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

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, 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 »

May 9, 2011 by admin.

Many SCA Members get confused when AnthemVOICE agrees with those who claim that Sun City Anthem is DESIGNED by the developer to be a retiree “Paradise”, but the SCA GOVERNANCE SYSTEM is an incompatible  dictatorship system that ignores and/or nullifies citizen rights granted by the US and NV Constitutions. (See attached “10 HOA Myths” for more details:   10-hoa-myths.pdf)

This deception (some consider it fraud) has been invented during the past few decades by the nation-wide CAI (Community Association Institute) which is the trade association of companies dominating the selling of goods and services to HOA Boards. 

CAI is controlled by the companies providing the lobbying funds that have corrupted local, state and federal legislation to provide HOA Board powers to nullify unit owner US Constitutional rights.

The following quote from national HOA expert, George K. Staropoli sums it up clearly.

“If we are to make progress, we must distinguish the concept of a
planned community, which is a real estate “package” of homes,
landscaping, amenities, and rules, from that of the HOA, which is the
undemocratic governing body of the planned community.”

. …. George K. Staropoli 

Members of SCA (and all other homeowner associations) are hostage to the personal ethics, compassion and good will of the directors we elect.  

The only recourse to stopping bad behavior by directors is to remove them at the annual election or through a special “removal election” called via a petition by at least 10% of the membership.

For more of Mr. George Staropoli’s unique reporting on the “truth” about HOAs see:
http://pvtgov.org/pvtgov/

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

May 9, 2011 by admin.

SCA Member and AnthemVOICE Founder Tim Stebbins advised the new, 2011 SCA Board Members at their special meeting on May 9, 2011 that the 2010 SCA Board was considered by the Nevada Real Estate Division to be the worst of Nevada’s 3,000 HOA Boards.

Tim Stebbins included other comments for the record/attached to the Minutes as quoted below:

“My name is Tim Stebbins, Arroyo Vista Village.  I will supply a copy of these remarks for inclusion in the minutes of this meeting.  I wish to address Agenda item V, election of officers.

I congratulate the 4 new members of our board and I wish all board members success over the coming year.

As you elect new officers for the next year, those officers and all other directors have a real opportunity to set a new direction for our community.

Nevada state officials have observed the just past board was the worst in the entire state – out of about 3,000 boards.  That is something we should all be ashamed of.

Even though we retain 3 members from that board I hope a new spirit of leadership will change both the operations and the image of our board into one of professionalism, competence and cooperation.

We seem to be off to a good start.  Mr. Terry has already taken it upon himself to attend some of the excellent training classes offered by the Ombudsman.  I believe this shows a sincere desire to learn what must be done to be a good director under the laws of Nevada and how to do it in a professional way. 

I congratulate Mr. Terry for his attitude and dedication.  Of course from now on Mr. Terry will be required to disclose his attendance in all future courses under NAC116.484.  I am sure he will be proud to do that.

I hope all board members will follow the lead of Mr. Terry and gain the benefits of professional training and guidance.

It is worthy to note there seems to be no record of the mandatory disclosure of attending any approved classes by any member of the just past board.  With apparently no interest in gaining professional guidance on how to be a good director that might be one of the reasons that board was so bad.

I offer this suggestion:  At every board meeting we have a presidents report, a managers report and member comment periods.  The agenda for every meeting could also include a directors comment period.

Any director could comment on anything they wish including attendance at approved classes (as required by NAC116.484), attendance at meetings of the Commission, attendance at meetings of the Henderson City Council, or any other meetings or activities of interest to our community along with any comments they desire about what they gained from that participation.

This is done at every meeting of the CICCH Commission with a Commissioners Comments agenda item.  I see no reason why this board should not follow their lead.  Everyone would benefit.”

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

May 7, 2011 by admin.

Senate Bill 254 (written and sponsored by certain CAI and Common Interest Community Commission members) has called for (among other things) major increases in fines and punishments for homeowners who are determined by the State authorities to have filed false or frivolous complaints. 

