Why Doesn't the Board Do This?

Have you ever received a copy of the Proposed Budget for the following year?

The Finance Committee must already be working on the 2026 Budget. Should the Board and the Members get a preview at the October 7th, 2025 Regular Board Meeting? Will it be discussed in public and voted on at the November 4th open, public, Regular Board Meeting? That should have happened in November 2024, but it didn't.

Will any new Directors elected to the Board be expected to vote on the proposed 2026 Budget at their very first meeting, before they even get a look at the Budget? That's what happened last year.

The Board has spent a lot of money this year out of Reserves. A LOT! The Board even said that the 2025 Budget was based on Operations. I didn't hear anyone ask how Projects would get paid for. Funds in Reserves aren't for new projects; they are a sinking fund for Replacement and Major Repairs.

The balance of funds in Reserves as of December 31, 2024 was $843,349.18. At July 31, 2025 the balance in Reserves was $495,235.05. Where did $348,114.13 go? There must a better answer than "We spent it."

Will the Board begin replenishing Reserves in 2026? Only $3,000 was contributed to Reserves in 2025. That was far, far too little. Nothing ($0.00) was contributed to Reserves in 2024! 

In 2020 the contribution to Reserves was $163,965. That was $66.11 per property ($163,965/2,480). 

In addition to the $50 increase in Assessment that the Board approved on August 5th, how much more will the 2026 Budget call for? Any further increase will require the approval of the Voting Members.

And that's a whole different problem, if the approval of legitimate, duly-elected Voting Members is required.

In seven years I've seen only one Budget arrive at the house where I live.

Why should you get it? Well, there is just this one pesky line in the CC&Rs. (But who pays attention to the CC&Rs?)

"The Board shall cause a copy of the Common Expense budget and notice of the amount of the Base Assessment to be levied against each Unit for the following year to be delivered to each Owner at least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year." In other words, by December 1st.

The CC&Rs say that "The Board shall cause...", so watch your maibox in November.

The PRM (Art. III, §C, ¶4(c)) calls for a "wide cross-section of community members" to be involved in the budget process. That's you, the homeowners, who are directly affected by the preparation and implementation of a correct budget. But does that involvement ever happen?

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