Where’s The Beef?

October 5, 2008 by bobfrank.

In the hateful style that is typical of our resident SCA Jekyll & Hyde personality, the berman bog has once again launched a vicious personal attack on me in today’s issue.  In this case, the author has edited out significant parts (the beef) of the email exchange.  So, I have provided both items for your convenience and understanding of how he operates.

msg_to_roz_4oct08.pdf
berman_bog_5oct08.pdf

On this beautiful Fall Sunday in this wonderful community,  I sincerely wish that I did not have to write such correspondence and to press so hard  in the public for financial accountability.  But, after over a year of struggling behind the board’s closed doors to be polite and professional, I am forced to go public and state the unpleasant facts. I made honorable commitments to serve this community’s interests and to work on cleaning up the board corruption and mismanagement.  I will continue to do so, to the best of my abilities.

Unfortunately, the recent pet park issue has surfaced many other critical items that have been boiling under the surface as we build this year’s budget and attempt to deal with that 800-pound gorilla we call Pulte. Everywhere you look, business matters for this community are in disarray and not improving.

And, like all business management problems, until the problems are clearly understood by both the board and the members, truly effective solutions can not be implemented.  We will only get a band aid approach that could lead to a future financial meltdown.

Ignoring the obvious problems today is a recipe for following the national financial disaster that is still playing out.  The difference is that only the SCA members can bailout the misconduct of the SCA Directors.  Members can not afford to remain ignorant of the fundamental financial issues at stake as we move towards finalizing this year’s budget.  This is a critical milestone year at both the local and national levels.

For example, exactly how much does Pulte owe SCA?  NO ONE KNOWS! 

Is it only $600,000 or is it over $3,000,000?  Would you agree that is a BIG difference?  And please note that the extended dispute over financial matters is not a question of IF Pulte owes SCA–it is a question of how much, how are we going to collect it, and when?  Your boards have failed to aggressively collect those significant funds from Pulte since transition in May of 2005.  Note that the statute of limitations is also in play and we are losing critical time!

What a sweet deal for Pulte!  Why has this happened?  And, why has it been allowed to be continued to current date?  As a board member, I can not accept the unbelievable excuses I have received.  You should join my skepticism and help me push for an investigative audit.

One thing we can be sure of, SCA will never get a dime from that giant Pulte corporation, who is currently short of cash–if we do not ask.  And, when we finally do ask, we better have the results of an independent, forensic audit to back up our demands.  Otherwise, we will waste a lot of time and money on lawyers and ultimately, fail to gain any significant results.

Meanwhile, some members of current and past boards and finance committees take great offense at my talking about financial problems and the urgent need for a forensic audit.  But, instead of attacking me for asking questions, they should be the first to join my efforts to clear up the nagging issues from 2004 to 2007 and help prepare to require Pulte to pay what it owes, and avoid SCA members having to subsidize Pulte’s failures to pay its obligations.

Finally, we know we have widespread resident apathy in SCA, and that is typical of homeowner associations–especially senior communities.  But, just as we have seen on the national scene with the gross abuses of the federal financial management systems, it is the members/citizens who ultimately have to shoulder the burden of solving the problems.  The question is, are we smart enough in SCA to get ahead of the future problems by doing what is needed today?

In summary, the community must require there be a forensic audit by an outside, trusted source.  If the board continues to refuse to do what is required, the community will have to implement the provisions in Nevada Statutes and SCA CC&Rs that allow the members to force the board to take a certain action.  This would be an initiative/petition for a special membership vote that is sponsored by at least 10% of the homeowners.  In spite of what you might hear, there ARE ways to for the members to be heard more often than once a year at board election time.  I will be posting some information on how that process works in the near future.

Meanwhile, it is clear there can not be peace and harmony in this community until the serious questions about our finances and taxes are settled in the open.  Promises to ignore the past problems are a recipe for future disaster.  You deserve much better leadership than that, and I suggest you not tolerate those who advocate such policies.

Bob Frank
SCA Director

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