It Will Never Be Easy Running A Community...

Good to hear they are working on it. I've long argued for a cohesive, strategic long range plan. For years we threw up a bunch of numbers that were more to appease the masses wish list than they were a realistic plan. Hell for years (10 or more) we posted $750,000 as the cost of a new maintenance building (on our PIF Projected budget) when in fact it was more than double that (when they built the South course maintenance building). It was laughable if it wasn't so sad.

The entire process was thrown into a quandary when the Mountain View project was targeted and the long range planning committee asked the new GM too give them real numbers on the proposed projects on the list. He updated the numbers to better reflect real costs, but his projects extending out over the next ten years used only a 3% inflation factor. Rich Hoffer, still on the board at the time, argued it wasn't enough and he was dead on right. The GM refused to budge because he knew using the real inflation numbers would blow the budget out of the water.

It wasn't until that GM was let go and we started dealing in reality. The interim GM, Kevin McCurdy, was brutally honest as the expanded Budget and Finance Committee was meeting (last summer) and he spelled out the challenges ahead. All of us were dumbfounded. It shouldn't come as any surprise because for years the former, former GM was a one-person show on developing and presenting the budget. The committee was more or less a formality with no teeth.

This all resulted in where we are now. Significant increases to the yearly assessment, a hike in the PIF with the added $1000 CIF and a working group building and a reserve study based on actual needs across the extensive array of buildings, grounds and equipment owned by the RCSC. I have in hand a copy of a reserve study from 2011 that was projected out for ten years (2021). Sadly it was put in a drawer and ignored. We replaced stuff when we absolutely had to, and we even ignored stuff rather than spending the money to fix things needing fixing.

Cheap was the order of the day for far too long.

Thank goodness we are past that mindset. I agree we need both a 5 year reserve study and a long range plan (10-15 years out). From both a practical and prioritization perspective. get the reserve study done first and get it in play (taking care of what we own). Once that's done, start looking long term at projects we can begin planning for both financially and based on the community's needs (not wants).

 

How did they come up with $20M deferred maintenance? Is this number accurate?

 

Fair question and one i can't answer completely. I didn't start attending Budget and Finance meetings until later in the summer. By then, the acting GM had shown those in the room the data. I do know there was a substantial amount of information shared with those on the committee. Things like golf maintenance equipment held well past its "useful life" was more the norm than the exception. We know how badly our software, hardware and technology infrastructure had fallen behind with outdated programs, printers that no longer worked and wiring with no schematics available (all of it was reported and summarized at an open town hall session). We also know large ticket items (cooling units at Sundial) that were due replacement around the start of the pandemic sat without being replaced. We know the cost for replacing them more than doubled now that they are being scheduled to be replaced.

The best outcome is we have a new, dynamic and transparent budgeting process. I used to argue there was no reason to hide most things from the membership. The only things were issues protected by state statutes regarding privacy. The move away from ownership in the process to one where it was just trust me/us we'll get it right was okay had the GM and board been infallible, they weren't, nor should any of us expected them to be.

 

Will be a relief if that number was overshot but it sounds like it will be used for budget purposes.

 

Process is moving along, but $1.5 million for indoor dog facility was somewhat surprising to see voted on. Not really very transparent! Just sayin!

 

Your comment about Kevin being brutally honest about our current financial situation coupled with previous comments you have made about previous employees being rewarded for loyalty instead of competence makes me continually question what we’re getting from the staff that is in place. Do we really expect those in key leadership positions to make a 180° turnaround and suddenly march to a different drummer? Why were there zero red flags exposed until now?

 

Right there with you Larry. I have asked same, several times, in different ways. My answer was one person left the board in 2014 and all bad things happened after that, however said person is/has been very active with RCSC for many, many years. Just sayin. The whole place just stinks. My friend went to RCSC to get a refund for fee paid for his SO of 47 years, brought the death cert, and was told to get a lawyer. WTF? Treat an 82 year old grieving man like that? I called and got it taken care of by a very kind woman. Poop rolls downhill.

 

Which is why there has been some turnover already in management, the new gm has expectations wholly different from past administration. Which is also why he is whittling down the number of management positions. I find that refreshing. No fanfare, just results based on outcomes.

 

I wasn't happy when they hired a current employee. I wanted some "housecleaning" done and didn't think a person already working there would do so. I'm happy I was wrong.

 

I don't think it's the 'Org Chart" that leaves you numb. You obviously didn't understand the why part of the org chart. It has absolutely nothing to do with titles. You are the one obsessed with titles. Just look at how many times you refer to yourself as Sun City Historian, or President of SCF, or all the other things you call yourself. The reason for the Org Chart is that The Members, we the "homeowners" know who is responsible for what. We don't care about titles. Unlike large corporations we, the members are or should be in charge. We should know who to contact with issues. But as usual the bottom line is you, what you think, what you feel is right. How did Sun City ever survive before you moved here.

 

Senior titles allow employees to be paid appropriately for their roles and gain respect from those they supervise. Hierarchy between employees should never be in question.

 

We are talking unpaid volunteers on our boards and committees.