Cohousing-L Mailing List: Emotional Attachments in Decision Making

[O3C11N6G (normangauss]

Legally, emotional attachments should play no role in decision making.  That 
is the assumption in our governing documents.  Yet, I see rampant biases in 
terms of relationships with friends when deciding on issues that affect our 
financial situation and upkeep of the property.  The Board is very good at 
examining issues from a logical viewpoint because it has fiduciary 
responsibilities.  The community as a whole does not have the same 
responsibilities, so legal and financial considerations frequently fall by 
the way side.  It would be nice if the Board set the community straight, but 
often they just don't have the energy.

Yesterday, our treasurer revealed that she felt bad about penalizing people 
for not adhering to their financial agreements, especially if these people 
were her close friends.  In some cases, no penalty was assessed because she 
felt cruel doing it.

In our community decision making process, it appears logic frequently goes 
out the window on proposals that have a financial impact on the entire 
community.  That makes me insecure.  I have no close attachments to anybody 
here except my wife, and I am not hesitant about ruining relationships.  At 
first, a key member and I worked closely on many tasks in maintaining the 
landscape.  However, when he and I started having heated arguments, I broke 
off our collaboration.  Today, I work closely with no one.  I am independent 
and concerned with following the law and keeping our community from spending 
money unnecessarily.

Norm Gauss