January 24, 2012 by THE VOICE.

SCA Directors have been told they are solely responsible and individually accountable for the corporate decisions and errors concerning the funds collected from and managed on behalf of SCA members since the 2005 transition from developer control. 

But, by hiding behind the “so-called” Business Judgement Rule (BJR), HOA directors are told they can get away with almost anything (short of flagrant embezzlement) and not be held personally accountable.

So say association attorneys John Leach & Ed Song, auditor/tax preparer Gary Lein, community management company contractor RMI (headed by CEO Kevin Wallace), Nevada Real Estate Division Administrator Gail Anderson, and the NV Commission for Common Interest Communities and Condominiums (7 members appointed by the Governor from the HOA trade association (CAI) including 3 with obvious Sun City Anthem board conflicts of interest–auditor Gary Lein, Del Webb/Pulte executive Randolph Watkins and 6-year SCA Board Treasurer/President Favil West).

However, while directors are expected to consult “professionals” when making their board decisions,
the NV Attorney General has notified directors that corporate laws prohibit them from blaming the professionals for providing poor and/or illegal advice.

The obvious conclusion is that individual Sun City Anthem Directors are personally responsible for their past mistakes and toleration of financial misconduct, law violations, income tax fraud, community property losses, contractor failures and over-charges, and cruel abuses of community members without justification and without following due process rules. 

It is truly illegal and immoral for current directors to refuse to deal with past gross financial errors which can be corrected  on behalf of our members.

Special accountability for fraud and abuse rests on the backs of SCA Presidents since 2005.   The SCA contract with RMI grants exclusive/sole authority to the SCA board president to direct all RMI employee and related contractor actions. 

In other words, board presidents are the first persons to be held personally accountable for board wrong-doing and gross negligence.  Second in the accountability chain under corporate law would be the Board Treasurers and Secretaries   Actions to enforce accountability should start with those officers.

But, what can be done?  Have any of them committed real crimes as described in Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 205?   Read the laws for yourself from this online record and see what you think.
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-205.html

It is clear that if the evidence showed a director used a lethal weapon (such as a gun or knife) to threaten one or more SCA members to give up hundreds of their dollars, such a director could be charged and convicted under felony crimes for armed robbery and theft.

But, if the same director exploited HOA rules and hid behind the BJR to force members to pay exorbitant annual dues so the money could be wasted on untrustworthy sub-contractors where board members might receive hidden benefits or kickbacks for themselves, could they not also be held accountable by law enforcement agencies for what seems to be similar felony crimes?

We have hundreds of highly experienced members of this SCA community including some currently elected to positions as Clark County and Henderson Judges. 

No doubt such expertise could be used to find ways to enforce accountability–if such professionals would do their duty and stop looking the other way while crime flourishes all around us.  

If you know of such professionals in the financial, legal, and law enforcement businesess, please approach them and ask them to get involved–for their own sake as well as the whole community’s lifestyle and financial future. 

And, in the process, remind them that ignoring such crimes only encourages more of the same….

Posted in SCA Board, Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

December 30, 2011 by THE VOICE.

Anthem VOICE was founded in part upon some fundamental concerns that Nevada HOA laws, rules and regulations appeared to contain serious violations of US and NV Constitutional provisions for citizen property owners, and that certain SCA directors were being shielded by government officials from being held personally accountable for financial misconduct.

Our initial concerns have been validated.  Some HOA statutes and regulations clearly deny constitutional rights to property owners/share holder members of homeowner associations.  The evidence suggests that such violations and statute defects have been crafted by the state and local government agencies and trade association to enable both the government agencies and the HOA business interests to obscenely benefit from their controls of HOA boards. 

As a result, there are no “fair dispute resolution” processes available from the NV Judicial Branch.  The HOA situation is a case of a decade of truly shameful actions by the Executive and Legislative Branches, and shameful neglect by the Judicial Branch.

Anthem VOICE has documented many examples of such misconduct over the years, and more cases will be reported on in the near future. 

Meanwhile, the following article by George Staropoli in AZ is one of many available at his site showing how tens of millions of trusting and apathetic HOA members have been allowing themselves to be “farmed/milked” of their hard-earned savings, retirement funds and American freedoms.

Evan McKenzie is another nationally-recognized author reporting on the shocking losses of constitutional rights and democratic practices due to unfair/dictatorial HOA laws and regulations.  (http://www.evanmckenzie.com/)   His list of current major HOA problems and necessary actions are quoted here:   Dr Evan McKenzie Quote

———-QUOTE———

Link to this Article & Website:  http://pvtgov.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/2783/

“HOA-Land — the failure to democratize

QUOTE

Note: The following is an excerpt from my paper, “Are the American people rejecting democracy at the local level?”

HOA-Land — the failure to democratize

Will the acceptance of authoritarian private local governments in the US result in a weakening of democracy in America, and destroy “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”?  

“Democratization” describes the processes underlying “the emergence, the deepening, and survival of democracy” in a society.  Democratization is also concerned with the forces that affect the sustainability of a democracy.  And that’s the issue before us:  Has the First American Experiment with representative democracy succumbed to the “emergence and acceptance of a quiet innovation in housing,” the Second American Experiment? This New America of HOA-Land?[i] 

In his “Theories of Democratization”,[ii] Christian Welzel presents a case well applicable to HOA societies.  Welzel believes that, “Democratization is sustainable to the extent to which it advances in response to pressures from within a society.”  It appears that HOA-Land dwellers feel no need to pressure for change, just like Mayer discovered with his interviews after WW II.

People power is institutionalized through civic freedoms that entitle people to govern their lives, allowing them to follow their personal preferences in governing their private lives and to make their political preferences count in governing public life.

Since democracy is about people power, it originates in conditions that place resources of power in the hands of wider parts of the populace, such that authorities cannot access these resources without making concessions to their beholders. But when rulers gain access to a source of revenue they can bring under their control without anyone’s consent, they have the means to finance tools of coercion.

 The above amply defines the dynamics of political machines and power cliques that operate, more or less, within all HOAs from benevolent dictatorships to rogue boards. And with respect to voting as the sole indicator of a democracy, it is well known that HOAs are woefully deficient in fair and just elections, with no “fair elections” laws in effect. Welzel goes on to say,

Many new democracies have successfully installed competitive electoral regimes but their elites are corrupt and lack a commitment to the rule of law that is needed to enforce the civic freedoms that define democracy. These deficiencies render democracy ineffective. The installation of electoral democracy can be triggered by external forces and incentives. But whether electoral democracy becomes effective in respecting and protecting people’s civic freedoms depends on domestic factors. Democracies have become effective only where the masses put the elites under pressure to respect their freedoms.

 Once again we are told that there’s a need for pressure from within, from those living in HOAs, to uphold their Constitutional protections.  Even if state governments decide to enforce constitutional protections and the equal application of state laws, it remains with the HOA-Land residents to defend our system of government.  Welzel reaffirms this essential requirement, “It is only when people come to find appeal in the freedoms that define democracy that they begin to consider dictatorial powers as illegitimate.”

 Welzel offers a path to victory to stop this erosion of democracy within America that is highly applicable to the social movement for HOA reforms.

 As social movement research has shown, powerful mass movements do not simply emerge from growing resources among the population. Social movements must be inspired by a common cause that motivates their supporters to take costly and risky actions. This requires ideological ‘frames’ that create meaning and grant legitimacy to a common cause so that people follow it with inner conviction.

This is why values are important. To advance democracy, people have not only to be capable to struggle for its advancement; they also have to be willing to do so. And for this to happen, they must value the freedoms that define democracy. This is not always a given, and is subject to changes in the process of value transformation.

 And what about our elected officials?

