Sun City Anthem

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

"New Tradition Team" Offers Fresh Approach to Stagnant Association Management (Part One of Two)


Election 2019
Looking at Sun City Anthem 
through the Eyes of Yet Another
Former Sun City Anthem Board Member

Image result for james mayfield sun city anthem
by
Jim Mayfield

PART 1 of 2

I have heard from many of you that three practical issues are facing our community and that the board candidates’ responses are critical to choosing who to trust in governing of our homeowners association.

Transition to Active Enforcement of SCA Rules

The poorly executed transition process from passive to active enforcement of SCA governing document rules causes many people to feel that management is not competent to execute basic tasks.   

One of these tasks is to insure that the SCA rules, the purpose of which is to protect our home values, are enforced by properly trained and supervised employees who are guided by common sense within a well-planned, considerate process. 

You are further upset by board members who inaccurately use words like “fiduciary responsibility” and “legally required” in an attempt to cover up their deficient oversight of management’s planning and performance, instead of looking out for the interests and feelings of SCA homeowners.


Planning for a Restaurant


Residents within SCA have repeatedly expressed their support for a restaurant and bar operation at SCA. 

Most of you have also expressed your expectation that a food and bar operation should provide basic, not fancy, food and bar services. 

It is now time to accept that even modest food and bar services will need to be subsidized if they are to be successful in the highly competitive and frequently subsidized local environment. 

Since all amenities (e.g. the pools, tennis courts, meeting rooms) at SCA are underwritten by the proceeds from your annual homeowners assessment, reasonable underwriting of a food and bar operation in a limited, closed market should be expected. 

What you do not expect is that the SCA Board and management should be willing to “give away the ranch” to a for-profit, commercial entity to satisfy the elaborate requirements of a very small group of residents who still believe in a fancy food and bar operation concept—no matter the cost. 

You also do not support opening the door to special assessments to fund either the refurbishment or operation of food and bar operations.

Conservative Fiscal Operations


Recent Board treasurers, their handpicked members of the Finance Committee, and the overpaid sycophants recruited by the General Manager to manipulate the SCA budget have constructed a story about why the accumulation of surplus funds is a good business practice, even though the accumulation of surplus funds is not permitted under Nevada law, specifically NRS 116.31151. 

By giving it a financially appealing new name, “minimum excess capital”, they obtained an opinion from the Nevada Real Estate Division (“NRED”) that overcharging you for your annual assessment under NRS 116 is OK because NRED doesn’t enforce the law it is chartered to support

They have also used a complex, frequently confusing, reserve study to support a significant reduction in the percent of funding of SCA reserve funds as the source for the creation of surplus funds. 

The question that homeowners should be asking is why are these manipulative budget devices necessary?

The “business as usual” candidates are running on a platform that their lack of answers to these issues shouldn’t be held against them and because they are experienced, you should trust them because of their experience and lessons learned from their mistakes. 

Yes, experience is important, but only if it is valuable experience that has proved beneficial to SCA homeowners.

The New Traditions Team has offered new ideas and solutions to these issues that their opponents attempt to drown out by accusing them of being inexperienced in the way things are done at SCA.

But, the New Traditions Team’s positions on these key issues are not the primary reason that I support the New Traditions Team.

In Part 2, I will explain why I support them.

Rana Goodman
(1)
Karen Hadrick
  (3)
Barry Goldstein
(8)
Larry Mayer
(9)
Bill Odelson
(10)

April 4, 2019 at 9:58 AM

  1. From Matt Horween...to...Anthem Opinions

    It is obvious that they have been classifying big ticket items as reserve items and have been reducing our reserves quite a bit in order to not have to raise dues. 

    I figure the dues increases will come in a year or so.
  2. Dick Arendt, Anthem OpinionsApril 4, 2019 at 10:03 AM
    Not if The New Tradition Team gets elected, Matt.

    There is so much FAT in this budget that with line by line reviews of all expenses, that will avoid that dues increase.

    There is no doubt in my mind.

    This Team is composed of 4 business people and 1 individual with years of property management experience rather than the current bunch AND other candidates who are BUREAUCRATS.

2 comments:

  1. From Matt Horween...to...Anthem Opinions

    It is obvious that they have been classifying big ticket items as reserve items and have been reducing our reserves quite a bit in order to not have to raise dues. 

    I figure the dues increases will come in a year or so.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not if The New Tradition Team gets elected, Matt.

    There is so much FAT in this budget that with line by line reviews of all expenses, that will avoid that dues increase.

    There is no doubt in my mind.

    This Team is composed of 4 business people and 1 individual with years of property management experience rather than the current bunch AND other candidates who are BUREAUCRATS.


    ReplyDelete