What really disturbed me was every board member voted for an unnecessary fee increase

I did send a long letter via certified mail to each board member and also to management.

The first paragraph of the letter is as follows:

"I suggest the board reconsider its decision to propose a fee increase. In this letter I explain why I am making this request. The numbers indicate a fee increase is unnecessary. Boards are duty bound as fiduciaries. I include reserves and recent reserve contributions, the 2018 budget which is projected to generate a substantial surplus, and a review of the purported 2019 $22,415 O&M increase which is overstated because it includes reserve item(s). Combined these indicate that this board is far too eager to raise fees. "

What prompted me to write the letter? The unanimous vote of the board for the increase. I suspect they each voted for personal reasons. Basically that is an "I can afford this increase" vote.

The problem is simple. As fiduciaries boards are not supposed to operate from their personal agenda. But some do. This board has apparently decided that the numbers and the responsibilities of fiduciaries really doesn't matter or apply to them. That's sad, but for the newest board members, I can understand how it is easier to follow the leader instead of running the numbers. That's what the lemmings do. Each board member is supposed to be a leader in their own right and vote independently. That did not happen.

Here are a few excerpts from my letter. If you were to read my letter and the accompanying spreadsheet it is obvious I spent more time on this budget than our so called "board of fiduciaries."  But then I also think the vote was based upon the personal agenda of each board member. Literally "I can afford this, so it is okay" and for the elites "That's all that matters."

I wrote to the board: "The facts indicate that a fee increase is unnecessary, and the proposed increase [1.88%] is actually approximately 1.66%. ($1,352,277 x 1.0165994 = $1,374, 724). As president I always crunched the numbers on my PC during the budget meetings and came prepared with written comments to the proposed, which were distributed to the board. These and other efforts supported creating the budgets which created surpluses."

I pointed out that "The president serves as spokesperson for the board of directors in most matters relating to general association business. As an officer of the association, the president has an affirmative duty to carry out the responsibilities of the office in the best interests of the association and as a fiduciary for the owners. As such, the president has special responsibilities to keep the entire board informed and to acknowledge conflicts of interest during the formulation of budgets, rules and so on. A failure to do so is a failure in the duties of president, which is even more significant than the duties of the remainder of the board."

"The board ignored the fact that the reserves requirements are being met.

The board ignored the fact that additional $hundereds of thousands of dollars have been contributed to reserves since 2012 [over and above the budgeted amounts]. This transfer was optional; boards in the past have transferred all budget surpluses to reserves. Under the circumstances a board comprised of fiduciaries should also discuss the possibility that any reserve funds exceeding “reasonable reserve requirements” be returned to owners. If this is not discussed that too is a breach of duty. Apparently the board failed to vote independently upon the merits of the proposed budget. Why was that? Did it play “follow the leader”? Did board members vote to support a buddy on the board? Or did they simply take the easy path, rather than do their duty? Each board member represents the owners only. Voting to support the agenda of a “friend” on the board is a breach of one’s fiduciary duties."

"The board failed to take into account the current situation for all owners in the Association. For example, did the board review and discuss the any recent evictions, foreclosures and seriously delinquent owners when making this decision? “ All budgets ....shall provide for reasonable reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance for repair or replacement of the common elements. To determine the amount of reserves appropriate for an association, the board of managers shall take into consideration ......the financial impact on unit owners, and the market value of the condominium units, of any assessment increase needed to fund reserves…” - Illinois Condominium Act (complete text of this section of the Act is contained later in this letter.) "

"I can state that I, as president, introduced this as a discussion topic during a recent budget meeting. One board member who insists upon annual fee increases attempted to shut down this conversation by stating that “We are not supposed to cater to the lowest common denominator.” [Three of the current board] were present. Boards are supposed to represent all owners!"

 "The board is not mandated to make reserves “as high as possible”. Per the Illinois Condominium Act, the board must provide for “reasonable” reserves."

And so on.

I will post the entire letter here in the coming days.

Our owners do deserve better than this board seems capable of providing to them.