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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2016 15:06:35 GMT -7
Finance Committee Meeting - April 6th, 2016
Originally scheduled for March 30th, 2016
Rescheduled for Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 6:30 pm at Liberty Hall.
Download Meeting Documents:
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Post by Admin on Apr 7, 2016 10:29:56 GMT -7
Synopsis and Commentary for the April 6th, 2016 Finance Committee Meeting
Amnesty Offered for past due accounts - Financial Statements off by $122,000.00
Five Board members and approximately 12 landowners attended the almost three hour meeting. Directors present were: Dan Kehoe, Treasurer Rudy Parker, Charlene Murphy, Dennis Riley and President Charlotte Mizzi. Below are the highlights of the meeting and a brief commentary.
- The April 8th meeting with the accountant was postponed until April 22nd due to family illness.
- Confidentiality Agreement - no volunteers have signed the agreement yet. Regina Wunsch was asked to, but balked. Charlene offered to edit a custom confidentiality agreement and Regina was amenable to signing that. The Confidentiality Agreement prohibits any committee member from revealing wrongdoing that could "adversely affect the GLA's operations". If a volunteer signed the agreement and then discovered financial shenanigans or even fraud the agreement prohibits them from telling the authorities or going to the press. If the agreement was broken, the GLA could sue the individual for damages. One can only imagine having to pay for the support of a Board member's family while their father spent 10 years in jail.
- The bombshell of the evening was the Amnesty Proposal. Rudy Parker distributed a draft amnesty offer that would forgive 100% of all penalties and interest for all past due accounts over two years old. All board members present thought it was a good idea and it will be voted on at the April 11th, Board meeting. Many landowners present criticized the proposal. All were politely thanked for their comments. The little discussion that ensued with Board members was to refute landowner ideas.
- The directors reasoned that since they were all volunteers and had limited time, the best approach to collecting past due assessments would be the quickest and least troubling method.
- Landowner questions included:
Would people who paid 18% interest previously get a refund?
Would people on payment plans get their interest reduced?
Since dues paying landowners had to pay 8.75% interest on a 14 year road loan, would the debtors have to pay their fair share?
Could the Finance Committee form a Board/Landowner committee to further investigate and debate a Collection Policy and Process?
The answer to all these questions was a resounding no, no, no and no. Charlene noted that landowners could help lick stamps and seal envelopes for the collection mailings though. - Dan Kehoe stated that the past due amount of $280,000.00 on the January 2016 Balance Sheet was incorrect. He continued by saying that the real amount due in just assessments was only $83,000.00 and interest was just $75,000.00. This left many landowners wondering why the official financial statements have been wrong for so many years. Where did the extra $122,000.00 come from or go to? Dan Kehoe did not offer any calculations or paperwork for his assertion.
- Landowners noted that Small Claims court offered a low cost alternative to County court. Another stated that the Board lawyer said that if you send an attorney demand letter then 50% of the debtors will pay immediately. Then if you seek a judgement, another 50% will pay. Those ideas and many more were carefully listened to by Board members and then equally dismissed.
- The Forum asked why the Board needed so much money so quickly. The Forum noted that the GLA Board currently has over $110,000.00 in a savings account that is NOT part of the 2016 budget. Why do they need to collect past due assessments in such a hurry? Some of these debts are 20 years old. Would it not be wiser to wait a few years for the bigger cases to wind through the courts in hopes of collecting more than just the principle? Another landowner asked why we could not use part of the $30,000.00 legal fund to pay a collections attorney to go after some of the larger past due accounts. The Forum and the landowner's question were met with a stony silence. Then both were curtly thanked for their "input".
- The next order of business was how the Board could institute a new assessment for landowners who operated businesses within the community. It was suggested that the Covenants be changed so all businesses would have to pay extra assessments. The matter was referred to the Governing Documents committee.
Since 2004 the Board has increased annual assessments several times. The total increase is 40% more than the rate of inflation. The Board has also taken to taxing Guest houses. Recently they sent extra dwelling assessments to people who had locked doors that separated sections of their home. One person was even assessed a separate dwelling fee because he had a lockable door on his basement bomb shelter.
- Currently the GLA produces monthly financial statements but the next agenda item was to limit those to quarterly statements. Again many landowners offered thoughtful and detailed reasons why quarterly statements were not a good idea. As with previous arguments about amnesty, their ideas were politely listened to and then rebuffed or ignored. President Charlotte Mizzi finally declared that quarterly statements should start at the beginning of 2017.
- The time was growing late at 9 PM and the last two agenda items, snow plowing expense and Regina Wunsch's criticisms of GLA Finances, were pushed over to the next meeting on April 27th, 2016, 6:30 to 9 PM at Liberty Hall in North Glastonbury.
 Commentary Like almost all GLA Board sessions, the Financial Committee meeting had a "dog and pony show" presence. It appeared to me, that the Committee members arrived with per-determined ideas, and knew what results they desired. The questions and suggestions from the audience were not helpful, and an occasional burst of exasperation often eminated from various Board members. It was disturbing to see how much the Board needed money and how high a price they were willing to pay to get some. Their act of amnesty came across as desperate and cowardly. One landowner called it "appeasement". Another stated that the Board was waving the "white flag of surrender". Equally disturbing was the assertion that the financial statements have been off by tens of thousands of dollars every year for many years. The Forum repeated it's request for a GLA Check Register. The Forum explained that it had evidence that Directors and friends of the Board were paid tens of thousands of dollars from landowner funds. It wanted to see a check register to verify or disprove the allegations. The Treasurer refused the request and called it a "fishing expedition". Are there sharks to catch in the GLA's financial records? If the current GLA Board has it's way, the landowners will never know.
Amnesty is a betrayal of the landowners by Board members. The people who snubbed their nose at the GLA Board for the longest time, and thus owe the largest amounts of money to the community, will receive the biggest rewards. Conscientious landowners who agreed to GLA Board Payment Plans also get stiffed. They were required to pay all back interest and penalties as a condition of their payment plan. None will receive a refund. Church Universal and Triumphant will be a huge winner. They owe $22,039.41 on NG-65 and $18,752.88 on NG-39 for a total of $40,792.29. With amnesty that amount will drop by almost $30,000.00. If the GLA Board took them to court we would surely end up with much more.
If every two years or more, past due landowner, takes advantage of the Amnesty Offer then almost $200,000.00 will be given away to long-term debtors. That is money that could have been used on the North Glastonbury paved loop and other roads. The message will be clear to all landowners; those who pay every year are fools. Many debtors did not pay interests on the 14 year road loan and were able to use the roads for free. The smart ones refused to pay any assessments until the GLA Board was so desperate for cash, that they were willing to settle, for just the original assessment amount.
Had enough yet? Do you want to pay your assessments in 2017? Thinking of becoming a conscientious objector and refusing to pay assessments? There is a better way. Declare your independence from a money hungry GLA Board by withdrawing your property from the GLA. It is easy to do by just filling out a simple letter and mailing it to the GLA Board. Click on the above "Declare your independence" link for details.
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Post by Watchful on Apr 28, 2016 22:11:22 GMT -7
This sounds like a going out of business sale!
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