Project managers

What the role actually covers

A project manager oversees one capital project, a roof replacement, a repaving job, a clubhouse renovation, from bid through closeout. That person tracks the contractor's schedule, watches the budget against the original estimate, and flags problems before they turn into surprise change orders. A project manager is not your community manager, who runs day to day operations, and not the general contractor, who does the physical work.

Whether project managers are licensed in your state, and which body would enforce it, varies by state and municipality. Unlike attorneys, CPAs, or insurance producers, there is no single board that licenses this role everywhere. Ask the candidate directly what license or certification applies to this trade in your state and city, then confirm it yourself rather than taking their word for it.

Get the scope of work in writing

A scope of work, sometimes attached to a written engagement letter, spells out what is included in the base fee and what triggers an extra charge: additional site visits, change order review, closeout documentation. Without it, neither side can tell when the job is actually done.

Architects' own standard contracts are built around exactly this structure, and it is a useful model for any professional services agreement:

"Services listed are divided into basic, supplemental, and additional services."

Source: B-Series Owner/Architect Agreements guide, American Institute of Architects

Ask your project manager candidate for a written scope before signing anything, and get explicit about what falls outside it.

Why a written scope protects the board

How much spending authority a project manager's contract requires, and whether the full board or a committee can approve it, depends on your declaration and bylaws. Once that authority is in place, the business judgment rule can shield the board if the project goes wrong, but only if the board actually followed the process. Courts look at whether directors acted in good faith, with the care an ordinarily prudent person would use, and reasonably believed the decision served the association's interest:

"(1) 'good faith'; (2) with care of an 'ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances'; and, (3) 'in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation.'"

Source: The Business Judgment Rule, Colorado Homeowners Association Law

Reliance on a project manager's advice only counts inside that shield if the board reasonably believed the recommendation was within that person's competence. That is exactly why the written scope and the license check in the first two sections matter: they are the evidence the board acted reasonably, not paperwork for its own sake. Following advice without reading it, or hiring someone with no plausible expertise for the project, falls outside the protection.