By now I'm sure all owners have received the notice of the annual meeting to be held next Sunday. The most important issue on the agenda will likely be our money problems. Off and over budget expenses have reached $405,534 for the first nine months of this year. Last year we finished $62,525 over budget. This is hard to understand when our declaration limits the board to expenditures of less than $1,000 for over budget alterations and improvements except for needed repairs. From 2000 through 2005 the off and over budget items ranged from a low of $10,155 in 2002 to a high of $30,651 in 2003. A far cry from what has happened recently. The association year ending equity from 1997 through 2004 ranged from a high of $54,016 in 1998 to a low of $31,257 in 2004. Through September of this year, we are $112,184 in the red. There is no doubt the place was turning into a fish camp and it looks great now, but at what price. Very few owners keep up with the finances and there have been no notifications from the board concerning finances. I have not talked to any owners who were aware that another $41,000 loan was made to the HOA this spring just to keep the finances afloat. This was on top of the $150,000 loan that had been approved earlier by owners. For notes on previous years owner meetings, my blog notes for the months of November each year contain the synopsis.
It will be so important to elect board members who will try to balance the budget and keep owners informed. Even voting for board members has been problematic in that the board asked for owners to sign the ballots. They seemed very interested is seeing how owners voted. In recent years the board members have arrived at the meeting with enough proxies added to their own units to constitute a majority vote and even though they listened to owners, the board had the final say on all matters. Some owners did not bother to attend the meetings because they knew their vote would have no impact. I may be painting the "board" with a broad stroke. I'm not sure who the officers are and who makes the decisions. I contacted one member and he said that in his one plus year on the board he has received no board communications nor been notified of any board meetings.
This year there are some budgetary issues that have not been advertised. The breakwater is coming apart on both sides of the channel. This could be costly. We were assessed for $25,000 earlier this year to address some of the breakwater and channel issues, but nothing has been done and I don't know if that money is still available. The swimming pool needs major repair. We will be required by the GLO to do a survey of the beach area and address any problems created by the breakwater. This too could be costly. One owner had an assessment made on the problem of dryer vents. The consultant noted that the vents are vented into the attic space and would not meet building codes anywhere. Do we need to correct this or live with the hazard that the venting presents? The venting is between the walls and into the attic and would be an HOA expense. The golf cart is on its last legs. We need to look at buying a new one or maybe going to a gas powered cart. Golf carts were not designed to drag the beach the way we do. The outside decks all have electrical outlets. They need to be changed out to GFI outlets. Without replacement we likely have liability exposure for shock hazards. The tennis court fence is about to fall down and was supposed to have been replaced with all the other capital improvements. Wireless internet service needs to be improved. Boat tieups at the finger piers need to be improved. Pool furniture needs to be replaced. I would guess the board would bring us estimated costs for these items so they can be budgeted.
There are some questions that owners beside myself would like an answer to such as: Do we plan to have an association HOA audit as required by the Uniform Condominium Act? We have not done so in a decade. I would rather see the board appoint a committee of owners to do an operational audit. I look over the monthly bills on occasion and we are being billed for any number of expenses that are not ours. I don't believe there is any willful intent to misappropriate the money, just benign neglect and inexperience. The amounts are not excessive.
How are the new pier electrical expenses being paid? I estimate the cost to be about $15 per night. Are they being shared with Phase II? We are supposed to be sharing the cost of Pop and Scott with Phase II, but I have not seen a reimbursement made in quite some time. One of the shared employees had an accident earlier this year and Phase I paid the hospital expense. Should that have been shared?
What has happened to our fixed asset inventory? We used to have a list of all our owned equipment. Can we set up a central repository for association records to include, financial information, current leases, contracts, agreements, meeting minutes, declaration, and asset inventory? Can we have a breakdown for the items that are so far over budget? For example the association insurance is 276% over budget, Repair and maintenance other is 283% over, pest control is 122% over, pool supplies and maintenance is 121% over, and security is 29% over budget.
I believe this will be a very important meeting and hope that every owner can attend. There will be many new owners to meet and greet. So far I know of fourteen new owners.
It will be so important to elect board members who will try to balance the budget and keep owners informed. Even voting for board members has been problematic in that the board asked for owners to sign the ballots. They seemed very interested is seeing how owners voted. In recent years the board members have arrived at the meeting with enough proxies added to their own units to constitute a majority vote and even though they listened to owners, the board had the final say on all matters. Some owners did not bother to attend the meetings because they knew their vote would have no impact. I may be painting the "board" with a broad stroke. I'm not sure who the officers are and who makes the decisions. I contacted one member and he said that in his one plus year on the board he has received no board communications nor been notified of any board meetings.
This year there are some budgetary issues that have not been advertised. The breakwater is coming apart on both sides of the channel. This could be costly. We were assessed for $25,000 earlier this year to address some of the breakwater and channel issues, but nothing has been done and I don't know if that money is still available. The swimming pool needs major repair. We will be required by the GLO to do a survey of the beach area and address any problems created by the breakwater. This too could be costly. One owner had an assessment made on the problem of dryer vents. The consultant noted that the vents are vented into the attic space and would not meet building codes anywhere. Do we need to correct this or live with the hazard that the venting presents? The venting is between the walls and into the attic and would be an HOA expense. The golf cart is on its last legs. We need to look at buying a new one or maybe going to a gas powered cart. Golf carts were not designed to drag the beach the way we do. The outside decks all have electrical outlets. They need to be changed out to GFI outlets. Without replacement we likely have liability exposure for shock hazards. The tennis court fence is about to fall down and was supposed to have been replaced with all the other capital improvements. Wireless internet service needs to be improved. Boat tieups at the finger piers need to be improved. Pool furniture needs to be replaced. I would guess the board would bring us estimated costs for these items so they can be budgeted.
There are some questions that owners beside myself would like an answer to such as: Do we plan to have an association HOA audit as required by the Uniform Condominium Act? We have not done so in a decade. I would rather see the board appoint a committee of owners to do an operational audit. I look over the monthly bills on occasion and we are being billed for any number of expenses that are not ours. I don't believe there is any willful intent to misappropriate the money, just benign neglect and inexperience. The amounts are not excessive.
How are the new pier electrical expenses being paid? I estimate the cost to be about $15 per night. Are they being shared with Phase II? We are supposed to be sharing the cost of Pop and Scott with Phase II, but I have not seen a reimbursement made in quite some time. One of the shared employees had an accident earlier this year and Phase I paid the hospital expense. Should that have been shared?
What has happened to our fixed asset inventory? We used to have a list of all our owned equipment. Can we set up a central repository for association records to include, financial information, current leases, contracts, agreements, meeting minutes, declaration, and asset inventory? Can we have a breakdown for the items that are so far over budget? For example the association insurance is 276% over budget, Repair and maintenance other is 283% over, pest control is 122% over, pool supplies and maintenance is 121% over, and security is 29% over budget.
I believe this will be a very important meeting and hope that every owner can attend. There will be many new owners to meet and greet. So far I know of fourteen new owners.
posted by Kontiki at 2:38 PM
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