However, although Welzel writes that “elites [those in power, the cliques] concede democracy even in the absence of mass pressures”, it is only “when these elites depend on the will of external powers and when these powers are pushing for democracy.”   But, with respect to HOA regimes, Americans cannot accept this state of affairs by state legislatures, especially not with respect to these fundamental issues of democratic governance — the very soul of this country.  The absence of legislative support, sua sponte (on their own), for HOA reforms throughout the country is inexcusable! 

UNQUOTE

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December 19, 2011 by admin.

If you thought that some of our NV residents were over-the-top with their aggressive opposition to the NV smart meter program, wait till you see some of what is being said and done in California!  Californians have had to deal with the outrageous behavior of its Public Utilities Commission and various power companies for a few more years than Nevada.

Here is the leading graphic for this web article.   See quote below concerning why this writer accuses the power companies and PUC of “extortion”.   Since this article has been up since October 2011, the very serious allegations made must ring true or he would have had to remove it.  Here is a link to the entire (copyrighted) article from which some excerpts and the graphic are quoted below.
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/cpuc-and-pge-misinformation-misrepresentation-and-attempted-extortion/

So, if you have been ignoring what is happening in the world concerning smart meters, then you might want to think again. Massive backlashes against smart meters is a global phenomenon.   Nevada is just late to the “party” and most of our citizens are just too trusting of those in power.  Searches about “smart meters” reveal thousands of very useful articles.  Here is one that summarized the whole situation.
http://morphcity.com/home/104-smart-meter-slavery

For example, see this Canada Free Press article reporting on Nevada public testimony in opposition to smart meters.  See the included quote from Anthem VOICE’s Bob Frank that was ignored by the Nevada media.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/43248

Here is a report on members of the Maine Legislature who are championing the removal of the “mandatory” claims by Maine’s power companies.  The word “extortion” also is mentioned in Maine.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111113/NEWS/111130338/-1/NEWSMAP

And, in case you  missed it, recently there was a near-riot in CA when a group of elderly women paid to have their “mandatory” smart meters replaced with the old analog meters and PG&E cut off the power to the participants.
http://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/12/13/pge-shuts-off-power-to-sickened-families-2-weeks-before-christmas/

And, finally for today, here is what conservative talk radio host Dr. Mark Levin had to say about “smart meters”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_XG25YKRGc

Posted in Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, News! | Print | No Comments »

December 19, 2011 by admin.

The following post was contributed by Mike Hazard–a NV leader in fighting the PUCN/Nevada Energy “Smart Meter” program disaster.

———————-

Mike Hazard

Posted in Outside Politics, Truth Squad, Community Affairs | Print | No Comments »

December 4, 2011 by admin.

See:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0

Our AnthemVOICE article dated March 7, 2011 reminded Sun City Anthem members that the SCA Board’s 2009 Federal Tax Returns had reported $4.8 Million of untaxed and un-refunded surplus member dues held in a working capital (slush fund) account.  

Here is the page from Sun City Anthem’s 2009 budget planning presentation reporting the $4.8 Mil. surplus.
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/__oneclick_uploads/2010/07/surplus-build-up-2002-2009.pdf

But, when Finance Committee Chair Candance Karrow was asked during the November 2011 Annual Membership Meeting why assessments were being increased by $714,400 in 2012 when there was such a large accumulated surplus account balance, she stated that all of the surplus had been spent. 

When asked “what for” she just shrugged her shoulders, and claimed she did not have the details!  Even worse, not a single board member was willing to answer the obvious questions about the missing millions of surplus funds.

Imagine a corporate board and its finance committee responsible for the assessments, collections, accounting and spending of a 2-year total of $16 Million of member assessments plus an additional $4.8 Million for expenditures of unidentified “stuff” and they have refused to explain such outrageous over-expenditures!

Imagine that all seven board members, all community managers, and the association attorney  just sat there and said nothing to help Ms. Karrow explain where the missing $4.8 Million had gone! 

And, imagine that the former board member and disgraced attorney tried to misdirect the audience from the hard questions during member comment period by reminding people of the 4th quarter 2008 “$100 dues holiday”. 

Anyone who can use simple math can readily see that such a $100 reduction in the 2008-mandated $160 increase in annual assessments had absolutely nothing to do with the reported $4.8 Million surpluses carried over and declared during the 2009 budget year.  In fact, one has to wonder how in spite of the $714,400 “dues holiday”cut in 2008 assessments it was possible to report an increased total of $4.8 Million accumulated assessments a year later in August 2009!

Come to think of it, one has to wonder what kind of serious conflicts of interest that man might have for so often seeming to work to cover up the mismanagement of past and present board members?  Year after year, on advice of counsel and RMI, the boards have refused to clean up the past financial disasters while the former VP creates smoke screens and misdirections to keep members confused about the essential facts.  As many say, follow the money through independent forensic audits, and we will find the truth.

So, where’s the “beef” (missing surplus funds)?   Since embezzlement has been found so often in national HOAs and during the current Nevada FBI investigations of HOAs, prudent/ethical people will not allow such major questions involving apparently missing millions of dollars to go unanswered.  Honorable directors cannot continue to tolerate such obvious signals of past and current financial mismanagement.

Even if the boards can eventually prove they legally and properly spent all those millions in such a short time in such secret ways, how will they explain away the apparent waste and abuse of funds that were required by federal and state laws to be refunded to our members?  It is absolutely required that the boards return those millions of surpluses or ask the members to vote via formal ballots to authorize the boards to pay the income taxes and spend the resulting funds on clearly identified capital improvement projects.

Considering the FBI’s ongoing investigations, this matter would seem to be an extremely high priority for the board to resolve.  Each serving director in recent years could face criminal allegations if nothing is done.  It will be truly painful for all directors and SCA members if we wait to act until the FBI announces an interest in SCA’s financial and board election affairs.  Out of self-interest, our members must stop ignoring the obvious signals of serious problems.

———————-

FYI:   For those who have not been following the “over-charged dues/slush-funds–working capital funds/False Income Tax Reports” fiasco since it was first identified in 2007, the following links contain some details.   

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/02/irs-report-released-boardauditor-has-no-more-excuses/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/02/19/reject-the-boards-shell-game-on-income-taxes/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/02/11/irs-audit-finds-sca-owes-1345-million-in-back-taxes-for-07/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2010/09/18/dues-holiday-is-bogus-tell-the-board-you-know-the-truth/

Posted in Truth Squad, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

December 1, 2011 by admin.

As most Sun City Anthem members know, we have 4 different members running 4 completely different web sites with blogging capabilities and a wide variety of community services available for free to our residents.

Besides this AnthemVOICE (blog and archival sites) operated by a group of residents, there are 3 other forums/blogs operated at no cost to residents by Ron Johnson (the original SCA community web site), Rana Goodman, and David Berman.

All 4 services have been running successfully for many years without any help by the SCA Board and without commercial support.

But, in spite of having an $8,000,000.00 annual budget with dozens of contracted staff, dozens of volunteers on various committees, a highly competent SCA Computer Club with hundreds of members, and numerous full time RMI staff assigned to this function, none of the SCA Boards of Directors since 2005 have launched a community web site with all of the needed services required by our 7,144 households.

Why not?   Some people describe this abysmal record as “tragic incompetence”.  Others call it “GROSS negligence”.  Still others call it “fraud and abuse of authority”.   Finally, some members consider the board’s annual demand for dues increases without delivering the web services promised to be a case of “theft”.

What ever you call it, after 6 years of total failure, members have to be considered stupid and lazy for putting up with this ridiculous game!  No wonder we seniors are considered senile when they see this sort of scam being tolerated–for years!

