Surplus funds to be used to drive down assessments

By Greg Ellison

(Feb. 24, 2022) Ocean Pines Budget and Finance Committee members were updated on Tuesday regarding final tweaks to the proposed FY23 budget ahead of the Board of Directors reviewing the data during its meeting on Wednesday.

General Manager John Viola said the latest addendums to the proposed budget would lower next year’s assessments to $896 for non-water lots and $1,344 for waterfront properties.

The current charges are $996 and $1,494 respectively.

Viola said with surplus figures from the prior budget year now finalized, a portion of that sum was earmarked to reduce assessments.

“It comes down to two main items,” he said. “One is the surplus we had in retained earnings that we realized from last year.”

Viola said, contingent on board approval, a newly proposed budget line item tied to assessments would become an annual affair.

“Depending on the operations, we either recommend to increase the assessment or decrease,” he said.

For the FY23 budget, approximately $650,000 of current operating surplus is being included, which trims $77 off assessment charges.

Also contributing to the proposed reduction are increased revenues from amenities, most notably golf and food services.

“All are trending to the upside, so we increased our estimating for golf and food and beverage in the next budget,” he said.

Golf revenue estimates for the current year were increased by $50,000, with a comparable uptick included for food and beverage.

The latter nets the association $25,000 after a 50 percent split with food contractor Matt Ortt Companies.

“We did recognize that we are trending better and did increase on the amenity side,” he said. “We’re seeing the ship turn around.”

In terms of closing out the present budget year, Viola said the final numbers are coming into sharper focus.

“We believe we’re going to come in favorable to budget $1.2 million to $1.6 million,” he said.

Finance Director Steve Phillips anticipates budget favorability on the upper end of the scale when the fiscal year closes at the end of April.

“The higher end is probably more likely,” he said.

Ideally, the current budget year surplus numbers would also be used in a similar fashion next year when finalized, Viola said.

“Let us realize it first and then you get it back in the assessment,” he said.

Viola also recapped current budget numbers from last month and highlighted new expenses through February.

Additional costs include $21,000 to hire a search firm to locate candidates to fill the general manager position Viola is on the verge of vacating.

“That hasn’t hit yet, but we will probably see it in the February numbers,” he said. “Obviously, we didn’t budget for that this year.”

Also, Public Works spent roughly $31,000 for snow cleanup in recent weeks.

Viola said Public Works Director Eddie Wells attributed the price tag to costs for salt and equipment needs.

“He did rent some more equipment,” he said. “We had a lot of equipment out there compared to the past.”

Phillips said about $15,000 of snow-removal costs are included in January figures, with the balance billed during February.