Benny L. Kass Benny L. Kass, Contact Reporter for The Chicago Tribune
Q: We are a medium-sized homeowners association that contains several condominium associations. All are governed by the homeowners board of directors. There have been several incidents in the past year in which strangers were seen wandering through our grounds. There have been a few car break-ins and a couple of burglaries.

Our board of directors is considering hiring a security guard and installing a guardhouse at the main entrance to our community. Is this a good idea? What are the pros and cons from a legal point of view?

A: Cost is perhaps the major consideration. If you install a security guard, you will need around-the-clock coverage. It makes no sense, in my opinion, merely to have a guard for select hours, such as midnight to 8 a.m. This is just an open invitation for a clever burglar to do his or her dirty work just before midnight.

READ: How to elevate your security career with an IFPO certification

 

As with most decisions in community living, you have to first review your association documents. Does your board have this authority, or is membership approval required? Are there dollar limitations on how much the board can spend in any given year without membership consent? Keep in mind this is not a repair or a replacement — where typically the board has carte blanche authority — but an improvement.

I recommend that the board hire a competent professional security company to conduct a comprehensive study. This report will include costs and level of services. Will the security guard, for example, be restricted to the guardhouse, or will the guard be required to make periodic walk-through or drive-through inspections of the entire community? If the latter, who will monitor the guardhouse while the guard is making his or her rounds? Will the guard be permitted to carry a gun, and if so what impact will this have on your insurance coverage?

 

Read the rest of the story here.