Evan a unity-apologist for the board has to admit that no organization has ever spent more time and more money to accomplish less in terms of SCA web services than our Boards and the RMI Community Management staff.  Maybe this fiasco qualifies for the Guinness Book of Records–or at least a mention in the Channel 13 Hall of Shame?

Why have the boards failed so consistently?  Board excuses for failing, year after year, has not yet included “the dog ate their plans”, but the crappy excuses we have heard from the boards and RMI are no less juvenile and insulting.  Nothing they have said makes any sense when you look at what the rest of the world is doing with web services.  A start-up business can launch a really professional web site within a few weeks and only spend a few thousand dollars.  Clearly we have the wrong people with the wrong plans billing time against SCA!

Contrary to their lame excuses, it is clear the SCA boards, RMI and professional consultants have no interest and no intent in using web services to keep all SCA members informed on policies, procedures, activities or  lifestyle matters.   It is clear the board is practicing the “mushroom” strategy of keeping members in the dark and covered with dung.  The boards want members to be uninformed and afraid of being personally attacked to make it easy to get away with their mismanagement and deceptions.

So, our community will have to continue to depend on private, free web services to serve the community unless or until we finally get mad as hell and demand the community management company be replaced, force there be a large reduction in dues, and/or fire the board members for such failures of their fiduciary duties.

But, maybe you have had enough of the board insults with having to tolerate the lousy web services they are providing?  Ready for a petition drive and public demonstrations to force the boards to deliver?

If not now, when?  Just as in the case of the constantly failing restaurant operations,  we know that nothing will get better until the failed board members and their failed contractors are fired, and we get competent people elected and appointed to our leadership positions.  At least, that is how we see it.

Posted in SCA Board, Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

November 12, 2011 by tim_stebbins.

Here is the notice that was had delivered to all(?) residents of
Arroyo Vista Village.  Conflict  

Note it is a direct conflict with the Membership Meeting and the
Nov. board meeting.  Members are entitled and encouraged to attend
all Membership Meetings and board meetings. 

This is obviously distracting to that because many are also interested
in the Neighborhood Watch program.  Plus the HPD has scheduled time and
personnel.  

This is just another example of the incompetence of RMI and another
big reason the Membership Meeting and even the board meeting should be
postponed.  

Tim Stebbins

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, News! | Print | No Comments »

November 11, 2011 by kayfrank.

The November 11, 2011 LV Review Journal includes 2 new Reports from the FBI Investigation into HOA Fraud:

A. “Prosecutors place another piece in construction defects puzzle” by RJ News Reporter John L. Smith
http://www.lvrj.com/news/prosecutors-place-another-piece-in-construction-defects-puzzle-133677218.html

B. “Woman says Quon helped direct HOA scam” by RJ writer Jeff German:
http://www.lvrj.com/news/property-management-employee-becomes-10th-to-plead-guilty-in-hoa-case-133629953.html

If so, could the Sun City Anthem Director’s votes and RMI’s concurrences to continue using this attorney’s advice (in spite of receiving hundreds of SCA member complaints over the years) be shown to be examples of malfeasance?

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

October 20, 2011 by admin.

 AV Blog previously reported on the “smart meter” fiasco at this link:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/09/26/should-you-refuse-smartmeter-installation/

Some SCA members (led by Retired USN Commander Nelson Orth) have asked the Henderson City Council to intervene on behalf of our citizens, but the City claimed to have no authority to act.

But, how is it that California Counties and Cities appear to have the authority to protect their citizens?  Are Nevada cities and counties truly powerless to protect our citizens or is this yet another example of government misconduct?

See these web sites for more information:

1.  FAQ:  http://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/10/18/announcing-stop-smart-meters-faq/

2.  Blocked:  http://stopsmartmeters.org/how-you-can-stop-smart-meters/sample-letter-to-local-government/ca-local-governments-on-board/

“The following is a list of local governments within California who are opposed to the mandatory wireless  ‘smart’ meter program.

Names of cities and counties are linked t0 news coverage or official council minutes that substantiate each city or county’s inclusion.

Those local governments in red have passed ordinances that have made ‘smart’ meter installations illegal within their jurisdictions:

Counties (10)

Humboldt County (pdf)

Lake County

Marin County

Mendocino County

City and County of San Francisco

San Luis Obispo County

Santa Barbara County

Santa Cruz County

Sonoma County — AB 37 Support Letter (pdf)

Tehama County

Cities and Towns (36)

Arcata

Belvedere

Berkeley (pdf)

Blue Lake

Bolinas

Buellton

Camp Meeker (pdf)

Capitola

Clearlake

Cotati (pdf)

Fairfax (pdf)

Fort Bragg

Grover Beach

Lakeport

Marina

Mill Valley

Monterey (pdf)

Monte Sereno (pdf)

Morro Bay (pdf)

Novato

Pacific Grove

Piedmont (pdf)

Richmond (pdf)

Rio Dell

Ross

San Anselmo

San Rafael (pdf)

San Luis Obispo (pdf)

Santa Cruz

Sausalito

Scotts Valley

Seaside

Sebastopol (pdf)

Solvang

Watsonville (pdf)

Willits

Other Jurisdictions (1)

Big Valley Rancheria/Tribal Community of Pomo Indians

Total CA population represented:  2,695,947

Missing anyone?  Please e-mail us at info@stopsmartmeters.org”

Posted in Truth Squad, Outside Politics, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Laws & Rules, News! | Print | No Comments »

September 26, 2011 by kayfrank.

A Review Journal article dated September 25, 2011 reports that famous Southwest Defense Attorney Cal Potter recently won yet another large financial judgement for police abuse by Clark County law enforcement officials.

You probably are thinking, so what?

Well,  Defense Attorney Cal Potter is a legend in this Southwestern area for his many decades of winning large settlements and law suits from government agencies (and particularly from police departments) for abuse of authority and other law violations. 

Mr. Potter is the attorney of choice for attorneys, business owners and citizens who are wrongfully exploited by local, state and federal government officials.

You might still be thinking, so what?

Well, it happens that Mr. Cal Potter is the attorney representing my husband, Bob Frank, against Henderson’s unjustified criminal arrest for allegedly filing a willfully false police report against certain Sun City Anthem board members for failing to comply with NV forgery law and federal income tax laws. 

And, no one can recall the last time, if ever, that Henderson had filed such a criminal arrest warrant against ANYONE–much less against an honorable, retired Air Force Colonel with a perfect lifetime record of honor and service to this Nation.

Even after Henderson received hard evidence last year of my husband’s innocence when the Internal Revenue Service Audit of the Sun City Anthem Board’s 2007 tax return proved his allegations were true, the City has steadfastly refused to dismiss the false charges and delayed going to trial.

But, after almost a year and a half of delays, that bogus misdemeanor case is finally going before a special judge on October 27, 2011. 

Meanwhile, the legal expenses have piled up for such a high profile attorney.  And, Henderson City officials have recused themselves and contracted with a special prosecutor and special judge.   It was discovered that most of the Henderson City leadership had irreconcilable conflicts of interest with a Sun City Anthem Board Officer (a potential person of interest to the District Attorney) who had been a Henderson Assistant City Attorney and Judge Pro Tem for many years.  The whole matter smells to me like it could wind up being related to the FBI’s broader investigation into other NV HOA corruption.

If you are not familiar with this outrageous case of police abuse and political attacks against my husband, see these links for some details:

1.  http://www.scaview.org/my_first_website/welcome/2010/03/youre-under-arrest-board-politics-and-political-influence.html

2.  http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/05/01/false-arrest-case/

3.   http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2597#p4820

Kay Frank

Posted in kay_frank, Ann_Small, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Laws & Rules, Community Affairs, Operations | Print | No Comments »

September 26, 2011 by admin.

