My Viewpoint on 2023 Budget Letter

Dear Groves at South Mountain Homeowners!

I want to express my view on the 2023 budget and the letter sent to us dated November 30, 2022. Attached is the first page of this letter that was sent to us. First, please notice the high-lighted area, the words “Community Enhancement at a cost of $21,000.” Obviously the words “Community Enhancements” is definitely not maintenance. Therefore, since it’s not maintenance, Article 6.2 of the Groves Bylaws require a 2/3 approval vote of the homeowners for this project to be approved.

 

The second issue “Shade Expansion Project” once again has nothing to do with maintenance, and refers to the addition of 27 trees with no explanation as to the exact cost for the multi-year project. Note that the budget line item for tree replacement has increased by $6,500 over the 2022 budget. There needs to be a detailed explanation for this increase. Therefore, this project must also be approved by the Groves homeowners under the Bylaws Article 6.2.

 

The letter goes on to state that studies have shown that trees are crucially important to urban environmentalists. It is my opinion that it is not the responsibility of the Association to plant 27 trees to help control the urban heat footprint, but rather, it is the responsibility of each individual homeowner. Therefore, this is not a maintenance project. Since we do not know the total cost of the additional 27 trees being recommended, don’t we need a vote of the Groves homeowners?

 

Also, with the installation of 27 additional trees, they are going to need water, and so these additional trees are going to increase our monthly water expense that would result in increased Association assessments.

 

Additionally, planting 27 additional trees will require that these trees be trimmed and thinned every year.  It’s been my experience that to trim and thin a large tree every year costs about $600 per tree. This additional annual cost of $16,200 will need to be added to the annual budget, thus increasing our Association assessments.

 

Once again, it states in the budget letter that they are using the budget for 2023 to complete “enhancements,” therefore stating it is not a maintenance project.

 

Also, it is mentioned that this shade project would help reduce the heat load on your body by 50 degrees. I’ve lived in the Groves since 2004 and not ever observed people putting blankets out and sitting under the trees, especially in the summer. As a former Board member on and off for the last 10 years, I have not ever heard of residents asking for additional trees for shade.

 

I am in favor of the grass reduction project by working the cost into our annual budget. This would entail doing smaller areas at a time. The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to maintain the community. The “Website Purpose” link explains this in more detail. 

 

In the next coming weeks, I am going to look into getting a cost estimate for removing grass in a few small areas and to replace them with granite. I will forward this information to the Board via email directly and post it for our community here on this website.

 

In a recent email blast on January 4, 2023, Thrive’s owner stated that proposals had not been approved for these projects but yet the Board was allowed per Arizona State Statutes to increase our Association assessments by 20%. But why do they need to be increased by 20% when contracts for these projects have not yet been approved? The right way to handle this would be for the Board to work on finalizing these contracts and the appropriate Assessment increase and budget increase after homeowner voter approval for all three associated items. Or by approving budget increases for them in the following calendar year, and not arbitrarily increasing the budget beforehand.

 

HOA Board elections are coming up in the Spring. Do you want to retain the current Property Management company and this current Board members? If you answer is a NO, then we need unity for homeowners to volunteer to run for office and vote! It only takes the vote of one person to get someone on the Board.

 

In order to reverse the 2023 budget increase and associated assessment increase, we need community unity to make this happen. Therefore, we need as many homeowners to contact the Board and management company to request that the upcoming meeting scheduled for January 24th be held in person and not online. We need the maximum turnout to show the current Board that our voice must be heard.  This is not possible when the meetings are held online.

 

I would like your input on the current information to demonstrate community unity on this website and also what additional information should be added to this website. If you have any comments or additional information to add, please contact me at the email address below: [email protected].