But, SB254 failed to specify equal fines and punishments for HOA bully boards, attorneys and other CAI members who could also be found guilty of such things as false and frivolous RESPONSES to valid homeowner complaints.

Sun City Anthem Member and AnthemVOICE Founding Member, Tim Stebbins, notified the Nevada Assembly Judicial Committee on May 6, 2011 that Senate Bill 254 that had previously been passed by the Senate and heavily promoted by leading CAI leaders (HOA business association) was clearly UNCONSTITUTIONAL. 

Mr. Stebbins pointed out that SB254 violated the US Constitution’s XIV Amendment requiring “equal protection” under the laws.   He also emphasized that SB254 must be amended to ensure there are EQUAL consequences under the NV Statutes when individuals on EITHER side of HOA disputes refused to participate in good faith in State-sponsored mediation sessions. 

Although Mr. Stebbins had previously made his statements about the many serious flaws in SB254 during March Senate Judiciary Committee Meetings, his comments had been totally ignored by the Senate majority who voted in favor of the bill.   But, Stebbins’ similar statements given to the Assembly Judiciary Committee seemed to finally get some serious attention. 

Clearly, some of the lawmakers and involved lawyers from the majority party were finally beginning to understand that a valid constitutional challenge to the proposed changes to NRS116 would be possible, and that something had to be done.

Senate Judiciary Committee Sponsor of SB254, Senator Allison Copening (employee of Del Webb/Pulte), and Common Interest Communities  Commission Chairman/Attorney Michael Buckley (Jones-Vargas Law Firm Stockholder), were forced to publicly admit that Mr. Stebbins was CORRECT, and that the bill’s language would HAVE to be changed to comply with Constitutional provisions. 

But, without those word changes immediately available for consideration by the Assembly, how could SB254 be voted upon?  Such changes would significantly change the nature, purpose and intent of the proposed law, and must be considered by both the Senate and Assembly.

An excerpt of Mr. Stebbins’ testimony follows.  His entire statement about SB254 is attached below.

“There seems to be major emphasis on punishments for a party filing a bad faith, false, fraudulent or frivolous claim.  Fair enough.  But there are almost no penalties for any party filing bad faith, false, fraudulent or frivolous response to the claim.

This seems to indicate an extreme bias on the part of who ever authored those sections of the bill.

It has been my experience the response to a claim is more likely to contain bad faith, false, fraudulent or frivolous statements than the claim itself.

If my observations are valid, the authors of such language should be ashamed of themselves.

The XIV Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees equal treatment for all parties involved. All parties are guaranteed equal protection under the law.  The current wording in several sections of SB 254 does not provide that protection.”

Tim Stebbins’ Testimony About Senate Bill 254:

 Stebbins Comments on Constitutional Flaws in SB254

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

May 3, 2011 by bobfrank.

The SCA Community Manager has reported that 1/3 of Sun City Anthem homeowners voted for Bob Frank (854 out of 2,853) during the 2011 Board Election.

THANK YOU for your support, and please continue to stay active in community governance affairs in the future.

We can be certain you knew who you were voting for, and what values and principles you wanted implemented by the Sun City Anthem Board of Directors.  You have made clear statements of your desires, and we can be conifident your voices will be heard in the future.   Even though all of your choices were not elected to the board this year, some of the policy and procedural changes you have requested may become feasible.

Rest assured, Kay and I, and the many other SCA neighbors supporting AnthemVOICE programs will continue to pursue mutual goals to defend and protect our homeowner rights and property interests.  With the sustained help from you and your friends, we will eventually persevere.

As we know from our national history, less than one-third of the American population was personally involved in winning the War of Independence from England.   And, we can have confidence that eventually, the SCA Board of Directors will finally implement the necessary balance between quality management of our common property and protection of the individual rights and private property interests of each unit owner.  Your sustained contributions and efforts will bring about those changes in this community.

