- Meetings
An Annual Membership Meeting is held each year. A quorum of 10% of all owners is required in order to conduct business. It’s important that all owners complete and mail in their proxy to the management company in order to be counted toward the quorum requirement. A proxy is a written instrument that allows you to be counted in attendance for the meeting and appoints another person to cast your vote on any voting matter presented to the Membership. Any owner who sends in a proxy and then attends the meeting can request his proxy be returned thereby casting his own votes on all business matters. At a General Membership meeting, Members can make motions and cast votes on all business matters listed on the agenda.
Board of Directors Meetings are conducted as needed. A majority of the Board Members must be present to constitute a quorum and to conduct business. Notice of all Board meetings must be given to Members forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the meeting. Any meeting at which the Board will adopt the budget or approve assessments requires a two week notification. All Board meetings are open to the general Membership to attend; however, motions and votes are made by the Board Members only. Members may speak to any agenda item during an open discussion period at the beginning of the meeting. If a Member has a business item that they would like to be addressed by the Board, they may contact the management company to request that the item be placed on the agenda. Back up information about the requested agenda item should be made available to the Board Members prior to the meeting and the Member requesting the agenda item should be prepared to address the Board at the meeting.
Committee Meetings are held monthly or as needed. Members are encouraged to volunteer to serve on committees and are welcome to attend meetings.
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- Budget and Finances
The Board of Directors is responsible for creating and adopting the annual budget for the Association.
The management company oversees the accounting needs for the Association and prepares a financial report each month and is provided to Members upon request. The year-end financial statement is provided to all Members.
The Board is tasked with levying an assessment on each owner based upon that owner’s fair share of the anticipated budgetary needs for the coming year. The budget is divided into the expense categories of administrative, grounds maintenance, amenities maintenance, utilities, and reserves, if applicable. Administrative expenses include the cost of management, legal and accounting services, office expenses (i.e. printing of newsletters, postage, costs associated with leasing a space to conduct the Annual Membership Meeting) and insurance. Insurance policies in place for the Association include Property and Casualty, General Liability, and Directors and Officers Liability. The Grounds Maintenance category includes such items as landscape maintenance, pond maintenance, annuals, mulch, and costs associated with maintaining the common area walls, fences and signs. Utilities include electricity and water. The reserve account funds are held in a separate bank account from the general funds that are used to operate the Association’s routine business. The purpose of the reserve account is to offset the high costs associated with long term maintenance or replacement of amenities owned by the Association.
The Board is also responsible for the collections of each Owner’s assessments. A collection policy has been adopted by the Board and is published in the Policies, Rules and Regulations section of this Book of Standards.