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| LIFE IN SOLERA | SEPTEMBER 2024 | | LIFE IN SOLERA | SEPTEMBER 2024 | 7 Greetings from the Solera Radio Club/CERT Cadre. There are several dates the CERT Cadre would like Solera residents to remember. On Sept. 14 is the Solera Garage sale. In the last few months, the CERT team has been discussing in the Life in Solera magazine several disaster preparedness topics. One of them is preparing an evacuation kit for every person residing in the home. You can find great deals for your evacuation kit such as used luggage, flashlights, tools and gently used clothing. Keep your dollars in the community and build your evacuation kit at a nominal cost. On Oct. 17, the Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill starts at 10:17 am. This a great time to practice your personal earthquake safety plan at home using the "Drop, Cover and Hold On" method. The drill is easy to participate in. Simply drop to the ground, take cover under a table or desk and hold on as if a major earthquake was happening. Stay down for at least 60 seconds. On Oct. 18 at 9 am, the CERT team will be conducting a two-part one-hour class titled "Make a Plan and Shelter in Place." The class is open to all Solera residents and their guests. Please arrive early to save your seat as seating is limited. The class will be a powerpoint based class with lots of interaction by class participants. The class will be held in the Arts & Crafts Room. Refreshments will be served. Your moderator for the class will be Ron Monroe from the Solera Radio Club/CERT Cadre. Lastly, please beware of internet and other social media scams especially after a disaster. Scammers love to prey on those who just went through a disaster. If the phone call, email or text seems suspicious, don't answer it or open it. Never, ever give out your vital information to someone over the internet or other social media. Be informed and be prepared. ~ Ron Monroe, Solera Radio Club & CERT Cadre member, (909) 732-6139 The Finance Committee is responsible for the investment of funds in three different accounts: The Operating, Reserve, and Capital Improvement. We must ensure the funds are FDIC insured. The funds are held in Certificates of Deposits in amounts of $250,000 or less, which is the maximum for the FDIC insurance and any one bank. We do have liquid funds in Comerica Securities which provides insurance up to $3 million. This insurance is accepted by our Auditor and regulations. The three accounts are separate. The Operating Account is for our daily, weekly, or monthly expenses. We consider this our Budget. Part of our Budget includes one line item for Reserves and one line for Capital Improvement. When we work to create a budget each year we consider our actual expenses for the current year, then factor in the amount estimated from that point in time through the end of the current fiscal year. The months of March, April, and May are usually the estimated months. Then we add in the amount of any contract increase and inflation. The amount of funds budgeted for Reserves is usually based on the recommendation of our Reserve Analysist and the Reserve Study report. The Reserve funds are for Repair & Replacement of our common area assets, which are streets, landscaping, pool, painting, fences, lighting, buildings (exterior and interior), roofs, spa, and contingency. These funds are not for regular ongoing repair and maintenance. Capital Improvement funds are for new items, such as a new and different piece of fitness equipment or a new shuffleboard game, etc. Something that we do not currently have for our use, etc. ~ Marcia Casem CERT Finance Committee

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