Very Sincerely Yours,

Bob and Kay Frank

PS.   For your reference:  here are the results from SCA Board Elections since 2007:
2007-2011 Sun City Anthem Election Results

Posted in Bob Frank-2011, 2011 Campaign, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations | Print | No Comments »

April 27, 2011 by bobfrank.

This would be my roadmap to solving the SCA Board misconduct problems we have.

1. Practice the “golden rule” and implement community rules fairly, justly and humanely.

2. Resolve all disputes with members internally and avoid forcing them to go outside to seek justice.

3. Replace the discredited professionals and contractors who serve only their greed.

4. Stop the waste and abuse of our hard-earned savings and retirement incomes.

5. Assess dues for only what is needed to run the facilities at top levels, and always return the surpluses.

6. Require the developers to pay what they owe the community.

Imagine what joy we could have if those were the SCA board policies, and if our community refused to allow anyone to serve on the board unless they say what they mean, and do what they say concerning implementing those policies!

Posted in 2011 Campaign, Bob Frank-2011, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations | Print | No Comments »

April 26, 2011 by admin.

Check out the LV Review-Journal’s revealing articles about HOA Board abuse and how once again, Sun City Anthem’s board is used as one of the worst examples of Nevada board misconduct. 

Here is today’s Review-Journal (R_J) View articles:
http://www.viewnews.com/2011/VIEW-Apr-26-Tue-2011/anthem/index.html

Here is the week-end R-J Business Section article about HOA Mismanagement:
http://www.lvrj.com/business/agency-governing-homeowners-groups-scrutinized-120534784.html

Here is the AnthemToday analysis of the situation:
http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2815

And, here you can see David’s Anthem Journal’s pathetic excuses to try to blame “unfair media” for the SCA Board misconduct:
http://anthemjournal.typepad.com/davids_anthem_journal/2011/04/the-latest-media-hatchet-job-on-sca.html

Notice that not one single director, David Berman or his associates have been willing to grant Doris “Penny” Vescio, 86, Shadow Canyon Village unit owner, a permanent variance for her wall extension to protect her small dogs from another coyote attack.    Why is that?  

And, why do they continue to offer the bogus excuse that they “can not comment” on the matter?    Of course they will not comment–no one could come up with a valid excuse for their outrageous misconduct!  Based on Penny’s extensive public statements, it is impossible for the directors to get away with claiming “privacy” considerations as the reason to refuse to comment.

If the board can grant a variance for 2 years, why does the majority of those directors not vote to grant Penny a PERMANENT variance?  It is squarely in the board’s power to stop the madness.  Penny is being forced to escalate the matter until justice is finally achieved.

Forget about Jack Troia and his proven lack of human compassion on so many matters.   His time is way past.  

But, what are those other 6 directors (and particularly those NOT up for re-election) thinking?   Are they just robots or potted plants sitting around the board meetings with no mind, no compassion and no sense of responsibility of their own?  How could they do such a thing?

And, how dare any of those directors claim they CANNOT comment on the case while at the same time complain about Penny’s dissatisfaction with their treating her so dishonestly and shamelessly? 

In the independently published, March 28, 2011 HOA Gazette Newsletter, Johnathan Freidrich reported on false testimony by Celeste Bove, Roz Berman and Kay Dwyer to the Senate Judicary Committee on March 25, 2011.

He said:  “Because in their vain arrogance they insist they are the only ones who are qualified to determine what is a “false or frivolous complaint”.  They have determined all complaints by a petty, insignificant, worthless homeowner against the omnipotent board, by definition, must be false or frivolous because they, as board members, can do no wrong.  One of those women is so conceited, she essentially said to a homeowner: I am a director, and if you don’t like it when I poke a stick in your eye, then you should move.”     (HOA Gazette Source File)            

It appears these people do not realize their names (along with Jack Troia) are candidates for being permanently enshrined in the Nevada HOA Hall of Shame?  Their names might even make it into some future textbooks and business college case studies about “HOA Syndrome” and the kind of HOA board misconduct that can create litigation risks for the association.

