November 6, 2016

This Blog posting is entirely about the new assessment that you for which you and I should vote on Tuesday, November 15th.

If you've kept up with my Blog, you know my feelings about the new assessment and how you should vote.  My last Blog posting was a little strident. One should not take up pen and write while angry - a lesson learned.

I am angry because this assessment was dishonest.

At the Board Meeting on October 25th, Janet asked if our owners would accept an assessment to balance the budget.  This was favored by a majority of those voting, including me.  What she didn't say was that you were going to get the Reimbursement scheme again.

According to her own figures, if you subtracted the amount of money that was "reimbursement" for reserves, $14,349, the amount necessary to actually balance the budget would be only $21,933,63. That is significantly less that the $37,000 that is being voted on in this assessment.  That, as I mentioned in my last Blog posting, is a bit less than $300 per unit, with some higher and some lower depending on the size of your unit.  A sizable sum for the folks that are living on their pension and social security or less.

So when I opened my assessment packet and saw that the assessment was for $37,000, I was incensed and felt betrayed - if you raised  your hand, wanting a balanced budget, you also should feel betrayed. The owners in attendance voted, as Janet requested, for money to balance the budget, not for additional money to pad the reserves - that's how I see it..

So, seeing the $37,000 got me very incensed because that is a very dishonorable way of going about the business of Aspen Circle!  I was angry because Janet was given the opportunity to do the assessment correctly, and according to the wishes of the owners - and blew it!   I was angry and it showed in my writing in the last Blog posting.  So for that, I apologize!

What happens if I vote No?  Not much, really.  If the management team is serious about balancing the budget, then  they will have to go back and give us another assessment figure, closer to the $21,933.63 that their breakdown suggests.  You will simply pay less in the next assessment installment.

What happens if I vote Yes?  The $37,000  assessment will go forward.  Obviously, you will be paying more than you should  because this assessment includes money to pad the reserves.

I've already filled out my Ballot.  Can I change my vote?  Of course - the ballots won't be counted until the Board Meeting on the 15th.  If mailed the ballot in, ask Resource to return it or change it for you.  New ballots should be provided at the meeting, so request one if needed

Just a word about reserves.  They are very important because we need to build up the reserves for future projects.  The reserves are normally accumulated through your maintenance fees and developed in the budget each year.  The board could also vote for an assessment purely for increasing the reserves.  And they can be built up within an assessment like the one we're voting on in this case. But we weren't told at the Board Meeting about the dual purpose of this assessment - this is what's so irritating and why I call it dishonest.

Now - if this assessment goes through, then you will have given the current management team encouragement to go forward with a number of assessments that will follow.  There will be an assessment to repair the stairwells which will probably paired with $20,000 (or more) for the drainage project.   And don't believe for a minute that Janet has given up on the "Paint Building Project", the price of which is $66,000.

And, hold your hat for the new maintenance fee you will be paying in the next fiscal year - be prepared for sticker shock.

Of course, the maintenance fee will depend on who gets elected for the new Board in February.  The budget will be prepared by Resource and approved by the current Board in January.  If the management team in place is voted back in, that will be the end of that.  The budget will go through with no resistance and you're going to pay a whole lot more - in assessments and fees.  That is an easy prediction.

However, if the Board is made up of folks that prefer a more prudent course of action and fiscal restraint, that budget can be reopened and the fat in the budget can be excised and the maintenance fees reduced.

As for me, if this Reimbursement scheme is given a Yes vote, I'm going to start packing.  I will be among those that can't afford to live here any longer.  I was seriously considering a run for the Board but a Yes vote would put an end to that thought.

I have to be realistic - the best option for me is to get the hell out of Dodge while the getting is good!

Just my opinion!
Andy Johnson