A zero percent fee increase

Our board decided upon a 0% fee increase for 2018.

While preparing my article for the newsletter, I advised owners that "this is a rarity" and it is.  It is impossible to say what will occur in October 2018 when the next board meets to decide the budget for 2019.

Here are a few of my observations:

1. It takes years to build large deficits or large surpluses.
2. Recent boards have taken a pragmatic approach.
3. Recent boards have take an approach supported by good data.
4. Not all owners cooperate which is why legal costs for our fireplace fiasco hit more than $40,000 this year. That fiasco was entirely a consequence of builder error and City of Wheaton Building Inspector incompetence. Yet we were sued by the City of Wheaton.

The association board will be evaluating actual 2017 costs after the end of the calendar year. At that time we'll know how we actually did. We can't predict snowfall in November-December when we prepare the budget in September. Nor can be predict the total manhours required to maintain our nearly 40 acres. Yet, it seems we'll be within +/-100 hours for the year. 

I have completed my maintenance/project list for 2018. Staying ahead and performing proactive/preventative maintenance is one of the ways to keep costs to a real minimum. For example, we've proactively replaced about 300 feet of water main. Is it an accident that our water main failures are reducing? I think our maintenance efforts are paying off. 

We are now addressing maintenance issues ignored and "put under the bus" more than 10 years ago.