Finally, how dare any of those 7 directors and RMI community managers expect to be respected or honored after so conclusively proving on this case (and the income taxes and other issues) that they are unworthy of community support or of future service?

Posted in Ann_Small, 2011 Campaign, Bob Frank-2011, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Operations, Community Affairs, News! | Print | No Comments »

April 25, 2011 by kayfrank.

Prophetic words that today I can still repeat—”will not cover up or
tolerate illegal secrets.”  

My prayer for each and every woman is that you, too have such a wonderful
life partner.  

Happy Easter to all. Christ is Risen, He is Risen, Indeed.

Kay

———–

A google search for “bob frank nevada” found this link to Ron Johnson’s
2007 blog! You never know what will be found left around on the Internet….

http://www.scaview.org/anthem-view/2007/08/the-sun-city-anthem-board-and.html#comment-88 

September 1, 2007 5:25 PM

kay frank said: 

My husband has never bullied anyone, including Roz Berman. Perhaps she mixes
him up with her husband. Bob is firm but soft spoken and absolutely refuses
to cover up misbehavior, or as Roz puts it “go along to get along”. 

As his life partner of over forty years, we have disagreed often and I have
always found him to be reasonable and flexible in looking at issues, but with
the uncompromising bedrock of ethical behavior. Raised by a single mother and
grandmother, Bob is always kind and courteous, and never patronizing to
women. In expecting Roz and the others to live up to their campaign and
moral duties, yes, he would be firm, adamant and courteous. 

Arthur, I think the judge found it easy to sign the notice to quit for S& D
Cafe. What she probably found remarkable was that our association board was
over two and one half years late. After not being paid rent for three years,
evicting them made sense instead of treating them like a charity case for
millionaires, and letting them stay until the end of the lease. 

Just the three years of expenses incurred in funding the utilities,
insurance, etc. for those millionaires at S&D cafe who were stiffing us on
the rent could have a significant impact on our dues increase.

In the matter of secrecy, the Business Development Club, headed by Bob
Frank, wrested the Trumpets contract out of illegal secrecy and shined the
light on it. If Bob Frank had not done so,I believe that this spring the
Trumpets amendment would have been signed in secret, sealed and delivered by
the old board before the end of their term. We would now be stuck with ten
more years of S&D cafe, with no assurance they would even pay their reduced
rent, and with gambling in our recreation center.

Is it any surprise that Bob Frank will not cover up or tolerate illegal
secrets just because “one of the club” tells him it is secret? 

————————-

Posted in 2011 Campaign, Bob Frank-2011, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations | Print | No Comments »

April 25, 2011 by admin.

Two (2) Sun City Anthem unit owners, former Board President Favil West and Del Webb VP Randy Watkins, were among the 7 members of the Nevada Common Interest Communities (CIC) Commission accused of misconduct and serious conflicts of interest in the April 23, 2011 issue of the Review-Journal.

Two (2) Other CIC Commissioners with alleged irreconcilable conflicts of interest with Nevada homeowners (and in particular with SCA homeowners) were SCA Auditor/Tax Preparer Gary Lein and Attorney Michael Buckley (a member of the Jones-Vargus law firm involved in SCA HOA construction defects.  Michael Buckley has been a decades-long friend and associate of SCA’s discredited attorney, John Leach.

See this link for details:
http://www.lvrj.com/business/agency-governing-homeowners-groups-scrutinized-120534784.html#blogcomments?submitted=y

Many SCA members will recall that Auditor/CPA Gary Lein is the man who was hired by Del Webb and Pulte a decade ago to provide SCA’s “expert” tax and audit advice.  After recently receiving the IRS audit report that we owed $1.345 Million in back taxes and penalties for just 2007 alone, it appears that SCA is going to be needing a MUCH better auditor–really soon!

So, with 4 of the 7 CIC Commission members having irreconcilable conflicts of business interests in our association, we can see why no board complaint filed during the past 4 years has been reviewed at an open hearing of the CIC Commission and Deputy Attorney General.  That fact alone is compelling evidence of some kind of misconduct or corruption in the system.

