February 6, 2009 - Seven Lakes Times

NEWS February 6, 2009 Seven Lakes Times 15
‘AOC’ wants SLLA concessions for votes
by Greg Hankins
Times Editor
A new group calling itself Advocates
of Compromise [AOC] has
organized around the upcoming
Seven Lakes Landowners
Association [SLLA] vote on a
due increase to try to bring pressure
on the Board of Directors to
implement a number of reforms.
According to spokesman Ron
Erskine, the 65 AOC supporters
have told the Board they will
actively suppor t the dues
increase if their requests are
honored and will oppose it if
the Board turns them down.
The roughly 65 members of
the group signed a petition that
was presented to Board members
prior to last week’s General
Meeting of the Association, making
four primary requests:
• The immediate and complete
transparency to any landowner
of good standing of all
financial transactions including
line item budget detail,
salaries, past due accounts,
bank account information,
and any other financial instruments
representing Association
assets. Such reports to be
made available upon request
during normal business hours.
• A commitment on the part of
the Board to “freeze” all
salaries, merit or wage increases,
bonuses or iRA contributions
during the next fiscal
year.
• The continued operation of
our current amenities including
gates, stables, recreation
facilities, and security.
• Chad Beane being named
interim Manager, April 1, 2009
at his current salary and Dalton
Fulcher retained as a consultant
for one day per week
at 20% of his current pay and
benefits starting April 1, 2009
and continuing until December
31, 2009. This will provide
the Transition Team information
on how best to proceed
in the long term, having had
both the opportunity to observe
Chad in the Manager’s position
as well as current operations
with a reduced administrative
staff.
if the Board agreed to meet all
those requests, the AOC’s letter
said, the members of the group
would “urge support of next
year’s budget, including the
requested $50 dues increase. if
such acceptance is not forthcoming,
our support will be withheld.”
Though it’s not clear if that
last bullet was the reason, SLLA
President Randy Zielsdorf
revealed during last week’s General
Meeting that the Board had
signed an agreement with
Fulcher formalizing his retirement
at the end of this year.
That prompted a new letter
to the Board and a revision of the
fourth of the group’s demands to
the following:
• The reduction of our “Administrative
Expenses” in this next
fiscal year by at least ten percent
(10%). This would represent
a savings of approximately
$26,000, but equally, if
not more important, it would
help convince the landowner
that we are serious about
controlling costs. Precisely
how to accomplish such savings
would be the responsibility
of the Community Manager.
underlying the AOC’s agenda
is a concern that the Board is not
acting to correct what they see
as deficiencies in the management
of the Association, Erskine
told The Times. The Group’s letter
to the Board lays this out as
follows:
it remains our conviction that
SLLA management has been
fiscally irresponsible for years
and recent events have convinced
us that little has changed.
For many of us, the chickens
have “come home to roost!”
While many of us acknowledge
the need for a dues increase,
many also feel that as landowners
in good standing, we have
been ignored and/or denied our
“right to know!” Many of us feel
that the transparency sought is
still missing!
“We are looking for a quid pro
quo [“something for something”],
Erskine told The Times, offering
support for the dues increase
in exchange for what the group
believes are necessary reforms.
SLLA President Randy Zielsdorf
told TheTimes the Board has
already made changes to operations
and the 2009-2010 budget
that should satisfy most of
the group’s demands; but others
are unlikely to be met.
“We have already gone a long
way toward making financial
information avaliable,” Zielsdorf
said. “We are not going to post
employee salaries or give out
Association bank account numbers.”
Recent changes in the budget
have put a hold on all raises
and bonuses, he noted, and the
results of the SLLA Survey give
the Board little reason to eliminate
any amenities.
As for reduced administrative
costs ten percent? Zielsdorf said
administrative costs are tied to
staffing and operational decision
that will be made — likely
by the next Board after the elections
— in the context of preparing
for Community Manager Dalton
Fulcher’s retirement in
December.
“That’s a promise no one can
make at this time,” Zielsdorf said.
it’s likely going to be carried
over to the next Board.
if the AOC’s 65 members do
in fact hang together, their votes
could represent a significant
push toward approving or denying
the $50 dues increase the
SLLA Board is seeking for next
year. Last year’s much watched
and hotly contested Board of
Directors elections attracted only
457 voters. Sixty-five AOC members
would represent fourteen
percent of the vote, if the turnout
is similar this March.
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