Nevada Power has received taxpayer “stimulus” money to acquire and install electric smart meters on all NV homes.  This comes after years of installations in other states and growing outrage against such devices.  California home and business owners are particularly outraged and fighting back.   That comes as a surprise  since CA has a reputation for being quite accommodating to new “green” technologies.

There are critical questions about the claimed values, health risks, and purposes of the smartmeter  technologies.  It is questionable on whether the power companies and federal government should be allowed to force homeowners to accept these devices. 

There are unresolved privacy and constitutional issues that could eventually terminate the entire program.  In the meantime, who wants to be the lab rats involved in the early installations?

Here are just a few of the Internet links to videos about the smartmeter technologies. They seem to effectively debunk all of the power company’s claimed “benefits”.

What Is A Smartmeter Doing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpndoSq19BA&feature=related

Darkside of Smartmeters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLeCTaSG2-U&NR=1

Smartmeter Technologies: Armed Spy Devices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fndf2EciSg&feature=related

Smartmeters Are Not Really Smart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-nmaYU6kek&feature=related

Pres..Obama’s Spin on ”Personal Benefits” of Smartmeters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uyt55mieYw&feature=related

Mark Levin Against Obama’s Speech on Smartmeters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_XG25YKRGc&feature=related

Defeating A Smartmeter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL2JQ0FbgvU&feature=related

Smartmeter Ripoff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEZ0Ba0gZQY&feature=related

Refuse Smartmeter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0XnOoLR-u0&feature=related

Opt Out of Smartmeters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTnGMN-kQ64&feature=relmfu

Siemans Marketing Pitch on Smartmeters For Business:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZoWlnEc32Q&feature=related

Itron Smartmeter Marketing Pitch for Businesses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtO6q3FPg8s&feature=related

Comments on WSJ Article– Smartmeter—Dumb Idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUdx79ffjjo&feature=related

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September 22, 2011 by admin.

The below email reports on the Sun City Summerlin Board Meeting on September 19, 2011 where it was confirmed that an IRS audit was underway.  

“From: dom addonizio

To:
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 1:12 PM
Subject: IRS audit of the association

It was revealed by one of the directors at today’s Board of Directors meeting that resident Bernard Silver complained to the IRS about the association, and that this precipitated an audit of the association by the IRS.  The audit is still on-going.  Dom Addonizio”

Sun City Summerlin has always used the same, Del Webb/Pulte-recommended auditor/tax preparer as Sun City Anthem (Mr. Gary Lein, CPA).    As a reminder, Mr. Gary Lein is also a long-time member of the Governor-appointed Commission for Common Interest Communities and Condominiums. 

More details will be provided when available.

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

September 16, 2011 by admin.

The Sun City Anthem (SCA) Board of Directors and certain Sun City Anthem Corporate Treasurers since 2002 and their auditor/tax preparer have been notified by the IRS they have failed to comply with Federal Tax Regulations.

The IRS has initially notified SCA it owes $1.345 Million in back taxes and penalties for the 2002-2007 tax returns.  Subsequent returns prepared in the same manner have not yet been audited.  Meanwhile, instead of following a smart strategy to minimize the back taxes and penalties, the board is following an ego-driven appeal strategy that is apparently wasting tens of thousands more of our dues.

Treasurers for 2002-2007  years were Favil West, Kay Dwyer and Roz Berman.   The Board’s auditor/tax preparer for that period was CPA Gary Lein and the association attorney was John Leach.   CPA Jack Troia was also personally involved as a (self-proclaimed) tax “expert” on the Finance Committee during most of the audit period.

While the involved directors, professional advisers, finance committee members and  community management company leaders are presumed innocent until proven guilty, one has to wonder what they were thinking after the board had been advised in 2008 they were filing false tax returns, and they refused to resolve the disputed issues?

Were any of them monitoring the Department of Justice public information being released about criminal convictions for filing false tax returns?  The following is just one quote from the DOJ tax site.  It describes a case that appears to be far less damaging than the SCA case and the results should be very worrisome to many of the involved SCA individuals.

“Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Baton Rouge, La., Tax Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Aiding in Preparation of False Tax Returns

WASHINGTON - Melissa Edwards was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson to 30 months in prison based on her plea of guilty to one count of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false income tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The court also ordered Edwards to serve a one-year term of supervised release following her prison term and to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $56,040. The case arises out of a March 31, 2010, indictment filed in the Middle District of Louisiana.

According to her plea agreement, Edwards, who worked at Jasmine and Melissa’s Tax Service in Baton Rouge, La., prepared fraudulent tax returns for 20 clients that reported falsely inflated telephone excise tax refund (TETR) credits in the total amount of $126,856. The TETR credit was a one-time credit available to taxpayers for the 2006 year. The sentencing court found that the tax loss, including all relevant conduct, was between $400,000, but less than $1 million.

John A. DiCicco, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Tax Division, commended the IRS Special Agents who investigated this case and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Kevin C. Lombardi and Matthew J. Mueller and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rene Salomon of the Middle District of Louisiana, who prosecuted the case.

More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax/”

 

For more information:

Sun City Anthem CAI IRS Audit Report–$1.345 Million Back Taxes Owed for 2007:

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/02/irs-report-released-boardauditor-has-no-more-excuses/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/02/19/reject-the-boards-shell-game-on-income-taxes/

Posted in Truth Squad, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations | Print | No Comments »

September 5, 2011 by admin.

The August 30, 2011 Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that federal prosecutors investigating fraud by Nevada HOAs, HOA professional advisers, and government authorities for the past few years have identified 75 to 100 co-conspirators including board members, management companies, judges, attorneys and former police officers (see links below). 

Sun City Anthem is not yet been mentioned on the released FBI list of involved HOAs, but after the 2011 IRS demand for $1,345 Million in back income taxes and penalties from SCA, and after the more than 100 major affidavits alleging law violations with the Nevada authorities in the past few years, we should anticipate that  the SCA directors, attorneys, auditor, and management company are  known to the FBI’s investigative team.

The massive, multi-year FBI investigations have exposed elaborate HOA schemes involving such criminal violations as:
(1) board elections fraud,
(2) construction defects claims fraud,
(3) non-competitive contracts fraud,
(4) fraudulent legal services,
(5) real estate fraud,
(6) self-dealing among boards, management companies and HOA law firms, and
(7) theft. 

So far, about two dozen targets of the investigation are said to be taking plea deals that would ensure their cooperation in the prosecution of higher-level players in the scheme.

Here are a small number of the links reporting on alleged SCA Board Financial misconduct/possible fraud in recent articles:

1.  http://www.lvrj.com/news/las-vegas-businessman-enters-guilty-plea-in-federal-hoa-fraud-case-128691408.html

2.  http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/August/11-crm-1114.html

3.  http://www.lvrj.com/news/las-vegas-businessman-enters-guilty-plea-in-federal-hoa-fraud-case-128691408.html

4.  http://www.stopfraud.gov/

5.  Here are just a few of the previously reported/alleged SCA Board Violations of laws and statutes:

- Suspected Board Election Fraud:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/04/23/can-we-trust-the-sca-election-results/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/27/emergency-election-statutes-violation-filed/

http://www.scaview.org/ElectionCoverup.html 

-  Suspected Financial Misconduct:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/04/22/should-you-call-911-if-you-are-being-robbed/

http://www.scaview.org/TheCoverUp.html

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2010/03/17/current-list-of-open-board-issues/

-  Suspected Legal Services Law Violations:  
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/04/03/sca-board-says-attorney-general-charges-are-mistaken-really/

-  Apparent Improper Accounting Practices:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/07/why-was-4779709-off-the-books-in-2009/

-  Reported Misconduct in SCA Reserves:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/03/gross-overfunding-of-sca-reserves/

-  IRS Audit Report–$1.345 Million Back Taxes Owed:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/02/irs-report-released-boardauditor-has-no-more-excuses/
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/02/19/reject-the-boards-shell-game-on-income-taxes/

-  Villas Neighborhood Reserves Mismanagement/apparent fraud:
http://www.scaview.org/TheConPart4.html

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September 1, 2011 by THE VOICE.