Here is are PDF files of the above link:  
Basic Article
25apr11_comments_r-j_blog_cicc-conflicts.pdf

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

April 24, 2011 by bobfrank.

Since this is likely to be a controversial topic, private/confidential emails to me at bobfrank@cox.net would be helpful.

Board election irregularities, and even election fraud, are common in homeowner associations. After the FBI’s reports on HOA election fraud in other area HOAs, no one should be surprised that SCA needs to protect our community from such problems.

Note that nothing has (yet) been said on the berman journal blog.  Since he used to be on the election committee, he is well aware of the weakness of the SCA system, and likely knows why they have been ignored.  No doubt he will get highly defensive about the information being posted;  but, do not expect him to favor spending any money to fix anything.

Also, if something is said on that blog, watch how it launches yet another of his dozens of bogus, personal attacks and works to try to change the subject.

He is likely to claim I have “smeared the reputations” of many directors and election committee members. But, that would be false.

All I have done is point out the obvious ways for fraud to occur in the SCA election system, and openly asked the questions on why such flagrant errors are allowed to exist–year-after-year?

In the past few years, I have privately asked these kinds of questions of directors and election committees, and my questions have been ignored and/or summarily dismissed.

Most candidates are afraid to challenge the election committee on such issues for fear of being sanctioned in some way.  But, the election committee has no authority to sanction any member for anything.

Why would my trying to ensure we have a totally honest, fair and open election be considered unacceptable behavior by those in power?

But, maybe I will be wrong.  Perhaps the Berman Blog will fully support my recommendations?   ;-)

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

April 23, 2011 by bobfrank.

(Revised Version)

We all hope so, but at our ages and experience, we know there can be a few individuals involved in election management or facilities management who can be bribed or otherwise motivated to try to tamper with election outcomes.

Only well-implemented, trustworthy election systems  and procedures can effectively block those who might want to tamper with the ballots.

For example, a list of the 27 alleged statute violations by the 2010 Board and Election Committee and currently under investigation by the State of Nevada (Case IS-10-2182) is found in this PDF file:  List of Alleged 2010 SCA Election Violations

To answer the question for SCA in 2011, we need to list some basic features and characteristics of a “trusted” secret ballot process, and compare SCA’s current components to the desired criteria.

1. BALLOT:  The ballot should contain the candidate names printed lightly on card stock so the printing and marked votes are not detectable when reversed and held up to strong light in a dark room.

The ballot should include unique, sequential serial numbers created for that particular election to deter the preparation and casting of counterfeit ballots.

2. INNER ENVELOPE:  The inner envelope should be of the windowless type often used for mailing checks or other confidential material.

The inner envelope would contain internal tinting so the printing and writing on the ballots could not be detected without opening the envelope. The flaps should clearly indicate if there had been attempts to improperly open or tamper with the seals.

It should be impossible to detect anything printed or marked on the enclosed ballot.

3. OUTER ENVELOPE:  The outer envelope should have inner tinting and tamper-resistant flap seals. It should be impossible to detect anything printed or marked on the enclosed inner envelope.

4. BALLOT “LOCK” BOX:  The containers used to store the voted ballots in the Community Centers during the voting period should be “tamper-proof”.

The ballot “lock” box construction should use tamper-proof screws, tamper-proof door locks, and tamper-evident seals around the access door.

The ballots should not be able to be viewed,  removed or accessed at any time of the day or night until counting time.

5. BALLOT HANDLING PROCEDURES:  Ballots are either inserted directly by members into a Ballot Lock Box or sent via US Mail addressed to a reserved USPS mail box. Only the authorized voting member should be able to touch a ballot between the time it is completed and inserted into a Ballot Box.

6. BALLOT HANDLING PROCEDURES RECEIVED VIA US MAIL:  A special USPS Mailbox should be rented for the sole purpose of receiving ballots during the voting period.

