I am trying to get some input on the issues below to see if getting a lawyer is worth my time and money.

1st issue

Backstory:

HOA has 3 members (7 total spots but only 3 filled).  President and Vice President take a "board action" and hire a small local company to do a large clearing project mainly cactus and desert shrub removal, more than $10k in cost, on the property behind our subdivision (mostly owned by the HOA/Community).  HOA President wants landscape company to clear the land using a blade attached to a tractor/bulldozer/heavy equipment/etc.  In one area of the property, there is a steep slope and a relatively short distance (7 feet) between the property line and a residence's rear wall.  Landscape company decides to clear this section by hand as they cannot use their equipment without damaging the buildup/footings supporting the wall or clearing partially on a neighboring property (wild desert owned by an uninvolved third party).  HOA VP and landscape company owner agree that clearing by hand is the best option.  HOA President balks and threatens to withhold payment for breach of contract (from what I can gather contract was mainly done verbally).  HOA President wants the landscape company to clear into the neighboring property.  Landscape company uses a blade to clear base of the slope going partially into the neighboring property.

Outcome:

When all is said and done, the slope that provides the footing/buildup for one of the resident's rear walls appears compromised.  Riprap at base of wall heavily damaged, several signs of erosion at the base of the exterior wall.  The resident demands that the damage be repaired.  Price tag on repair is around $4,000.

Does the community/HOA have to eat this cost or can the HOA President be held personally liable?

2nd Issue

The management company is paying the HOA's bills late and is taking the late fees out of the HOA's account without notifying anyone that the bills are not being paid on time.

Move.

Gotta get the yacht paid off first.

Start a rebellion and get 4 others elected to the board.  

Probably an indemnity clause or insurance for the president/board/mgt company.

Is there a state agency that regulates HOAs and licenses the mgt company?  Paying bills late sounds like a problem if the money is in the account.  Are the contractors "friends" of the mgt company or the board members?

On the first one see if the HOA's insurance will pay for the wall.

On the second, fire the management company and manage your own stuff.

Third, read the bylaws and see what is required to replace vacancies on the board, and for the membership to vote to overrule the board's decisions; most have a provision for the latter though it's not often used due to apathy.

Thank you for the information fellas.

I already packed the board in my favor, so all of the President's stupid ideas are being shot down.

I'll look into ways to deal with the management company as I know they have been an ongoing problem.

Financially our HOA is in pretty good shape and we can absorb the wall fix no problem.  I just don't like having to pay part of someone else's stupidity and was wondering if he could be held solely accountable.

Thanks again!

Huh?
Two days ago you wrote "HOA has 3 members (7 total spots but only 3 filled)".

How did you fill four board positions in two days?

Many HOAs have a backup provision that allows the board and officers
to appoint temporary members until an election can be held.

Things cannot some to a halt when a quorum is not available.

One note on all this, based on personal experience (board member for a number of years, president for 2 terms in a small HOA).

When firing the management company, ensure everything is done in writing. If there isn't a paper trail, it won't count. The only reason I bring this up is because of the verbal arrangement your HOA president had in place to do thousands of dollars of work - don't let him get away with foolish practices like that again.

If you can prove that the management company was paying bills late when money was available, you may be able to fire them for cause. The contracts we had with management companies usually required a 60 to 90 day notice for contract termination due to convenience. I also believe that they included a clause that would allow them to be fired immediately for cause. However, before jumping in and not giving them notice on these things, I'd contact your association's attorney first. If s/he agrees that they can be fired for cause, it would also probably be worth paying the attorney a couple hundred bucks to write the letter terminating the contract.

I wish you the best of luck on this. While you've got 4 others on the 7 member board on your side, it might also be a good idea to see if your bylaws would allow members to vote on a motion to change the Board's leadership to prevent things like this from happening in the future.

At that time, there were 3 members.  Now there are 5.