Thursday, November 12, 2009
No more Blame Game!
~It is my hope that we will all try to heal our community by looking at ourselves, and not pointing out fault in our neighbors. I know the past two years have been difficult for all our board members. I do appreciate their hard work and effort to benefit our valley. It is unfortunate that our board had problems functioning as a board should right from the beginning. Disagreements quickly turned into fights. Personal issues between board members soon became association business, and this simply should not have happened. I wish things would have had a positive outcome. I wish all board members would have found a way to work together as a whole, setting all personal matters aside to focus on what mattered most. I feel it is a shame that some board members feel they have been accused of stealing association funds from the members. I for one have never heard anyone accuse any board member of doing this. I am sorry they feel that way. This is the very reason I feel it is important to have complete transparency. I think a monthly budget report would be a great way for members to visually see where and how their money is being used. I hope we will not play the blame game, and we will all desire to to see the good in one another. The truth is we could go on and on about who did what, why, and how? But there is nothing we can do to change the past. I think the only good that can come from this situation is if we are willing to learn from it. One of the reasons I would like to see our documents reviewed before they are renewed this next year is to possibly add some protections for future volunteers, as well as protect private property rights. I would like to explore the idea of creating a procedure to resolve any disputes among board members, and if needed have it taken to the members for a vote on the issue. I look at it this way, if we are all required to be a part of this corporation, shouldn't we all be working together to simplify the way it functions? We should all have the right to be informed, involved, and included in the decisions that affect our properties. I hope all members will help do this. We are all facing challenges in our own lives, and in the world around us. Lets pull together and focus on the basic needs of our community. It is still my opinion that “ Neighbors should not govern Neighbors.” It is my hope that we will not look upon our community as a business, but as a neighborhood. I think hideaway is still a beautiful place to live or use for family recreation. My family moved here because it was not the city. I hope we never see curbs and gutters, or homes in uniform color. I feel we can make things better for everyone by encouraging and helping one another as friends. There is still a lot of good that we can accomplish. Every property owner should have the right to feel equally welcome and invited to enjoy the peace and beauty that surrounds us here. ~Becky Peterson~
1 comment:
Any one is allowed to make comments. You can use your real name and lot or an assumed name. Please be respectful of everyone, especially our trustees who donate a lot of work for us. Even if you believe they are not acting in our best interests or following our documents, stick to the facts--no name calling or innuendos and unfounded accusations. We want to set a good example for our trustees.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As a Membership we should demand financial reports that reflect the true state of the Associations assests; month-end, quarterly reports, and annual reports. There should be an itemized budget presented with references to support the figures. Road expenses should be broke down into snow removal, maintenance of existing roads, road improvement, and road construction.
ReplyDeleteThere should be a road project schedule, approved by the Membership. With open bids, projected costs and final costs should be evaluated per project to see if the costs went over or under the projections. Time of completion should also be evaluated. This data would be helpful for future projects.
The Board has an opportunity and a duty to make the budget transparent this year, allow members to inspect the budget as well as the data from which the figures were determined.
This year I hope there will be accurate percentages used with members having the opportunity to verify them so there will be no question whether the funds are truly needed.
For larger construction projects we should consider special assessments, approved only by a vote of the Membership. This way we all have the opportunity to buy into the cost of any new construction projects.
There are many ways to improve the transparency of the Associations finances, but first the check book and records need to be turned over by the Old Trustees. As of yesterday, that had not been done. I personally hope these items are brought to Saturday's Board Meeting or delivered prior to the meeting.
I want the new Board to do a good job and addresses some of these issues by setting up processes by which future Trustees can follow.
One thing is for certain, time Marches on, the old year is coming to an end and the new one is almost here. The business to be done will be required no matter if we are prepared or not. I personally think being prepared is better.