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Community Update

February 2018

In this Issue

This month we’re shining the spotlight on digital life as it applies to community associations. Whether it’s that new website your association may be required to create, notifications you would much rather send electronically or how to best participate in social media, three of our four articles give practical guidance and help weigh the pros and cons of wading, or plunging, into the digital domain.

Our featured article, Building Your Association’s Website – What to Ask and How to Make it Happen, is intended to assist associations that are now required under Florida law to create and maintain a website. The deadline for compliance is just over four months away, so your association should already be doing the legwork to choose the right website designer and/or host. This article provides the preliminary questions each association should ask of any web designer/host candidate it might be considering and how it should plan for the work ahead.

In this age of ubiquitous mobile devices, many communities want to provide notices by email. The article Can My Association Send Notices Electronically? lays out the requirements an association must meet and standards it must follow if it wants to “go paperless.”

Our next article, Participation in Social Media – Considerations for an Association, is a must read before you create that Facebook page. The piece examines the pratfalls that can arise since comments or posts attributed to an association can expose it to liability, including claims of defamation, discrimination, harassment, invasion of privacy and the like. Attorney Sara Wilson looks at two popular social media platforms and discusses the oversight measures an association should consider.

Lastly, Volunteer Help: Friend or Foe to a Community? moves away from technology issues and takes a look at the feet-on-the-ground assistance that associations receive from volunteer members. While volunteer help can ease budget concerns, associations should consider the pros and cons of enlisting volunteers and act to minimize the risks associated with such help. This article provides guidance for minimizing the risks.

Marilyn J. Perez-Martinez, Editor

Did you know?

In addition to providing educational seminars for board members and managers, our Community Association lawyers speak at various events hosted by civic associations, neighborhood associations and other private groups. If you are a member of such an organization and would like to have one of our attorneys speak on a specific topic, please contact Marilyn J. Perez-Martinez at MPerez-Martinez@bplegal.com.