Meetings
What Are They, And What Is an Owner's Role
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February 15, 2026
Over the weekend, Bill and Sara heard a lot from Owners about the conduct of meetings. We though it might be helpful to provide some background on the meetings, and what are the Owners' roles in them.
As a homeowner association, there are two types of meetings: meetings of the Owners, and meetings of the Board of Directors.
Meetings of the Owners
You all most commonly know this as the "Annual Meeting," the next of which will happen on February 28, 2026, 2:30 p.m. at the Horizon Community Center on 100th St.
A meeting of the Owners is the best opportunity for Owners to have input. Since it's your meeting, the Owners have input on the agenda. Motions to approve items on the agenda are made and seconded by the Owners, not by the Board members. The only role of the Board and the manager is to conduct the meeting according to the community's governing documents, and the meeting agenda. It is not their meeting.
Arizona imposes few actual legal requirements on Owner's meetings, except: (a) they be held at least once a year, and (b) they be held within the State of Arizona. Typically, the Annual Meeting will always include the election of the Board members.
IN FACT, did you know you can call for a special meeting of the Owners? Yes, you can. You will need to do is convince forty-six other Owners to do so as well. It's in the HOA's Bylaws!
***(Bylaws)***
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As a quick aside, in HOA legal-speak, Owners are referred to as "Members." They are the same concept, just a different term. With 456 Owners, 10% equates to 45.6 Owners, so we round it up for good measure.
Meeting of the Board of Directors
Almost every month, "the board" meets to discuss the business of the HOA and take action when needed. The board is required to provide at least 48 hours' notice of such a meeting, and to provide an agenda for that meeting.
Once the meeting is called to order, that agenda cannot change. This prevents the Board from trying to slip things in without Owners knowing in advance.
Owners are legally entitle to speak in certain portions of a Board meeting. The Board violated the law if it has ever made their motions and immediately voted without inviting questions or comments on an action item, literally,
The board may place reasonable time restrictions on those persons speaking during the meeting but shall allow a member or a member's designated representative to speak once after the board has discussed a specific agenda item but before the board takes formal action on that item in addition to any other opportunities to speak. The board shall provide for a reasonable number of persons to speak on each side of an issue.
(link: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01248.htm, refer to Section A)
In addition, Villages North's meetings have typically included an open forum for you to speak on other issues in the community. While it is right for the board to gently steer these into respectful discussion of appropriate lengths, a manager or board member should not insult you, denigrate you, or cut you off mid-sentence.
The Board is required to act according to a Code of Conduct which has been around since 2021. Bill made a point to re-affirm this the two years he was on the Board. It has not shown up once since that time.
The current manager is very intent on adhering to Roberts Rules of Order, a universally-accepted publication on the conduct of meetings in almost any formal body. Unfortunately, the Owners never really get to know exactly what a specific motion is. Why can't a motion be read aloud as it has exactly been proposed? Why are Dollar amounts often excluded? This does not speak towards transparency.