Suspended attorney (since 1991), former Sun City Anthem (SCA) Board Vice President, and self-appointed “spokesman/public relations director” for the SCA directors, David Berman said on his blog concerning law violations prosecuted by the Deputy Attorney General against his spouse:

“There is no excuse for allowing complaints of any nature to gather dust for more than three years as this one did, or for matters that can be resolved through discussion, letters of instruction, etc., to be treated as quasi-criminal matters. ”

Right! 

So, why DID the board-president-spouse of a convicted forger/defrocked attorney FAIL for over 3 YEARS to follow the laws and protect the rights of every one of our SCA homeowners?   Did she ignore her spouse’s advice?

After being clearly told and officially opposed by a fellow board member in March 2008, as well as by homeowner Tim Stebbins in May 2008 of her  violations BEFORE she voted (on both occasions), why did Roz Berman willfully act wrongfully?   During the recent hearing, the Senior Deputy Attorney General (DAG) told the Common Interest Communities Commission (CICC) and those in the hearing room that board members can not blame their failures to comply with statutes on bad advice from their “professional advisers”.  The DAG said each director is personally responsible for their bad actions.

So, why did Roz Berman and Mike Dixon FAIL to act to correct their known law violations in 2008 and 2009 after being notified by the State of Nevada in late 2008 that they were being formally charged with violating the laws?

After such a State notification the proper, moral, and legal action would have been to revoke the changed by-laws and CC&Rs and to ask the association attorney for a refund and/or future cash credits.   Instead, the boards played “chicken” with the State and we must presume this was upon advice of the (conflicted) association attorney who had profited handsomely from the whole affair.

Unfortunately, the “victory” celebrations by the accused may have been premature.   The matter may NOT be “over”.   The CIC Commission “decision” may be subject to review and reversal. 

But, as of today, it is clear the NV government Executive Branch Agencies responsible for ensuring HOA justice have universally failed the citizens of this State.  

The indicted board members, the equally complicit/uncharged SCA board members from 2007, the association attorney who advocated and profited by at least $30,000 from the law violation, and the community management company that failed to provide competent “professional” advice may be subject to future indictments/charges from the Real Estate Division and Attorney General. 

The State agencies are not “done” until THEY say they are, and growing public pressure for justice may force this matter to be continued until it is properly resolved.

The facts are that NONE of the involved individuals have ever been properly charged/indicted, and that is why the CICC could not complete its hearing.  A proper hearing still needs to be conducted to determine the guilt or innocence of the alleged violators–as required by NV Statutes. 

The Deputy Attorney General and Real Estate Division are confident they can prove certain SCA directors willfully violated the NRS116 statutes.  And, where there is government will, there are likely ways for those State Agencies to complete their duties.

Furthermore, the four CIC Commissioners who voted in favor of dismissing the case “with prejudice” (without  hearing any of the evidence) could find themselves charged with negligence.  If so, they could be asked to resign by the appointing authority. 

The apparent negligence and toleration of corruption by the CICC on this case taints the credibility of the CIC Commission, the Real Estate Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.  The future on this matter is murky, and the involved board members  and their “professional advisers” since 2007 should not be resting easy.

For additional details, see this prior Anthem Voice Posting:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/06/18/attorney-general-office-removed-bob-frank-from-sca-board-indictment/

Posted in SCA Board, Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Lifestyle, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

July 27, 2011 by admin.

Are homeowners in HOAs being “farmed” like captive animals by the Community Association Institute and government agencies?   This thought-provoking perspective about homeowner rights has been claimed by Fort Bend, Indiana resident Nancy Hentschel.  She has said:

“Home Owner Association (HOA) and Property Owner Association (POA) living is advertised to promote sales and to manage the homeowner population, but these “corporations” are specifically designed to disenfranchise most if not all the homeowners in the subdivision.

The HOA corporation is frequently controlled by the developers, builders, or even the vendors of the HOA corporation, such as the HOA management company and HOA attorneys.  These entities seek legislation to give the HOA board (and therefore its agents) ever more control over the property belonging to the homeowners.

This latter group has formed their own trade organization (Community Associations Institute), which not only lobbies for anti-homeowner laws but also uses funds from HOA corporation coffers (their “client”) in order to pay for the lobbying expenses. One should note that these HOA funds were taken from the homeowners under threat of foreclosure (from assessments).  The foreclosure power is used primarily to benefit these vendors, not the homeowners of the HOA…

(For brevity, most of this editorial has been supressed.  See the below link for the full article.)

…HOA attorneys are a specialized group of attorneys who are trained by the CAI to know how to turn a $50.00 contested fine into a foreclosure process that can yield the attorney upwards of 20 thousand dollars in attorney fees. The reapportionment of assessments and many other tricks, are never made known to homeowners. In this way, homeowners can be led, one at a time, into “executive sessions,” and the foreclosure process, without alerting other homeowners. Isolated in this way, most homeowners are astonished that this process is legal. If the victim of this abuse speaks out, which is quite rare, due to carefully constructed marginalization techniques, others with an air of protective denial will simply say, “There must be more to their story than that!” Unfortunately, the real story about HOAs is much worse. So how is this possible?  How did the HOA industry turn “servitude” into “membership” and “controlled by” into “belong to” and “corporate interests” into “community associations?” Think back to when you bought your home from the builder and developer.  HOAs prey on people’s natural suspicions of their neighbors as having hidden agendas to paint their home purple or jack up cars in the front yard.

Homeowners are sold these fears in exchange for their freedom. This is not a new idea, is it? Depending on the income and social status of the community, these fears are manipulated to fit the buyer. CC&Rs are sold as tools to keep “others” in line, so that they don’t bring down “your” property values (implied personal status), However, CC&Rs are more often selectively used to target and “farm” people for income to the HOA corporation and its vendors, as well as for racial, religious, and political discrimination and manipulation. In addition, let’s face it, there is always the real probability that at least one board member is simply a bully.

Homeowners inadvertently allow this, because neighbors are kept in a constant state of isolated suspicion about each other. When one neighbor feels targeted, he often innocently points to five other homeowners who have the same violation. The HOA’s vendors, or employees, are paid to go after everyone, and are indeed happy to do so. In this way, targeted and confused neighbors, inadvertently support the HOA’s abusive structure by pointing out their neighbors instead of objecting to the structure of the problem. It is also true that one racist bully in your neighborhood will become a powerful favorite of any HOA management company and attorney. He will often even find his way onto the board.

HOAs also commonly target widows who tend to pay off their homes when a spouse dies. Tax records reveal equity and a skilled HOA attorney can tap into this information.  Some of these cases make it to the news, like Wenonah Blevins, Houston, and Captain Mike Clauer, Frisco, but most do not. When people are targeted by an HOA (remember that they are led to think that their HOA is their neighbors), they usually are either shamed into silence or they desire to move away from such disgusting neighbors. Either way, the HOA‘s secrecy remains intact!”

See this link for the full article…
http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/08/04/47120

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June 23, 2011 by kayfrank.

(Revised)  Mr. David Berman appears to have made a really big mistake this time.

He commented about SCA’s apparent plan to go to tax court to appeal the IRS audit report:

“… I had significant exposure to this process during my years in the Exam
Division of the IRS, and if it comes to that, you and Mr. Johnson will be proven
wrong.  An appeal of an IRS decision through the Tax Court is simply not the
commencement of litigation or a “civil action.” It is a RESPONSE mechanism, not
that of a plaintiff commencing an action.”

