Post by Poor Richard on Apr 18, 2022 22:53:10 GMT -7
Problems Mount for The GLA - Another Board Meeting Cancelled
The bitter infighting on the Glastonbury Landowner's Association (GLA) Board continues to jeopardize the organization. A board meeting was tentatively scheduled for April 25, 2022. It would have been the first board meeting in six months. President Pro Temp John McAlister canceled that meeting tonight. He stated "this nonfunctional board continues to flabbergast me". The next board meeting, like the 2020 Annual Election remains officially "postponed".
Many landowners have given up on the GLA and are no longer paying their assessments. Others are paying but under protest. The number of landowners that are building without getting Project Review approval continues to climb. Some landowners were fined last year for building without a permit. Most of the fines are still outstanding.
The GLA Finance Committee, headed by Treasurer John McAlister has not held a meeting in almost a year. Committee Chairs have not submitted budget proposals for 2022. A draft budget has not been sent to landowners for 2022 either. That is required by Montana State law. As a result, a final budget cannot be voted on by the GLA Board. That is normally accomplished in January. Monthly financial statements have not been sent to landowners on a regular basis either.
GLA Board vacancies were scheduled to be filled in October of 2021. That meeting was canceled by President Pro Temp John McAlister and no new Board meeting has been held since. Three vacancies have been open since August of 2021. Two of those vacancies date back to 2020. All are waiting to be filled. New members are sorely needed.
Financial transparency remains unknown for landowners and GLA Board members. Routine requests for invoices, canceled checks, bank statements, and other primary financial documents have been refused or ignored for many years. Thus there is no way any of the GLA Financial reports and the budgets based upon them, can be verified. The accounting firm for the GLA, Accounting and Tax Solutions in Livingston, did not even know that $5,000.00 was missing from the GLA bank account until almost 9 months after the money was placed on a debit card and taken to Malta by Charlotte Mizzi.
The GLA Collections Attorney has resigned. Collections of new long-term delinquents stopped in 2020. The GLA has yet to even search for a new collections attorney. Just one member of the Legal Committee, Claudette Dirkers, is NOT involved in a lawsuit against the GLA.
Many landowners have given up on the GLA and are no longer paying their assessments. Others are paying but under protest. The number of landowners that are building without getting Project Review approval continues to climb. Some landowners were fined last year for building without a permit. Most of the fines are still outstanding.
The GLA Finance Committee, headed by Treasurer John McAlister has not held a meeting in almost a year. Committee Chairs have not submitted budget proposals for 2022. A draft budget has not been sent to landowners for 2022 either. That is required by Montana State law. As a result, a final budget cannot be voted on by the GLA Board. That is normally accomplished in January. Monthly financial statements have not been sent to landowners on a regular basis either.
GLA Board vacancies were scheduled to be filled in October of 2021. That meeting was canceled by President Pro Temp John McAlister and no new Board meeting has been held since. Three vacancies have been open since August of 2021. Two of those vacancies date back to 2020. All are waiting to be filled. New members are sorely needed.
Financial transparency remains unknown for landowners and GLA Board members. Routine requests for invoices, canceled checks, bank statements, and other primary financial documents have been refused or ignored for many years. Thus there is no way any of the GLA Financial reports and the budgets based upon them, can be verified. The accounting firm for the GLA, Accounting and Tax Solutions in Livingston, did not even know that $5,000.00 was missing from the GLA bank account until almost 9 months after the money was placed on a debit card and taken to Malta by Charlotte Mizzi.
The GLA Collections Attorney has resigned. Collections of new long-term delinquents stopped in 2020. The GLA has yet to even search for a new collections attorney. Just one member of the Legal Committee, Claudette Dirkers, is NOT involved in a lawsuit against the GLA.
Charlotte Mizzi recently filed a GLA report with the Montana Secretary of State that contained false information. She perjured herself and could have brought legal harm upon the GLA. Mizzi has not been held accountable for her action by the GLA Board. Other Directors have been punished for lessor offenses,
Treasurer and President Pro Temp John McAlister has spoken about resigning from the GLA but has not yet formally offered his resignation. Some board members have questioned why the 6th District Court appointed someone who is suing the GLA to act as President. The board does not have a Secretary. The court decided to hold that question in "abeyance". The board administrator quit in October of 2020. She has not been replaced. Board meeting minutes have not been approved since July of 2020; almost two years.
The GLA has failed to keep landowners informed via regular meetings open to the public, newsletters, and their website. GLA Committee minutes have not been posted to the website for over a year.
The GLA has failed to keep landowners informed via regular meetings open to the public, newsletters, and their website. GLA Committee minutes have not been posted to the website for over a year.
The GLA Road Committee chair was fired in February of 2021. Claudette Dirkers was nominated for the position but lost by one vote. No new Road Chair has since been elected by the Board.
The 2020 and 2021 Annual Elections never happened. The terms of many board members were extended every time an election did not occur. All of the terms they were elected or appointed to have expired. It is no longer clear if any board members have the legal authority to represent landowners and vote. Critically, all board members may no longer qualify for legal indemnity. That means that individual members can be personally sued for the decisions they make on behalf of landowners. Andrea Sedlak was the first board member to state that "indemnity" no longer applied to directors. Charlotte Mizzi described current board members as nothing more than "placeholders". Tim Brockett has repeatedly asked that the GLA President request a written legal opinion regarding the issue of indemnity. Until that issue is properly addressed and solved Brockett has stated that he will abstain from voting.
The ongoing lawsuits by seven of nine members of the GLA board, just Brockett and Dirkers are neutral, have seemingly crippled the organization. Covenant violations are growing exponentially as are withheld landowner assessment payments. The backlog of board work is tremendous and may prove insurmountable. Landowner funds and expenses cannot be verified. Director's terms keep getting extended with every cancelled Annual Election. It is no longer clear who is a director and if they can legally vote.
The ongoing lawsuits by seven of nine members of the GLA board, just Brockett and Dirkers are neutral, have seemingly crippled the organization. Covenant violations are growing exponentially as are withheld landowner assessment payments. The backlog of board work is tremendous and may prove insurmountable. Landowner funds and expenses cannot be verified. Director's terms keep getting extended with every cancelled Annual Election. It is no longer clear who is a director and if they can legally vote.