Only a limited number of background-cleared individuals should have key access to the USPS box during the voting period.

Ballots should not be removed from the USPS box before they can be taken directly to, and immediately inserted into one of the Ballot Lock Boxes in a Community Center.

7. BALLOT COUNTING PROCESS:  The process of opening the ballot lock boxes and counting the votes should be in plain sight.

All members should be able to pass by and observe the activities from a distance–not to exceed 10 feet.

Once the outer envelopes had been validated as representing members entitled to vote and the ballot had been removed, the outer envelopes should be sorted in street address sequence and made available for inspection by members.

The outer envelopes should be permanently stored in case there was a question about the member validation process.

Board members and candidates should have priority access to reviewing the outer envelopes.

So, how does the SCA 2011 Ballot Handling Process measure up to the “trusted” criteria described above?

——————

IT FAILS!   None of the SCA Election system components uses any of the trusted criteria.

For example:

1. SCA BALLOT PACKAGE IS VULNERABLE TO TAMPERING.   The SCA ballot and envelopes use the cheapest materials available.

It appears possible to hold up completed/sealed ballots in front of a strong light in a dark room and detect the votes in most, if not all of the ballots.

It appears possible for someone having access to the ballots to destroy some of the ballots cast for certain candidates or groups of individuals. 

The preferred candidates would be certain to win, and the opposed candidates would lose by “reasonable” margins.

The current SCA ballots and election procedures could not detect such tampering and fraud.

2. SCA BALLOT BOX IS VULNERABLE TO TAMPERING.  The SCA ballot boxes are not tamper-resistant.  The construction is of wood with normal screws.

The access door is locked by the cheap type of lock often seen in file cabinets and office desks.

Such locks can be easily picked by a non-expert using techniques readily found on the Internet.

No tamper-resistant/tamper-evident seals are used on the doors, other potential access points, and voting slots to detect unauthorized accesses during late nights and weekends.

No information is provided by the Board on who has restricted access to the ballot box keys or about what kind of 24/7 security/access-prevention is being provided for the ballot boxes.

There are no procedures for detecting and reporting on attempted accesses to the ballots.

After normal hours to avoid being detected, it would be easy for someone to move/wheel the ballot boxes to a more shielded area from the outside and/or remove and inspect ballots via the open slot on top.

3. SCA BALLOT HANDLING PROCESS IS VULNERABLE TO TAMPERING.  Ballots cast via the US Mail appear to be mixed in with regular mail and processed without special handling.

It appears it would not be difficult for employees or volunteer members to gain unsupervised access to the ballots received by mail and to the “extra ballots” made available for members who might need them.

In addition, copies of extra or reproduced ballots can be voted by unauthorized individuals–with little chance of being detected.

An individual may also be able to (a) remove and destroy ballots from the ballot boxes, (b) to cast counterfeit ballots for likely non-voting units (such as rentals or units for sale or for rent), and/or to (c) tamper in other ways with the contents prior to placing seemingly valid ballots into a ballot lock box.

None of that kind of illegal activity is likely to be detected by the current SCA election procedures.

With so few effective security elements and procedures, how COULD the SCA election process be considered “trustworthy”?

The current SCA system is so loose it can not provide any hard evidence of ballot tampering, destruction, or counterfeit submissions, and the “certified” results can not be audited by a 3rd party individual.

So, we must argue it is important to recognize the serious weaknesses in the system and for members to demand they be corrected in the future.

We believe the SCA Board of Directors and Election Committee should care deeply about being vulnerable to suspicions and mistrust by candidates and community members.

Even if no one is discovered taking improper or unfair advantage of the election system, it must always be implemented so that it at least appears to be open, fair, secure and above reproach.  Such capabilities are the foundations of our American Constitution and culture.

SCA Boards and EC members have done little in the past to try to protect the association from allegations of unfair elections.

And, the fact that the board’s preferred candidates have won every open seat for over 3 years is sufficient cause to worry about the integrity of our election system.

