Should board members be paid?

That's the question taken up by Habitat Magazine: "Many people don't want to do something for nothing anymore," the magazine notes. "So why are professionals and most board members dead set against the notion of paying for board service?"  Apparently, the main concern is that money would create the wrong incentive to serve on the board, even as it would raise expectations among the shareholders for results that any board--on the payroll or not--might find hard to achieve.  Interestingly, the article reports that a few small, self-managed buildings do compensate board members in the $500/month range for shouldering property-management duties, and it seems to be working out fine. (Habitatmag.com)