Just Where Does the
Buck Stop ?
An Anthem Opinions
Editorial
No one should be surprised that Anthem Opinions has questioned many decisions made by the Sun City Anthem Board of Directors.
For years we have tried desperately to
find, recommend, and elect QUALIFIED individuals to
become members of our Board, yet year after year, the "same
old...same old" group of
political HACKS seem to get elected.
As to why, that remains a mystery, but
we know that most people couldn't give a hoot about community politics until one
day they suffer the worst pain they can imagine..
...in their pocketbooks
!
Well now...it appears that the "Piper" has finally got to be paid.
The question is "why"...
And "who"....
...is the scapegoat
???
The easiest target ?
The former management company
!
"They didn't fund the reserves properly", shouts the Board.
"It's their
fault, not ours" whimper the gurus, who now say we need more...
Time out for a good LOL folks !
This one is more ludicrous than believing Benedict Arnold's place in history should be more properly looked at as a British hero !
After this latest tale, in our
opinion, if any of you really believe it, you deserve
the...
In our estimation, here are the real reasons we need more dough in the association coffers !
First, we elected people whose knowledge of finance is so limited,
they couldn't see we were being "had"!
Here's one for the community to stomach
and finally accept !
Good management knows
how to police the store !
Did any of them even know WHAT TO QUESTION?
Just look at the general make-up
of "the chosen ones" over the years!
BUREAUCRATS....almost all of them...whose success in life
has often been defined as "time in grade" rather than
WHAT THE REAL WORLD refers to as TRACKRECORD OF RELEVANT SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE
!
...while the few who haven't fit the
BEAURCRAT moniker...and...have made valiant qualified attempts to "right the
wrongs" ...
...have been sadly OSTRICIZED by 'the
spoils system" to which an "incestuous" "good old boy" Committee network of
"like minded " referrals has generated the largest percentage
of them....
...most of their members refusing
to admit ERRORS IN JUDGMENT, blaming anything other than...
THEMSELVES
!
Oh...before some control freak blogger
and his minions make a claim that we "hate" committee
members...
(as history would seem to dictate when
incapable of facing PROBLEM ISSUES CREATED BY THOSE HE
ENDORSED)...
Let us EMPHATICALLY
STATE...and....MAKE IT PERFECTLY
CLEAR...
...WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY BELIEVE... there are a number of GOOD, CARING, AND QUALIFIED COMMITTEE
MEMBERS out there...
...but how often are those guys and
gals "in white hats" looked down upon when their positive recommendations are
all to often considered...
"Rocking the Oars
of the Crony Express" !!!!
Just ask those who made an honest
attempt to "contribute", but after a short time, realized that having to deal
with a certain "element" was so impossible, they left with a feeling
of...
"Why did I Ever
Do This?"
or even
worse....
...were rejected from consideration
because their expertise far exceeded those in control....and were
considered...
"Too Independent
Minded"
Second, believing and voting for people who have read specific biased community blogs who endorse such CRONIES again and again.
Examples of such
victorious "distinguished" directors that included...
... a MEMBER OF CHANNEL 13 HOA HALL OF
SHAME....
...a five year Treasurer (not even CPA
qualified) whose ego and inability to LISTEN to competent and qualified
individuals, helped create a financial IRS nightmare costing "only" $100,000 plus legal and accounting fees when filing a
proper income tax form could have avoided the entire
affair....
...individuals who met illegally behind
closed doors in discussing association financial matters to evade discussions
with fellow board members....
...an individual who authorized the use
of association funds...without the approval of fellow directors... to pay for
buses during a presidential primary visit for some who didn't even reside in Sun
City Anthem...
...a woman who wasn't smart enough to
listen to others who said....
GET THE LIBERTY CENTER
PROFESSIONALLY EXAMINED BEFORE ACCEPTING IT.
(The booboo that is now
estimated to cost unit owners
$1,800,000)
...one blog whose criterion for rejecting a
qualified candidate was based on a ridiculous claim that the individual "hated
women".... an act of PETTY childish REVENGE...
(after which the club the individual
established with 400+ members... dwindled to less than 100
subscribers...following his resignation...and being taken over by the principals
of the respective blog that made the damning and
false claim).
...another blogger who made a request
to Anthem Opinions and a board candidate to reprint his "Mr. Fix-It" articles,
yet would not endorse him, instead finding a librarian better suited for a directorship position....
...in light of the many construction defects in which his expertise would have proved invaluable....
