Those campaign statements and the FACTS:
“The Planned Community Act (47F) was established as a statute in 1999 not 2004. Only a very small part of 47F applies to Fairfield Harbour. None of the sections mentioned at the candidates night apply to Fairfield Harbour because it is a pre 1999 community. Our DORs were filed before the establishment of the Planned Community Act.
“Voting on our budget” Our DORs do not allow open voting on our budget. The Planned Community Act reference to voting on the budget does not apply to Fairfield Harbour.
“3 open bids for outsourced jobs” Open bidding is a written policy of the FHPOA.
The wealth of experience and backgrounds of all residents in Fairfield Harbour can be applied to any of the open POA committees that are announced through the website and also the Beacon. Any member in good standing can apply.
“Voting on all budget/dues, capital projects, recreational amenities and other issues”.
The FHPOA publishes a very detailed draft budget by the third Wednesday in January. The draft budget is very detailed, typically running more than 15 pages. Each expenditure that will be made is included. On the fourth Wednesday in January a community meeting is held to discuss the draft budget and each of the planned projects and operating expenditures. This meeting is the opportunity for the membership to express approval or disapproval for any line item in the budget. The Board then takes the input from the Draft Budget Community Meeting plus additional changes that occur late in the budget and generated the final budget, which it then approves before the end of February. The final budget has the same level of details that are seen in the draft budget, typically 15 or more pages.
“Monthly payment of dues” Our DORs require dues payment before May 1st. There are no exceptions. To assist members who prefer to pay monthly, any member who is paid in full for the current year can send in a monthly amount to be credited for the following year. Since the budget has a forecast of dues for the coming year, calculating this amount is not difficult.
However, most likely the last payment will have to be adjusted based on any difference between the forecast dues and those actually approved.
“A change in the DOR’s may be necessary” Some sections’ DORs can be changed yearly. Other sections’ DORs can be changed only at other intervals, some only every ten years. The actual years and dates of the allowed changes are staggered. In addition, to make a change 66.66% of all the property owners must vote Yes to have a change approved. Any property owner not voting would be counted as voting a No vote.
The POA has never owned the amenities. HRC (Harbour Recreation Club), an entity formed by a number of property owners, did purchase the amenities from Fairfield Harbour, Inc., and subsequently sold them to MidSouth, but the POA was never an owner.