Results Are In - The Winner is "Change"

The winners are: Cynthia Potts, David Saldarriaga, Tracy Thomas, and Harold Scott.  

I was late getting to the meeting tonight, and had to leave before the results were in because the counting of the vote went long into the night. I was told that there were approximately 158 votes cast. That is a very high voter turn out, compared to previous years. In 2007 there were 106 votes, in 2008 there were only 63 votes, and in 2009 there were 147 votes.  (I have not kept track of the past several years and would welcome that information if anyone else knows the voter turn-out numbers for years 2010 - 2014.)

I was also told that as many as 16 ballots were disqualified because the names could not be verified as unit owners. I also witnessed that a couple of the ballots were set aside by the election monitor when they were opened because they had been enveloped incorrectly.

Even though I was not there when the results were announced, I received information from two reliable sources at about 11:20pm, naming the four winners. Their reported vote totals were Cynthia = 99, David = 87, Tracy = 85, Harold = 72.  (I have no information about the vote counts of the others.)

It is worth noting that four members of the previous Board of Directors were relieved of their duties tonight. In these kind of elections, many unkind things can be said about candidates. Maybe some of that is deserved, but probably not all of it. In any case, let us be gracious and thank any and all who are willing to donate their time, efforts, and caring to the common good through their service on the BOD. 

Phyllis Fabara, Paulette Watson, and John Lovell, Willie Perkins, I (we?) thank you for your service. 

Left to right: The state appointed election monitor, TAJ attorney Beth Lindie, and her assistant. 

Do Not Forget or Delay

The TAJ BOD election will be held tomorrow at 7pm, when envelopes will presumably be opened and ballots counted. To get a start on the process, those in charge of the election will begin verifying signatures on the outer envelopes (that's the first step, to determine if a ballot is submitted by a proper voter) at 6pm. 

In response to an inquiry that I made to the management office, we are encouraged to have our ballots submitted prior to 6pm, although they are not certain that ballots submitted after 6pm and before 7pm would be disqualified.  So, to be sure that you vote counts, get it in before 6pm.

Annual BOD Election to be on March 13, 2013

If you want to be on the BOD in 2013, the submission deadline is February 1st.

TAJ BOD Election: Why Care?

On March 5th, Townhouses at Jacaranda (TAJ) home owners will be voting to fill three seats on the Board of Directors (BOD). Eight owners have chosen to be candidates: Augusta Alvarez, Valerie DeRoy, Yvonne Fabozzi, W*nd* Hill, Prentis Johnson, Esther Leacock, Victor Singh, and Paulette Watson. Only one of the eight is currently on the BOD (P. Johnson). Harold Scott and Brian Sklar, whose seats are becoming vacant along with Johnson’s, have not chosen to vie for their old positions.

BOD Fiduciary Responsibility
According to Florida State law, members of any Condominium Association’s BOD, like ours at TAJ, have a large amount of power. They set the yearly budget, determine the schedule of building maintenance and renovations, make community rules, initiate and approve special projects (such as street lighting), and hire or fire the property manager, the accountant, the attorney, etc.

That means that the BOD determines the amount you will pay each month toward the TAJ yearly budget, called “Monthly Maintenance” (MM) payments [TAJ MM payments have increased yearly: $214 in 2005; $225 in 2006; $269 in 2007; and $268 + your neighbors’ unpaid maintenance fees in 2008*]. It also means that the BOD can pass Special Assessments (SAs) that force you to pay $30,000.00 or more, individually, for your building to be refurbished [Building 27 unit owners each received a SA of $32,527.10 to have their building renovated. Unit owners of buildings 2, 3, 5, 9, 12, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 35, 36, 38, 44, and 47 have all paid around $20,000.00 or more in the recent past because of SAs.*]

Not all SAs are large. In 2002 the whole community received a SA of $1000.00 per unit owner to cover the Association’s Operating fund shortfall. The Operating fund is the Association’s yearly budget that is funded by the MM payments. Shortfalls happen when more money is spent than is budgeted for and collected. That is sometimes that result of unexpected emergencies like Hurricane Wilma. It can also happen when unbudgeted projects are undertaken without proper funding.

Oversight
The job of overseeing the complex financial dealings of the TAJ Association is shared by three entities:

• Management Assist is a licensed and insured accounting firm;
• Bette Ann DiSalvo is a CAM certified Property Manager;
• the BOD is made up of volunteer unit owners with little or no training.
  

In spite of their inexperience and lack of expertise, it is the BOD members who have the largest responsibility of financial oversight. Association money cannot be spent without their permission (with rare exception), and all the money that they spend belongs to their neighbors and themselves.

Other Qualities
Obviously the position of BOD member is not just about financial oversight. Good people skills also seem to be necessary. Anyone who has felt shut-down, ignored, or disrespected by the BOD knows that it is a painfully unpleasant feeling to be at the mercy of your neighbors when it seems like they do not even care enough to listen to your worries, concerns, or ideas. The ability to demonstrate mutual respect to unit owners and other BOD members is at least as important as the necessity to donate your time.

And TIME, finally, is one of the most difficult aspects of being a BOD member. It is quite possible for BOD members to become so involved in Association matters that it significantly interferes with their personal or occupational life. Conversely, it is also possible for BOD members to be only marginally involved and to not carry their share of the collective responsibility. There is no law that requires BOD members to follow-up on their promises to carry-through on projects. There is no law that requires BOD members to even attend a single meeting, once elected.

Voters’ Responsibility: Be Involved
The only way to ensure that the right people get elected, and that once elected will do the job they are entrusted to do, is for voters to be involved.
Be involved:

• in a big way by volunteering for committees and helping to implement your ideas.
• in a smaller way by coming to BOD meetings and sharing your concerns and ideas.
• just a little by coming to the “Meet the Candidates” night (date and time TBA) and get to know the people that will be governing your community.
• minimally by casting your vote on or before March 5th.

Voter Turn-out
The history of BOD voting has shown that most people do not vote. It is usually the case that the elections are won or lost by a relatively small number of voters. Last year only 106 of the possible 340 TAJ voters cast their ballots (approximately 31% voter turn-out). The difference between winning and losing a position on the BOD in that election was a narrow 10 votes. Low voter turn-out is perplexing when you consider the power of the BOD in the lives of TAJ owners, and the ease with which a vote can be cast. If you have lost your paperwork, more is available in the Property Management office.

It has been said that voting is a kind of minimum requirement for the right to complain. Casting your vote is an easy way to participate in the governing process, and don’t we all feel that participants have more right to complain than spectators?
* Information Sources for this story: TAJ website; Minutes; Property Management Staff