WHAT NOW?
The new board members should be sworn in shortly, along with the board election of officers for the new regime. So what needs to happen now?
First the community needs to demand that the records of the corporation be brought together at the registered office (Clubhouse) and be made available for any member of the community to examine. No public information request should be necessary – just a request to see the documents. And no request that the members taking the time to examine records be subject to paying rent should ever be made!
Next a committee should be formed to examine the current agreements with suppliers to determine where cuts can be made. Marshall Management should be the first to go. This group has been sending out violation notices in instances where no violation exists. They fail to send the notices by registered mail, return receipt requested as required by the Texas property code. They have been charging for inspectors that obviously have no idea what the deed restrictions actually say. They have been non-responsive to complaints made by homeowners, and in some cases have been less than polite in dealing with homeowners. In fact, they have sometimes dealt with homeowners in a manner that could only be described as rude. Their excuse every time is that they only do what they are instructed to do by the board.
Then the relationship with the accountant requires some serious scrutiny. As previously reported, it is difficult to justify the expenses when considering the results. Reports that clearly show when and how our money is spent have not been made available, and this is just not acceptable. Financial reports made available to members should be clear, concise and accurate.
It might also be nice to determine how much has been spent for police protection at the board meetings. Don’t you think it strange that our money is being used to hire police officers to enforce the dictates of the board? I bet that everyone at the annual meeting recalls a board member ordering the officers to eject any member that the board member felt was being disruptive. Hiring officers to intimidate and control our neighbors who are justifiably upset is just not acceptable. Someone needs to have a discussion with our police chief to determine the legality of this use of our fine officers.
So much to do and so little time to accomplish much needed reform. There’s no doubt that the coffers are empty. With uncontrolled spending and little accountability, it’s also no surprise that we are broke. Hopefully the new board members will be able to exert enough pressure and cause the “old board” to recognize that these actions are no longer acceptable.
The new board members should be sworn in shortly, along with the board election of officers for the new regime. So what needs to happen now?
First the community needs to demand that the records of the corporation be brought together at the registered office (Clubhouse) and be made available for any member of the community to examine. No public information request should be necessary – just a request to see the documents. And no request that the members taking the time to examine records be subject to paying rent should ever be made!
Next a committee should be formed to examine the current agreements with suppliers to determine where cuts can be made. Marshall Management should be the first to go. This group has been sending out violation notices in instances where no violation exists. They fail to send the notices by registered mail, return receipt requested as required by the Texas property code. They have been charging for inspectors that obviously have no idea what the deed restrictions actually say. They have been non-responsive to complaints made by homeowners, and in some cases have been less than polite in dealing with homeowners. In fact, they have sometimes dealt with homeowners in a manner that could only be described as rude. Their excuse every time is that they only do what they are instructed to do by the board.
Then the relationship with the accountant requires some serious scrutiny. As previously reported, it is difficult to justify the expenses when considering the results. Reports that clearly show when and how our money is spent have not been made available, and this is just not acceptable. Financial reports made available to members should be clear, concise and accurate.
It might also be nice to determine how much has been spent for police protection at the board meetings. Don’t you think it strange that our money is being used to hire police officers to enforce the dictates of the board? I bet that everyone at the annual meeting recalls a board member ordering the officers to eject any member that the board member felt was being disruptive. Hiring officers to intimidate and control our neighbors who are justifiably upset is just not acceptable. Someone needs to have a discussion with our police chief to determine the legality of this use of our fine officers.
So much to do and so little time to accomplish much needed reform. There’s no doubt that the coffers are empty. With uncontrolled spending and little accountability, it’s also no surprise that we are broke. Hopefully the new board members will be able to exert enough pressure and cause the “old board” to recognize that these actions are no longer acceptable.
LET THE CHANGE BEGIN!
I agree that Marshall Management needs to go first. How much are we paying them? And how much is their work actually worth?? Too large of a gap here...
ReplyDeleteAs it's difficult to determine what they actually do, who can say what the worth is. All we know for certain is that they "do what the board tells them to do". This is the stock answer when someone asks why they are doing something (right or wrong).
ReplyDelete