We Need to Live in the Present, But History is Important

While the board was discussing the budget for 2016, I made several remarks and one of the board members countered "But that was history!"

History is an interesting phenomenon. In fact, considering the age of this planet and the lifespans of human beings, what most of us do will generally have little impact upon the future. Therefore it is most important to live in the present, have as much impact as we can in the present, and avoid screwing the future. In a HOA that means making rules, maintenance, project and financial decisions that allow future owners to live unfettered from bad decisions, debt and the consequences of poor rules decisions.

Budgets are always difficult to prepare. It is unfortunate that boards are frequently so uninformed or unwilling to bone up on history. "History" can teach us important lessons and "history" can allow us to avoid serious financial pitfalls. The new board of 2008 was particularly uniformed about the history of this HOA and they fell into a financial trap set by previous boards. Today this HOA continues to pay for new roofs because of historical decisions made by the boards of 2001-2008. This HOA also experienced road failures about 15-25 years earlier than expected. But some boards don't want to know about history or use it.

I do use history as a guide because it is such a great teacher. It can guide us to avoid the pitfalls of the past and avoid the mistakes made by previous boards. Not everyone agrees with this approach and I suspect personal agendas do play a part in HOAs. Promoting a personal agenda and a legacy can really screw things up.

It is somewhat ironic that back in 2008-2010 when things looked really bad at BLMH that I was singled out for personal attacks because the word being promoted was "Elect Norm and he will raise your fees."

Nothing has been further from the truth. In fact, I've been the foremost champion in this HOA for fiscal responsibility, proper maintenance and the lowest possible and realistic fees.

I'm the one who championed the fee decrease for 2015 and it was based on solid research. In 2015 I again spent the many, many hours to come up with the basis for a budget for this HOA for 2016 with the two most junior members of the HOA who agreed to be on the "budget committee." Yet, I again find myself with them under personal attack. Why? Because we did the research which indicated that a 1.5% fee increase for 2016 would me more than adequate. Meanwhile, some board members argue for 3% to 5% annual increases. Based on what?

There is absolutely nothing in the three most recent reserve studies that indicates this is a requirement. Each of these studies have been imperfect, yet have been discussed and rebutted by boards thanks to the hundreds of hours I have put in to do this. That includes getting proposals for some of the issues raised in these studies. The advantage of physical surveys and obtaining proposals is they provide real substance to the issues of replacement costs, in real time.  This work was done with the participation of management which is the proper way to do this.

I've also done solid work on methods to alleviate possible concerns about some possible infrastructure issues 30 to 40 years hence. I've discussed this with management and presented it to the boards since 2013 not once, but annually.

We've shifted from a reactive approach to water main problems to a preventative maintenance position. We have replaced our "minefield" Lakecliffe Blvd with a solid, properly engineered and installed road. We are way, way ahead of the curve at this point, I've personally reinvigorated the maintenance of this HOA and we are doing a damn better job than the boards of 1990-2008 did.

Yet I again find myself under personal attack, and this time it is from within the board. Some old dogs cannot and will not learn new tricks, I guess, except undermining ones.

It is ironic. I'm the one who puts in the hundreds of hours in this HOA to do the work which ultimately defends the owners. I have no personal agenda, I do solid research and yet I am the one attacked.  It reminds me of that old expression "No good deed goes unpunished."

Fortunately, I don't have to live here. I can sell or rent my unit at any time. In other words, I don't have to spend all of that time dealing with this bullshit. I do really have better things to do and I can provide my services where they will really make a difference. I have learned the lessons of history. Too bad some have a personal agenda and will throw others, including this entire HOA "under the bus" in order to achieve it. But some will never learn from history.

I have warned owners about the pitfalls of not paying attention and participating in their HOA.