I cracked the Code!

 I was quite perplexed as to why the Board would open itself to ridicule for establishing an unelected "Kommittee of Karens" to deal out justice and discipline:

But then I looked at the calendar and noticed that we're coming up on April Fools' Day. Drafting and enforcing rules to protect the Club from scofflaws is a key function of the Board. Surely it's a hoax to suggest that unelected busybodies should fill this important role. In any event, I certainly hope so.

The Board can surely do better than just establishing a "Grievance Committee"--how about a group with some pizzaz? Here are some suggestions:

• "Coven of Karens"
• "Clash of Karens"
• "Covey of Karens"
• "Shrewdness of Karens" (probably my favorite!)
• "Colony of Karens"
• "Caravan of Karens"
• "Clowder of Karens"
• "Quiver of Karens"
• "Cackle of Karens"
• "Unkindness of Karens"
• "Crash of Karens"
• "Zeal of Karens"

As you can see, the common denominator is "Karen." Unelected people meting out punishment--what could go wrong?

I was the Chair of the Governance Committee for 22 months. During that period, we had about 10 incidents involving Owners that were brought to the attention of the Board. With Tim's assistance, I conducted every investigation except one and brought the issues to the Board. Many cases involved, as lawyers like to say, disputed facts (also known as "he said--she said"). Some Owners were sanctioned. Some were warned. Some incidents lacked enough evidence to do anything. But all were handled with discretion and in a timely manner. I note that I did not investigate an incident involving "your Board President" where the Owner who reported the incident was dissatisfied with the action taken by the Board and publicized the facts of the dispute.

We elect the Board to handle such situations--not to punt them to Covens, Clashes, Coveys, Shrewdnesses, Colonies, Caravans, Clowders, Quivers, Cackles, Unkindnesses, Crashes, or Zeals of Karens. Establishing such a group (assuming that it isn't an April fools' prank) is outsourcing a key function of the Board to unelected Owners. Doesn't make sense to me.

It strikes me that the Club would be better off if the Board spent more time focused on key issues (such as building the amenities project on its second time schedule and for its 34% higher budget) and less time on making itself less accountable by muzzling Board members, hiding compensation information from Board members, and establishing new committees with charters that would make a government bureaucrat envious. But as Dennis Miller says, "that's just my opinion--I could be wrong!"