Special Assessment for Common Operations

By Mark J. Madison, Interim General Manager

2022 has been a year of change for the Tahoe Keys Property Owner’s Association (TKPOA). There have been managerial staff changes, commencement to evaluate the potential consolidation of its water system with an adjacent water service provider, and commencement to solicit a management firm to better serve the community.

In addition, earlier this year, I recommended (and the Board approved) an increase to salaries to all employees of the TKPOA. This increase was essential to attract and retain employees to continue our water quality efforts (ie. harvesting weeds), maintain facilities, and perform other functions relied upon by our members. Without this increase the services offered by the TKPOA would have suffered due to staffing deficiencies and a reduction in our skilled workforce.

These changes, especially the salary adjustments, increased the association’s operational costs. When looking at the projected costs, it is apparent that TKPOA will exceed its common operating budget this year by about $360,000. Prior year’s savings will cover some of these overages, but not all. For this reason, The TKPOA Board has approved a special assessment of up to 5% to assist in covering this overage. This assessment should generate $243,000 to offset most of the projected $360,000 deficit.

This special assessment is calculated based on the lowest common assessment charged to members. This means that it will be less than 5% of what most members normally pay. This is calculated to be $159 per member.

Take note that by statute, HOA boards of directors are allowed to special assess the membership up to 5% of the current fiscal year's budgeted gross expenses without membership approval regardless of any limitations that might be found in the governing documents.

The Special Assessment is $159 per Property Owner. This will generate approximately $243,000 for costs to be incurred in the in the common operations for 2022 Fiscal Year.

The enclosed invoice is dated October 31st, 2022, with a due date for payment of November 30th, 2022. Late charges will not apply until December 14th, 2022.

Being a service organization, this special assessment is vital to maintain current operations at Tahoe Keys. The attraction and retention of qualified staff is the cornerstone of how services are provided to the community. I appreciate your understanding of this matter.