We believe a board majority that truly cared about election trustworthiness could repair all of the election  system vulnerabilities in just a few short weeks, at low cost, and permanently ensure that everyone can have pride and high confidence in our election process.

Regardless of the 2011 election outcome, please help us to demand that board action be taken to provide SCA with “trustworthy” elections in the future. 

Our future in hanging on providing open, honest and fair board elections in the future.

Posted in 2011 Campaign, Bob Frank-2011, Ann_Small, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Operations | Print | No Comments »

April 10, 2011 by THE VOICE.

 Last week, the board’s blog (normally called “David’s Anthem Journal”)  announced that the golf course owners were in DEFAULT on their loans. 

     — But, we heard NOTHING from the unity directors.

Then, the board’s blog (and 8th board member) reported that things were much worse than originally reported–but not to worry.

     — But, still NO WORD from the unity directors.

Few things could cut our property values and destroy our hoped-for lifestyles more than if the golf courses fail!  Every SCA homeowner (and even all homes in the Anthem community) could be directly affected by the health and future of the SCA-adjoining golf courses. 

All of our properties (not just those adjoining the courses) are significantly valued based on the open space and beauty of our resort-styled community designed around the two golf courses in the valleys.

Unity directors (particularly Ann Small and Jack Troia) have previously said that since the golf courses are not part of our common property, they have no board responsibilities, and have no direct interest or responsibilities for what happens to the golf courses that go through SCA. 

Many members remember that 2 years ago, Dr. Ron Morse, PhD, alerted us to the impending financial problems with the golf courses when he was a board candidate.  But, the “Great Oracle of All Things” (David Berman) and others in his unity group attacked Ron for daring to tell the truth, and most people ignored the obvious.

Worse than that, when a couple of board members tried to find ways to work with the course owners in 2008-2009 to help promote use of the golf courses, former director and Dell Webb/Pulte associate, Favil West, interfered with the action, and successfully blocked the initiatives.  

So, why must our board and members insist on being involved in the future of the courses running amongst us?  Some real estate professionals have said that if/when the golf courses go bankrupt, the most likely benefactor could be a developer.  The developer would most likely pick up the property for peanuts and fill up the land with a few hundred low-cost/highly profitable homes.   What could be worse for SCA?

The Board attitude is what we call GROSS NEGLIGENCE.  It is legal EVIDENCE of DIRECTOR FAILURE to honor their fiduciary duties on behalf of our community association.  

Failure of the golf courses would make previous board failures look small in comparison.  The current Board’s actions to ignore this obvious disastrous problem for our community and lifestyle is reason alone to reject all carry-over directors and all candidates who show disdain and disregard for this major problem.  

While solutions to this complex problem are not easy to formulate, FAILURE TO DO ANYTHING must be considered GROSS NEGLIGENCE by the unity crowd!

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

April 2, 2011 by admin.

Your April issue of the Vegas Voice in the mail and at shopping centers contains an ad on page 21 sponsored by the “Sun City Anthem Homeowners Committee to Elect Bob Frank”. 

This public exposure was necessary because the SCA Board refuses to allow board candidates to pay for ads in the Spirit magazine or Relay Newsletter–as the commercial vendors do.  Does that make any sense to you?

The Homeowners Committee Ad says:

 ”April 8th to April 29th is when you cast ballots for the Sun City Anthem (SCA) Board of Directors.  Our homeowner group asks you to vote for Retired Air Force Colonel Bob Frank because he has proven to be the kind of trustworthy director we need to defend our homeowner interests.

Bob’s strong, no nonsense leadership style has attracted some political attacks from directors and community members who favor business and personal interests over homeowners.  But, we ask you to disregard those negative forces and concentrate on the positive truths about Bob Frank’s selfless and consistent record of honest service to homeowners.

In recent years, there have been dozens of community issues illustrating Bob Frank’s leadership skills, reliability, integrity and character.  But we only have space to outline his top role—refunding surplus dues to avoid income taxes.