Did David Berman not previously confirm he was convicted of forging a judge’s signature
on tax documents and lost his law license?  And, did he not previously claim to have gone
to work for the IRS as a low-level, UNIX minicomputer system administrator and trainer-
-but, not as an attorney?

If so, how could he now be claiming to have been working in the “Exam Division of the IRS”
as if he had been employed as a tax attorney?  It makes one wonder if he ever disclosed to
the IRS that he was suspended from practicing law after admitting to being a forger?

As a former IRS Auditor, I had to go through extensive personal checks prior to employment.
I  doubt the IRS would have hired him or allowed him to continue being employed if it had
known about his forgery conviction.

It is also unlikely the IRS would have allowed him to participate in legal discussions or have
access to taxpayer records if he had disclosed his forgery record.  And, why would the IRS have
allowed a self-acknowledged/convicted forger and disgraced/suspended attorney to have
access to private tax records for a decade before being allowed to retire?

When I worked for the IRS, any personal history data that was discovered to be missing or
deceptively  submitted could have resulted in termination and prosecution.

So, we need to ask, why should anyone believe anything this disgraced individual says?  Do
we believe he participated in tax law discussions while deceiving the IRS about his being a
forger and having lost his law license?  Or, did he fabricate a false and/or carefully deceptive
story?

———comments added on June 25, 2011———-

By the way, I believe Mr. Berman is dead wrong by saying “An appeal of an IRS decision
through the Tax Court is simply not the commencement of litigation or a “civil action.” 
The final ruling by the IRS appeal process is truly “final” from the IRS perspective.  

The United States Tax Court process is run by a totally different agency.  Going to US
Tax Court is a civil litigation action that NRS116 and our governing documents appear
to require unit owners to approve–in advance.   Ask any of our SCA retired IRS agent/
auditor members or a licensed tax authority for their opinions before accepting anything
that Mr. Berman is spinning.

In the meantime, many members believe that the board is obligated by law to fully inform
every unit owner via the “Spirit Magazine”, “Relay Newsletter” or by a special letter of the
full facts, costs of appeal, projected costs of ligation and projected “savings”.  

The board must also follow Generally Accepted Accounting Rules by establishing a special
reserve account in the 2012 budget in the event the Association has to pay the full costs of
losing the appeals and litigation actions and related court costs and lawyer fees. 

It seems obvious that the total costs of appealing the IRS audit report finding could far
exceed the initial amounts.  History shows that corporations who dare to challenge the IRS
through Tax Court have a disastrous track record (while the involved attorneys get wealthy).
For example, there is a notorious Canadian company that went to Tax Court with a $50
million liability, and emerged 10 years later with a Tax Court ruling of owing $500 Million!

Our members would be truly foolish to allow the board and its self-serving auditor and
attorneys to continue to follow the current path.   It is impossible for me to imagine a
favorable financial outcome for our unit owners.

Kay Frank

Posted in Truth Squad, kay_frank, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Laws & Rules, News! | Print | No Comments »

June 22, 2011 by bobfrank.

The Berman Blog has said concerning the charges made by the State of Nevada against former Board President/VP/Treasurer Roz Berman (and other 2007/2008 Directors):  “These types of hearings are held on a regular basis and, while not fun to go through, they have never been labeled “indictments.” In fact, there was a time in the past when Bob Frank himself was facing the possibility of one of these hearings, and you never saw him calling it an indictment.”

Of course, we should expect him to try to cover up for his spouse’s flagrant (alleged) law violations as clearly described in the “indictment” from the Attorney General.   See Anthem VOICE article below for the facts in the actual correspondence from the Attorney General’s Office.  Some might argue the process resembles a Grand Jury process where the Attorney General and Real Estate Division collaborate on the results of an investigation that concludes in the indictments and prosecutions of the accused directors.

While it might be called an “administrative hearing,” it is nothing like the “administrative” reviews some people have witnessed.  The hearing is judged by the Governor-appointed Nevada Commission for Common Interest Communities, and prosecuted by the Deputy Attorney General.  The accused have most of the features and powers of a criminal trial including the rights to introduce evidence, issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify, and to cross examine witnesses.  Such hearings (trials) are not scheduled unless there is compelling evidence of law violations.

High-powered defense attorneys  are provided by the board’s Directors & Officers Insurance–with $25,000 deductible authorized for each of the accused directors to defend them against the Nevada Attorney General’s charges.  Convictions could even lead to referrals to law enforcement for prosecution on possible criminal charges.

The State conducts only a few such hearings each year.  Out of 3,000 NV homeowner associations with about 21,000 board members, it is truly a rare occasion for the State to have to go to such trouble to prosecute HOA Director violations. 

Usually the accused directors will respond to State requests to correct any alleged law violations and to promise to not do it again.   But, the SCA Directors and attorney have stonewalled the State for the past 3 years and forced this costly hearing/trial process.  The attorney received about $30,000 for this unlawful work in 2008.  He probably does not intend to admit his guilt and refund the money to SCA unit owners.

So now SCA members will have to pay up to the $25,000 insurance deductible on top of the wasted previous attorney fees. And, no matter how the suspended-attorney-forger-spouse wants to try to spin the truth, this “grand jury-like hearing/trial” is a very serious matter for Roz Berman, Mike Dixon and their associates.

Finally, Mr. Berman lied when he claimed/inferred I previously could have faced such a hearing/trial.  The process never resulted in an “indictment” against me because the Attorney General refused to prosecute.  There was a total lack of valid evidence of any wrong-doing in the 17 allegations submitted by the SCA Board.  All allegations were dismissed/dropped by the State as unfounded.  The record shows that in spite of massive efforts and expenses in 2007 and 2008 to try to force me to resign from the board, or to have the State forcibly remove me from the board, the 2007 Board led by Mike Dixon and Roz Berman failed completely.

Since nothing was valid or substantiated, the Attorney General never charged/indicted me on anything.  History shows that my only mistake was thinking that directors Mike Dixon and Roz Berman (who had also pledged during their board campaigns to fire the Del Webb/Pulte-selected attorney and auditor) would honor their commitments. 

We have all been double-crossed by the boards and attorney since 2007.  And, the windfall profits for the association attorney is believed to have exceeded one million dollars in the past few years.

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June 18, 2011 by bobfrank.

(Revised)

This is to report that the Nevada Deputy Attorney General has removed my name from the list of Sun City Directors indicted for violating Nevada laws governing homeowner associations.

See my correspondence requesting to be released from being a respondent, and the State of Nevada Letter in response:

Frank Response to NV Real Estate Division

Frank Response to Deputy Attorney General

Frank Declaration of Innocence

SCA Board Meeting Minutes–27 March 2008

SCA Board Meeting Minutes–12 May 2008

Nevada Release of Frank From Indictment

The revised list of 2007 and 2008 directors under indictment by the State of Nevada are:  Rosalyn Berman, Shirley Cheri, Roger Cooper, Michael Dixon and Carl Weinstein. 

Personally involved in the statute violations, and listed as directors in the March 27, 2008 SCA Board Meeting Minutes cited as evidence in the case, but not included as respondents, are 2007 directors Bob Berman, Elaine Berg and Kay Dwyer,  attorney John Leach, and Community Managers Terry DaSilva and Caren Carrero. 

No reasons have been given for those individuals to be exempted from the charges.   But, we know they are personal friends and/or business associates of at least 3 of the 7 Common Interest Communities Commission members who will judge the  case.

The Deputy Attorney General prosecution of the accused SCA Directors will be on July 6-8, 2011 starting at 9 AM each day in the Grant-Sawyer Building. 

