Assessments and Dues

At the regular board of directors' meeting in May, the board discussed the state of the association's finances as well as how to resolve the loan from the reserves that was taken by the previous board. (I've previously beaten this subject to death here, here, and here.) The result of this discussion was a decision to raise the monthly assessment from $109 to $120. The intent was to have this increase take effect on July 1 of this year. If implemented by July 1, the increased revenue would have allowed the association to repay the loan from the reserves by February of 2011. However, due to requirements for notification and the need to update our budget to reflect the increased income and other changes like the cancellation of the street sweeper, this change was not implemented in time.

At the June meeting, the board treasurer and I were absent, and it appears that the remainder of the board decided not to pursue the dues increase nor approve the financial statements until our return. At the July meeting (held last week), the board reviewed the association's finances. With the 1 year term of the loan from the reserves coming to an end, the board either needs to repay the loan or extend its term. The board voted unanimously at the July meeting to levy a one-time special assessment of $60 to be due on September 1, subject to the same requirements previously mentioned.

This assessment, if paid by every homeowner, would add up to $9,540 and would pay all but $460 of the loan from the reserves. Based on the delinquency rate in regular dues, though, the association is likely to actually receive between $8,000 and $8,500 of this money. The remainder will have to be made up out of the current year's operating budget, but given the year-to-date expenses and the remaining budget, there is good reason to believe that the loan will be entirely repaid at the end of the year.

For now, there will be no increase in regular monthly dues; however, I believe that it is almost a certainty that monthly dues will be increased to $120 beginning on January 1, 2011. The budget for 2011 will likely be created around the September/October time frame, and I'll know more then.