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| FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | NOVEMBER 2014 21 The HOA Board has reduced association dues. For most homeowners, the reduction will be $5. For Springdale owners – with their condominium arrangement – the reduction will be smaller, offset by an increase in their maintenance assessment, depending on unit size. HOA Treasurer Wayne Staples, Board liaison to the Finance Committee, explained that the reserve funds for maintenance and repairs were 140 percent of what was needed. The excess was discovered in the annual reserve fund study done by an outside firm. "We hired a new firm this year and we are much happier with them than the old one," he said. He said, "We don't need this much money at this point, but we want to keep the percent in the reserve the same, just not have it increase." The fund needs to continue receiving revenue or it "will not cover all the work that needs to be done over 20 years." The committee then discussed how to benefit homeowners best. "Whatever we did, we didn't want it to last just one year. We want to do it for several years. We don't know how many, but more than one," he said. The committee recommended the Board reduce dues by $5 a month per household. The Board adopted the recommendation at its September meeting. "Now in the Springdales, the situation was just the opposite," said Staples. "They were funded at only 76 percent of what was needed so we determined to raise their assessment by 7 percent per household." That means the Springdale owners will not receive the full $5 reduction. It will be partly offset by a $2.82 hike for Springdale One owners, by $3.33 for Springdale Two, and $4.22 for Springdale Three. He said there was also a no-cost change for the 556 homes whose front yards are maintained by the HOA. In that case the reserve was at 137 percent, but the operating budget was slightly in the red. "We had been putting $1,000 a month into the reserves, so what we did was transfer $500 of that and put in the operating budget. There will be no increase for those homes in the $52 a month they pay for front yard maintenance." The basic dues, then, will fall from $215 a month to $210 — with the front yard people paying the extra $52 and the Springdales paying the condominium fees based on their home size. The Board had to get permission from builder K. Hovnanian Homes to lower the dues that far. Under an agreement with the builder, the dues were allowed to vary from $215 to $243. The committee kept the dues at the lowest level "through good management," said Staples, then saw they could go below that. K. Hovnanian quickly agreed. ~ Leighton McLaughlin At our September meeting, we reviewed the August financial statements. The following are significant items: Net Income Year-to-Date was $116,077 and total reserves were $4,473,072. The Accounts Receivable (delinquencies) was $49,870. Our total HOA expenses for August (excluding reserve allocations) were $257,582. This was over budget by $1,223. The Front Yard Cost Center expenses for August 2014 were under the monthly budget by $663. The Springdale Cost Center Expenses for August 2014 were over the monthly budget by $495. There were four CD renewals reviewed and a recommendation to renew at the best prevailing rate not to exceed six months was sent to the board. There were seven vendor proposals presented and sent to the Board with recommendations for approval. Accounts Receivable update by Wayne Staples stated 15 current homeowners are in arrears, approximately 1.27 percent of the total. Only eight of those represent significant issues. Several large balances are being actively worked. Our next meeting will be Nov. 25 at 1 pm in the Lodge Conference Room. All homeowners are encouraged to attend. ~ Noel Myers Finance Committee Dues Reduced For Most Four Seasons Residents

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