reflect the best interests of the condo corporation.
One way to compensate for this lack of experience is to establish a Board of Advisors comprised of former condo directors who can advise the current board when requested to do so.
This is one way to infuse experience and maintain institutional memory. It requires individuals willing to serve on a Board of Advisors. This willingness will exist so long as a Board of Directors is well organized, seeks quality and experienced individuals as advisors, and utilizes its Board of Advisors on a regular or semi-regular basis.
While not legally bound to do so, a Board of Directors should be prepared to heed sound advice of its Board of Advisors even when it conflicts with popular opinion and beliefs. Doing otherwise relegates the Board of Advisors to a function that skilled and experienced individuals are not prepared to accept and makes such a body irrelevant.