See the following file for more details on the allegations and potential penalties.

Law Violations Included in Indictment Against SCA Directors

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June 2, 2011 by admin.

(3rd Revision)

Due to some audience confusion during the board’s voting on the gaming issue, James Long’s vote was incorrectly stated in our previous report as favoring gaming.  But, he has recently advised us that his vote was actually in opposition to gaming and the comments below reflect that correction.

The new Board claimed in its May Meeting that a recent proposal by the only surviving lease partner
to take over the restaurant agreement was NOT contingent upon installing gambling/gaming machines.

But, that was a flagrant lie by the Directors and condoned by the attending association attorney and the RMI managers.  

The (previously secret) letter from Mr. Fred Slark dated April 7, 2011 (attached) makes it clear that installing
gambling/gaming is a deal-breaking condition for him to assume full responsibility for the current lease.
Anthem View Takeover & Demand For Gaming Permission  

Every Board Member since 2007 has known the majority of members of this community do NOT favor installing gambling
in the restaurant space.  In addition, the Tubin-controlled poll on gaming last year failed to satisfy the mandatory lease
terms and could not be considered binding on the association.

So, why was Mr. Slark’s high risk/low-member-value lease modification plan seriously considered?  Why did the Board
not summarily reject the offer after reminding Mr. Slark that gaming was not approved by his company’s survey/pool?
Is this not “business as usual” by the “new” board?

The Board’s vote in favor of gambling was 3 yes, 2 no, 1 abstain and 1 not present.

New Board President Jim Long voted against gaming–as he had promised during the campaign.

Celeste Bove weaseled-out by “abstaining” on the votes after claiming she “needed more information”.   But, she did not
make it clear  what “new information” would cause her to vote NO.  

Director Mike Carey had nothing new or significant to add before be voted in favor of the gaming.  He pontificated a bit
before caving in to the majority rule.

Director Jerry Gardberg woke up long enough to declare something incomprehensible about possible “litigation” before
he voted in favor of gaming.  As usual, nothing was provided to members to support the Gardberg rant.

Since Treasurer Dan Forgeron has personally managed the 3-year history of this totally failed restaurant lease, it is clear
his ego and unjustified pride in this handiwork will not let it die.  It is unfortunate that the association’s discredited
attorneys are able to get away with protecting such abject management failures.  If Mr. Forgeron had some personal
financial risk in this game, he would have abandoned this lease project in 2009.

Bella Meese was absent for her first board meeting due to going to CA with George for some medical work.

Wade Terry was the only director with the courage to vote NO for the lease modification+gaming proposal–as he
had promised during the recent campaign.

Even David Berman rose to speak in agreement with Bob Frank that the lease should NOT be approved IF it was
contingent upon approving gaming!   Imagine that unprecedented occasion!  It has not been seen since the 2007 ACE
board campaign days when the common objective was to dump Favil West, Attorney John Leach,  and their cronies!

Meanwhile, NO one has EVER produced any facts to support the opinions that gambling machines in our restaurant
MIGHT make the restaurant “profitable” from the members’ perspective.  The bogus idea that gambling would improve
the quality and/or pricing of food, service, catering capabilities, dining ambiance, or anything else of value to the vast
majority of SCA members has never been established.

Mr. Slark claims to be an honorable investor/manager in many businesses throughout the Las Vegas/Henderson area.
What else would you expect him to say?   But, exactly what has he accomplished while serving as a major investor in the
Tirzo-Tubin fiasco?  And, why should the Sun City Anthem homeowners trust him or the SCA Board in the future?  Have
we not had enough of this Tirzo-Tubin-Slark fiasco? 

And, what about the SUN’s September 4, 1998 report on the Gaming Commission’s rejection of Fred Slark’s application
for a gaming license for North Star Bar & Grill?   Was the license ever granted?  Why was this public matter about alleged
illegal gambling not disclosed before? 

Here is a quote of the relevant paragraph:

“–Rejected a request by Brian Cleland and David Saffren that their  application to be
licensed as shareholders of BFD Las Vegas Inc., which does  business as North Star Bar
& Grill, 5150 Camino El Norte, be withdrawn. The  board also rejected Frederick Slark’s
application to be licensed as shareholder of the North Star. The applications were
referred back to staff to give  the board more ime to review allegations that Saffren
and Slark had engaged  in illegal gambling. “I still can’t figure out what’s true and
what’s not true in this application,” said member Harris.  The board had indicated they
were going to deny both applications; Jeff Silver,attorney for the North  Star, equested
the staff referral to avoid a denial.”

Even if the board arbitrarily (and likely illegally) moves ahead with implementing Mr. Slark’s proposed agreement,
how will the board make Mr. Slark pay all of the hundreds of thousands of dollars required to modify the entire range
of facilities in Anthem Center?  Or, said a different way, what more facilities costs will the board secretly agree to pay
for to strike yet another bad restaurant deal?

Finally, when and what kind of escrow account will be established by the Slark lease-holder containing sufficient funds
to RESTORE the Anthem Center facilities to ORIGINAL condition–if the lessee should fail?  Not establishing such an
escrow account could be considered as evidence of a board conspiracy to commit fraud against the SCA homeowners.

Obviously, we need a FRESH start led by COMPETENT business people.  Mr. Stark does not appear to be someone worthy
of the high risks he has proposed.  

How can we get to the point of starting over without wasting another million dollars or more on the restaurant lease?

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

June 1, 2011 by admin.

The Sun City Anthem Community Manager has distributed the following announcement:

“Looking for a way to give back to the community?

Have a background in Accounting or Finance?

We have a job for you!

The Sun City Anthem Homeowners Association Finance Committee (FC) is looking for residents with accounting and/or financial management expertise.

The FC is just beginning the 2012 budget development process. By joining now, a new member will have an opportunity to participate in the budgeting process, which provides a solid foundation for understanding and positively impacting the financial soundness of our community.

The ideal candidate should have solid experience in one or more of the following areas:

·Practicing or recently retired CPA or accounting professional

·Financial, accounting or MIS consultant for major corporation or government client

·Accounting or finance professor at a college or university

·Manager of P&L center, major department or internal audit with capital budgeting responsibilities

·Undergraduate and/or graduate degree in accounting, finance or business

If you are interested and want to make a difference in your community, please send a resume by no later than June 30th to:

“skyler.jewell” <skyler.jewell@scacai.com>   or 

“rckarrow” <rckarrow@cox.net>

AnthemVOICE would also like to encourage honest, ethical members with the strength of character to stand your ground on the truth to volunteer to serve on the SCA Finance Committee.   

If you are a CPA and you fairly follow what you know to be Generally Accepted Accounting Practices and can stand your ground in technical debates with the association auditor/tax preparer, you can make a huge difference in the future of this association.   Please help your fellow members!

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May 24, 2011 by kayfrank.

By Kay Frank

Henderson City Attorney Elizabeth Quillin was arrested and jailed on Monday, May 23 for DUI, Hit and Run and driving with an open container of alcohol.  She had reportedly freely admitted to these criminal violations.  

Details are included within the following links.  To get the full story of how really onerous her law violations are, one needs to read all of the reports. The arrest report is also attached below. 

Normally, I would not be posting this type of information on this blog, but City Attorney Quillin is a very special case.   She was one of the leading Henderson City Officials who had Tim Stebbins and my husband, Bob Frank, arrested, perp-walked, handcuffed, jailed for 4 hours, and required to post bail in early 2010.  

The arrest was allegedly for knowingly filing a false police report concerning  Sun City Anthem Board actions to approve willfully false financial documents used to justify apparently false Federal Income Tax Returns and SCA budget policies and practices. 

