By Jan Bergemann
I get the strong feeling that you use guest writers for your editorials when it comes to condo issues. Maybe Gary Poliakoff or Donna Berger whispered the wording in the ear of the person who wrote this editorial, which just repeats what the attorneys claim.
Department of Business & Professional Regulation authority over condo ombudsman? Read the statutes and the legal opinion of the attorney general, No. AGO 74-133. Or ask the legislators who created the office of the condo ombudsman.
Secretary Simone Marstiller and her deputy, Andy Edwards, were not really looking for authority, but for the power to tell the ombudsman how to do his job and to stop him from writing reports embarrassing to the DBPR, because it showed their incompetence. Instead of trying to improve the performance of the department, they are trying to silence their critics.
Mandatory education is important in running a condominium association; there are still many long-term presidents who will look at you like deer in the headlights if you mention certain statutes or regulations!
Term limits for board members? It wasn’t the ombudsman who proposed that; in 2005, a condo bill (HB 1229) contained the verbiage for term limits.
Your statement: “He supported changes in the law that would require mandatory education and term limits for condo board members. Those ideas sound good in theory, but in practice they are unworkable, particularly for small condominium associations, which often have difficulty finding people willing to serve.”
It’s not the small associations where you find the real problems, it’s the big ones — because that’s where the money is for the service providers. Many of the small associations don’t need the services of managers, attorneys, and the DBPR, and were happy to have a condo ombudsman to ask little questions about daily procedures.
The arguments were about following the rules — from both sides — boards and owners. If you look at the many complaints filed with the ombudsman and the DBPR you would realize that there are a lot more complaints filed about boards not following the rules than vice versa. In reality, there are many attorneys, managers and board members who feel that statutes and regulations don’t apply to them!
Whatever some opponents may say, Florida’s condo owners lost a dedicated fighter for their rights!
I agree on one issue: Let’s hope that the new ombudsman is impartial. But condo owners don’t really need another “government lawyer” — they need an ombudsman who knows the facts and is dedicated to do the job as intended: protecting the interests of the condo owners.
We already have the DBPR willing to protect the interests of specialized attorneys, managers and board members — all paid for by the condo owners.
Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice, on the Web at www.ccfj.net.
Mr. Bergemann explains the issue very well. The concept of an ombudsman is not compatible with the mission of the Department of Business & Professional Regulation. That stems from the very definition of ombudsman which is “1 : a government official (as in Sweden or New Zealand) appointed to receive and investigate complaints made by individuals against abuses or capricious acts of public officials 2 : one that investigates reported complaints (as from students or consumers), reports findings, and helps to achieve equitable settlements” from the Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary. The DBPR regulates business; the ombudsman helps the person abused by an organization.
The Office of Ombudsman should be in the Department of Consumer Protection who understand the role of helping individual citizens deal with organizations that have money and resources to force their agendas.
Another state organization for the Office of Ombudsman is a section of the Department of Attorney General. The enabling legislation should require that the Ombudsman’s recommendations for resolution of disputes between individual property ownes and the board that are not adopted by the board should be referred to the AG for review and necessary action.
All of this requires that the Ombudsman have the authority to fully investigate disputes and recommend settlement agreements that fairly address the disputes.
Don Nordeen
Governance of Property Owners Associations
Left by Don Nordeen on June 24th, 2006