History shows Bob Frank was the only SCA director who opposed the gross over-charging of annual dues and who worked to avoid the $1.345 Million taxes revealed in January.  Bob’s actions included:

1.  Organized a SCA group of retired IRS specialists in 2008 to help the board avoid errors and omissions.  But, the board threatened Bob with a law suit if he asked IRS for guidance without board approval.

2.  Objected to the questionable tax policies at 2008 board meetings and voted NO on the 2008 budget that wrongly raised dues by $160.

3.  Proved that instead of raising the dues for 2008, the rate should have been cut over 50% by refunding the over $3.7 Million of accumulated surpluses as directed by IRS rules.

4.  After completing his board term, Bob helped to obtain a policy letter from the National IRS Expert that proved SCA had submitted false income tax returns—but the board ignored it.

5.  Recently, Bob reported on a possible way to:

(a) avoid paying the $1.345 Million in taxes and penalties, and

(b) avoid wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars appealing a hopeless tax case.

Finally, to give your candidate(s) the best chance for election recommend only voting for truly trustworthy people.  Eliminate errors by lining through names you do not wish to elect.

More information on Bob can be found at blog.anthemVOICE.org or from: bobfrank@cox.net”

Please remember to vote to return Bob Frank to the SCA Board.

Sponsored by Sun City Anthem Homeowners Committee to Elect Bob Frank

Posted in Bob Frank-2011, 2011 Campaign, SCA Board, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

March 31, 2011 by admin.

Tenured psychology professor at the College of Southern Nevada, Dr. Gary Solomon, believes recent medical research proves that dictatorial HOA Board abuse against homeowners can create serious mental and stress illnesses–particularly among seniors.

And, the following snapshots of his signs, web sites, and local TV coverage shows he and a group of others with similar interests have set upon a path to do something about it.

Click here for a short article:  HOA Syndrome

See the following websites for more information:

http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/27376288/detail.html

http://www.ktnv.com/story/13966867/hoa-hall-of-shame-sun-city-anthem#

http://www.hoa-busters.com/

No doubt many will consider this to be really bad news concerning the potential adverse affects on HOA homeowner property values where homeowners are making public complaints.

Developers, real estate brokers and some homeowners believe that all such bad news stories must be suppressed to protect community home values, but such self-centered, cover up attempts fail to solve any problems.  They just put off the inevitable and create much worse problems.

The obvious solution is to remove abusive and incompetent board members and work to ensure that only trustworthy directors are elected in the future.

Resolving conflicts to mutual satisfaction WITHIN the community is the only way to achieve exceptional lifestyle opportunities, maintain outstanding community morale, and grow property values ahead of market averages.

Our Sun City Anthem homeowners need to wake up and recognize we have a very serious problem with board misconduct.  Trying to keep a lid on the SCA board’s misconduct has proven to be unworkable.  

A perfect example of what NOT to do is the current income tax fiasco.  Consider the long-term impacts of a case like our Board’s attempting to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of hard-earned dues money to try to bully the IRS into giving us a tax credit for their obvious mistakes.  What an outrageous act of disrespect and dishonor to our homeowners!

At the rate the “unity boards” are going, Sun City Anthem in Henderson, NV will be long remembered for allowing its boards to do such really dumb things as to pay millions of dollars in taxes out of the many millions required to be refunded to members. 

Excuse me?  Give away taxes to the Government on money required to be REFUNDED each year to unit owners?   Even the best of con men can not make any sense out of that garbage!

We have to wonder, will our community become so notorious that it is studied in future management schools and forever ridiculed for electing such dictatorial, insensitive people to the board, year-after-year-after-year?

The question will be:  “Why did we tolerate such mismanagement?”  Were we intimidated and bullied into submission as the HOA Syndrome seems to  suggest? 

It is common for abused people to continue to tolerate abuse until it gets so bad that some type of major blowup occurs.  Let’s hope we can do better in this year’s election and avoid a blowup.  Having to consider calling for a recall election to get the board focused on working for us homeowners is much more work than getting trustworthy people elected in the first place.

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