General ManagerSalary / Benefit PackageThere's More !
Yesterday, we welcomed the addition of our new Sun City Anthem General Manager, Sandy Seddon.
Today...let's get down to business !
Where another blog will merely state the package, and as is the case in all Board matters, DEFEND THEIR ACTIONS, always criticizing others who "question"...
... yet providing NO RATIONALE for the "dig"...
...that position differentiates us...
We instead choose to use COMMON SENSE...rather than towing the company line.
In addition...
... we choose to confront the issue from an intelligent point of view...the REAL QUESTIONS that seem to be avoided elsewhere.
And with that objective paramount to Anthem Opinion's objective of "telling it like it is"...
We ask this Board....
Have the concerns brought out by Anthem Opinions of paid employee/dependent medical insurance coverage to our new General Manager been ignored?
We have not been able to ascertain answers....answers that will have a dramatic affect on the lives of Sun City Anthem inhabitants !
What we originally reported to our readers was not the full package.
That package offer is now official...and includes the following:
We have highlighted the benefits we previously were not aware of, or questioned.
a. Salary of $250,000
b. Completely paid medical insurance for employee and family.
c. Long-Term Disability Coverage.
d. 401(k) plan.
e. 3 weeks annual vacation.
f. $5,000 ANNUAL Continuing Education Benefit.
g. $30,000 relocation expense (grossed up an approximate $10,000-$15,000 to net the $30,000).
h. Community paid cell phone.
If you have been reading our past articles, our greatest concern is Obamacare....and the potential devastating affect it would have under certain circumstances.
As such, we thought we would enlighten you about The Affordable Care Act...and how it might affect Sun City Anthem's UNTHINKABLE AND OUTRAGIOUS DECISION TO CONSIDER PAYMENT 100% OF MEDICAL COVERAGE FOR BOTH EMPLOYEE and DEPENDENT.
For plan years beginning in 2015:
• Employee's required premium co-share for the lowest-cost, self-only coverage that provides minimum value is not greater than 9.56 percent of an employee's W-2 taxable (Box 1) income.
The cost of dependent coverage is not calculated in the determination of whether the employer is offering affordable coverage.
• Employee’s required premium co-share for the lowest-cost, self-only coverage that provides minimum value is not greater than 9.56 percent of rate of pay as of the first day of the coverage period (generally the first day of the plan year).
• Employee’s required premium co-share for the lowest-cost, self-only coverage that provides minimum value is not greater than 9.56 percent of the federal poverty level for a single individual.
What does this mean? It means that OUR ASSOCIATION MUST PAY 100% of the cost of any employee's insurance premium that EXCEEDS 9.56% of their annual income.
And...the the definition of "affordable" CAN and in all likelihood, WILL CHANGE, inevitably leading to INCREASE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS.
The law further states:
Starting Jan. 1, 2016, employers with the equivalent of 50 to 99 full-time employees may face penalties if they do not provide "affordable" care to at least 95 percent of their full-time employees as specified.
Now...you may think...why should this concern Sun City Anthem when we do not plan to have 50 full-time employees?
Simply stated...there are regulations as part of the Affordable Care Act that state INDEPENDENT CONSTACTORS MAY BE CONSIDERED EMPLOYEES...FOR BENEFIT PURPOSES under certain guidelines...not all of which must be present.
Here are those key guidelines !
The IRS employs a 20-factor test in determining employment status and, in the case of a small business, every employee counts.
The analysis generally hinges on the degree of control that the employer exercises over the worker’s performance.
In other words, the question is whether the employer has the right to control not only what work will be done, but also how the worker will accomplish that work.
IRS factors that tend to be important in the analysis include whether:
(1) the worker is required to follow the business owner’s instructions
(2) any training requirements are imposed upon the worker by a business owner
(3) there is a continuing relationship between the worker and business owner
(4) work is performed on the business owner’s premises
(5) the worker’s travel expenses are paid by the business owner
(6) the work-related tools are provided by the business owner
(7) the business owner pays for administrative support.
Our concern...How many of these factors apply to us?
It would appear...MANY !
With this in mind, let us not forget that a few years ago, Sun CIty Anthem WAS AUDITED by the Internal Revenue Service; the result of which was an initial demand for $1,000,000 for payment of past income taxes due.
Following an appeal...an appeal that cost residents a substantial amount in accounting fees...
...the matter was subsequently settled...and I will use the words of the Board at that time....
...for "Only $100,000".
Those of us who can count...however, looked at that in another manner; namely had dues surplus funds been returned to residents as the LAW PERCRIBED, there would have been no question of PAYMENT at all.
What lesson should be learned from that fiasco ?
We suggest you do not ask Mrs. Capillupo, Mr. Weddle, Mr. Nissen, or Mrs. Meese.
The answer can't be found in any textbook...
...rather it can be found in the " Common Sense Manual of Financial Facts of life"obtained though real life experience....something NONE HAVE.
Ask anyone who has ever been audited by the IRS !
You become a TARGET for any future scrutinizing by that beloved arm of the federal government !
Some other food for financial thought...
...add the recent Finance Committee report projecting a substantial deficit approaching $1,000,000 for the 2016 year...a topic that will be disputed by the Board, but nevertheless, involves REDUCING RESERVES...
...and our conclusion is obvious !
We at Anthem Opinions, believe this package is outrageous in amount, is in deep need of altering, and due to the lack of proper planning...
...subjects our community to the largest dues increase in association history.
Got a comment ?
Send it to us at:
And..this board of directors to express your OUTRAGE.
Here is the complete list:
Anthem Opinions Administration
Comments: October 6, 2015
If they can create this mess, they should be responsible for cleaning it up. How do we teach these board members that they are NOT acting on behalf of the "whole" community, but only on their misguided interpretations? Therefore, any call to justice, e.g. IRS should be their responsibility. Stupidity is no excuse for lack of knowledge of the law, and any judge will tell you that.
Dorothy A
Comments: October 6, 2015
If they can create this mess, they should be responsible for cleaning it up. How do we teach these board members that they are NOT acting on behalf of the "whole" community, but only on their misguided interpretations? Therefore, any call to justice, e.g. IRS should be their responsibility. Stupidity is no excuse for lack of knowledge of the law, and any judge will tell you that.
Dorothy A
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