Since that time, the IRS has completed a formal audit of the SCA 2007 tax return.  IRS found the SCA Boards had violated Tax laws and demanded $1.345 Million in back taxes and penalties. 

This fully validated the suspicions reported to the Henderson Police in 2009 by Tim Stebbins and Bob Frank.  It should have led to immediate dismissal of the case; but, the City Attorney ignored all of the new evidence and continued to prepare to prosecute.

Recently, after new information was submitted to the court, City Attorney Quillin was required by an independent judge to recuse herself as well as the City Attorney staff and Henderson Municipal Judge Hampton.  None of them denied having serious bias and irreconcilable, personal conflicts of interest with 2009-20011 SCA Director and former Assistant City Attorney and Pro Tem Judge Ann Small.

Instead of terminating the flagrant injustice for well over a year against these two honorable and obviously innocent men, the financially-strapped City of Henderson hired an independent prosecutor and independent judge to continue to pursue the criminal misdemeanor indictment.  This forced Tim Stebbins and Bob Frank to continue paying tens of thousands of dollars for defense attorneys to prepare for a misdemeanor trial for false allegations.

So, we can see that the gross criminal violations admitted by Ms. Quillin are particularly significant to the SCA community.  The report and media reports say she was driving drunk on duty, caused serious automobile accidents, and witnesses reported she was attempting to escape the scene while creating serious threats to the lives and properties of others.  This was no simple, “first-time DUI” and I believe it clearly reflects seriously flawed judgment and ethical deficiencies.

We need to monitor this case to see if she receives appropriate punishments for her flagrant crimes.  Note that she continues to draw her $190,000 salary while she is on “administrative leave” for such outrageous criminal misconduct.  I wonder if lower-ranking City employees have received  such generous benefits for similar or even lessor crimes?

In my opinion, Ms. Quillin deserves no sympathy or lenience for such truly outrageous criminal violations–especially when considering how she has abused others under her authority. 

———————————–

Police Report:    quillin_arrest_report.pdf

List of Relevant Media Stories:

Review-Journal:

LV Sun:

CH3 News:

CH5 News:

CH8 News:

CH 13 News:

Henderson Press:

24HRLegal Adviser:

The Republic:

See AnthemToday for additional information at this link:
http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2597

Posted in Ann_Small, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, News! | Print | No Comments »

May 19, 2011 by Norman McCullough.

Why Sun City Anthem was awarded Entry into “The Hall of Shame”
By Resident - Norman McCullough

It’s time to have compassion, and to listen to our seniors who have earned the right to live in peace without being threatened by fines (and worse).  Sun City Anthem is a community of people who deserve better than the abuse that has been the hallmark of the past.  If the newly elected Board members really meant what they said before they were elected, we may see some changes, if not we will all be witness to the next generation of “Hall of Shame” candidates.

Posted in Ann_Small, 2011 Campaign, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Operations, Community Affairs, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

May 10, 2011 by admin.

Is “neighborly love” a “possible dream” within homeowner associations?

Are those members on the David Berman Blog who play “whack a mole” against so-called “malcontent” members believing they are ADDING to the chances of harmony in Sun City Anthem?  Why would an “adult” homeowner posting on that site believe that hateful attacks and ordering fellow homeowners to “shut up or move” could produce any positive effects?

Unfortunately, “neighborly love” is rapidly being lost in Sun City Anthem due to increasingly dictatorial board behavior and mismanagement.   The trend shows the problem is getting worse and the “malcontent” members are striking back through public media channels because SCA boards are doing nothing to resolve disputes.

How bad does it have to get before the directors finally learn that following the bad advice from the Del Webb/Pulte-appointed association law firm is the primary source of the ongoing disputes?   It it obvious that keeping that firm is only making the attorneys wealthy while our lifestyle gets destroyed by the never-ending disputes?

While considering possible solutions for SCA, the paper posted on May 9th (10-hoa-myths.pdf) by George K. Staropolis provides important insights.  In addition, Mr. Staropolis’ article posted today, and quoted below, provides valuable insights into common HOA problems. 

http://pvtgov.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/want-more-neighborly-love-in-an-hoa/

    “I submitted the following comment to the shreveporttimes.com article, “A sign that we need more neighborly love.”

    HOAs were never really about neighborly love.  They were promoted as such a fellowship of people with a common goal, “building better communities” and “fostering vibrant, harmonious communities” by the national lobbying organization.

    But, in reality, they are highly divisive and adversarial because strict enforcement of often arbitrary and capricious rules abound, enforced by the “protection agency”, the HOA, whose directors are reminded that they can be sued for not enforcing the CC&RS or declaration.

    Couple that with aggressive HOA lawyers whose income is not based on contentment and neighborly love, but on adversity that leads to the courtroom. It’s in their best interests to preserve the HOA in its current form.

    This authoritarian form of government, backed by pro-HOA laws to inflict severe penalties on homeowner offenders but give a slap on the wrist to HOA offenders, make an excellent environment for the power seekers and misguided true believers who believe that they  are part of a grand and glorious new America. And for the profit-seeking developers, HOA vendors and lawyers.

    IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HOW ELSE CAN IT BE?  No country, no community has ever obtained strict compliance to rules that are aimed to preserve the state, like Nazi Germany  Communist Russia, without imposing restrictions on the rights and freedoms of its inhabitants  “in the name of the state.”

    Its corporate form of government is no different from any other business where there are the managers who control and the people who are to obey.  HOA directors are in the “management” class and homeowners are in the “employee” class, even though the “employees” may also be owners of the corporation.  And we all know that management does not have the 100% whole–hearted agreement and support of its people.

     Yet, the courts and state legislatures truly believe that the board speaks for the members on all matters, great and small. That the HOA is imbued with public government attributes and, ignoring the reality of a contract, by merely living and remaining subject to the HOA the “employee” surrenders all his rights and freedoms contrary to constitutional law.

    But, as we all know, how many people, employees, work and remain at a business for valid reasons other then that they fully consent to be governed by the corporation? The public officials have adopted this “remaining within the HOA” argument not because it is valid, but because it offers a plausible defense for their actions.

     Want more neighborly love?  Hold HOA boards accountable for their actions, and provide protections for the rights and freedoms on the owners.

    Forget the “we don’t want government” and get to “we want the same government protections as all others.”

So, what do we do about the SCA situation with rapidly increasing dissatisfaction and opposition to poor board behavior?   Well, one thing we don’t do.   We don’t lay back and “give the new directors a break” and see if they do any better than the last failed board.

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

May 9, 2011 by Norman McCullough.

Well – the election for SCA Board of Directors is finally over, and the results were as expected.

There is in this community one BLOG owner who (despite his character flaws) continues to exert his enormous influence in every election that we have undergone ever since the governance of Sun City Anthem was turned over to the residents from the developer.

It’s often said “You get what you pay for”, and in Sun City Anthem it’s obvious that we did not pay enough attention to the details, and instead we paid too much attention to the current “Unity” board members and their self appointed “PR man”. It has not gone unnoticed that almost every elected candidate still choose only one BLOG site to “thank the voters”.

Almost every one of the elected candidates have uttered words to the effect;

“I am confident you will find a more open, more resident friendly, and more participatory Board.”

Only time will tell if they really mean it.  I sincerely hope so.

I think Ron Johnson said it best on April 5, 2011.  Here is part of what he said then:

“We are in need of a change in direction, more—not less transparency, greater honesty and integrity, demonstrated community support, independence and proven leadership qualities. What we do not need are candidates who cloak themselves with endorsements from those who have disappointed us in the past as such candidates are more likely than not to adopt similar past practices.”

And here is a copy of Ron’s full editorial:  RJ Election Recommendations

Norman McCullough

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations | Print | No Comments »