...in light of the many construction defects in which his expertise would have proved invaluable....
...and 2 past presidents along with the
current one who, with a recently reelected
Treasurer...
...ALL were and are PARTS of PAST and CURRENT regimes,
approving LOANS to a private entity that eventually defaulted, costing
association members $40,000 IN ADDITION TO WASTING ADDITIONAL SUMS ON RESTAURANT SUBSIDIES
and PRIVATE PARTIES, spending
more money than a gambler who believes he's smarter than the
system that built all the big buildings that we see in the
distance.
Third, the belief that going self-management will save us money
!
OK...the jury is still out on that one,
but the score card to date reads:
10% hike in dues in
2017
and
another 10% likelihood
in 2018
On top of that, the Sun City Anthem Board just voted to grant our new General Manager a $20,000 BONUS in addition to her current $250,000 salary and benefit
package.
When we inquired as to what constituted
the criterion for the bonus?
The answer...nothing concrete...all subjective reasoning without any clear cut defined
requirements as to having had to accomplish
" X.. Y.. Z" in order to obtain it
!
That's your community, my dear
readers....
...Liberty Center
STILL NOT OPEN.
...more talk of the
probable NEXT FAILING COSTLY RESTAURANT.
...a dues increase
with more on the way.
...a self-managed
community that is in financial "limbo" to
date.
So...you decide.
When your wallet is $120 lighter in 2017 and losing even
more weight in the following year, are you really going to swallow the
"excuse"...
"It's the
former management company's fault"
or
Is it
really...
"The Wrong
People Have Been Chosen to Watch the Store"
Our belief ???
That is the....
Remember...
WE TOLD YA SO
But our question to you
is the most important of them all ?
Will you re-elect them if
they choose to run in the next Board
election?
Will you be smart enough to PAY ATTENTION to the FACTS and choose those who are qualified to handle the job...or...are you going to take the traditional path of asking your neighbors or reading some biased publication ... or worst of all...not exercising your opportunity to vote at all ?
...you know...the path
that has brought us to where we are today !
Got a comment?
Anthem Opinions
Administration
That represents an 8.00% increase in compensation.
Let's put this in proper perspective.
Social Security just announced that the 2017 COLA increase will be .03%.
This board should be reminded that more than a third of retirees (35%) receive 90% or more of their income as a monthly payment from the Social Security Administration.
While those receiving Social Security retirement income receive a mere .03% increase in their benefits, many seniors will suffer as a result of a 10% increase in dues, while a General Manager receives an 8.00% increase as a bonus alone.
All this...in an economy where the average individual looking for a job continues to experience hardship in obtaining one that can feed a family.
How easy it is to spend others funds when so many of the "others" continue to struggle.
When you add the bonus to the basic compensation, it amounts to EACH UNIT OWNER having to pay $37.79 this year...JUST TO COMPENSATE THE G.M.
I understand they have put in a $2,381,000 “Allowance” for Masonry Walls as a means of filling the coffers. Masonry walls generally have an expected useful life of 100 years. So why add all that money? Perhaps they intend to repurpose the funding later to subsidize a restaurant. Wouldn't surprise me.
Ah well, back to watching political commercials.
Who do you ask about the fact that we had such a surplus they were going to build a miniature golf course and now we have to raise our dues. Is it because of Liberty Center?
Where has all the money gone and why is Sandy getting a $20,000 bonus when she hasn't even been here a year?
I don't even know who to ask these questions to.
Please help.
Your questions are EXCELLENT. I will post this under the article but I suggest you ask these questions to EACH board member for an answer.
Be aware...RARELY DO THEY EVER RESPOND to such questions.
If you receive a response, please forward it to us. We will post it for all to read.
I wish I could be more helpful, but like you, I'm just a resident who asks as many questions are you do.
Just remember to tell all your friends who responded and who didn't as well as their answers if any of them choose to run for reelection.
I wish I could be more helpful, but am as baffled as you.
........and let's not forget the 10's of $1,000 spent to hire our new Manager (dinners and meetings at the "M" Casino, etc., etc. Seems that the same modus operandi is still in place: after spending $1,000,000+ to repair Liberty Center, the Cretins plan to spend even more money at a gala celebration re-opening the place. This attitude is exactly like the previous "...costing "only" $100,000 plus legal and accounting fees..."
Here's two pieces of advice for our esteemed Board members (AND to the residents that voted for them):
1. a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting the outcome to be different.
2. if you watch the pennies, the dollars watch themselves.