OCEAN PINES—A public meeting to discuss Ocean Pines Association General Manager Bob Thompson’s proposed 2014-2015 budget was a sparsely attended affair on Feb. 15, but did not lessen the significance of what was being discussed—the first assessment reduction in in recent years.
An obviously pleased OPA President Tom Terry, said later he was “Absolutely thrilled that we are getting an opportunity, for the first time that I know of, to lower the dues,” which will result in the annual member base assessment decreasing from $914 to $909.
He credited the combined efforts of the Budget and Finance Committee, General Manager Bob Thompson and his staff, and the board of directors, for a collaborative effort that pared the 2014-2015 budget downward.
Thompson said on Feb. 18, he felt the budget process went “pretty smoothly” this year. He confirmed the assessment fee reduction was a first in recent years. “Everybody really pulled together and worked for our membership,” he added.
He said the board’s decision to forgo paving the Beach Club parking lot this year took one of the pricier projects off the list of expenses, along with the board’s insistence that the Yacht Club break even, rather than allow for a possible $97,000 loss in the first year of the reopening. The board rejected a proposal that would have added a $10 across-the-board charge to the assessment fee to fund a $25 coupon for members to use at the Yacht Club, Terry also pointed out.
The OPA Budget and Finance Advisory Committee chair Dennis Hudson presented the board with the committee’s annual fiscal year budget review and guidance during a Feb. 3 meeting.
OPA Vice President Sharyn O’Hare said she was very pleased with the professionalism of the Budget and Finance committee and staff, during the in-depth review of the budget. “This was a very smooth process this year,” she said.
According to O’Hare, “Most of the BOD members attended the B&F meetings and listened to all the committee reports. We all worked very well together and I feel the results showed. For the first time in my recollection (and I have been here since 1975), we were actually able to LOWER the dues!”
“Pleased” was the descriptive theme from several members of the board, who were asked for comments on the budget proposal they will vote on during a scheduled meeting on Feb. 22. While Terry acknowledged that the assessment was not being decreased by a huge amount, “it is definitely going in the right direction,” a sentiment that was echoed in a separate comment by the board’s newest member director Jeff Knepper.
Director Bill Cordwell, who as a candidate for the board ran on a platform promise not to vote for additional assessment increases, also noted the budget process went in a more positive direction this year. “It started with the board of directors giving guidance to the general manager, the G.M. and his directors putting together a budget framework and then the budget and finance committee interviewing the directors and giving their thoughts to the BOD,” Cordwell said.
The committee’s guidance apparently gave the board the tools it needed to lower the annual assessment in the same year OPA is making a substantial investment in a brand new Yacht Club. “All involved worked toward the same goal, doing the best for the residents of Ocean Pine,” Cordwell said. “Did we all agree on everything? No, but that is what the process is supposed to do, give everyone a voice,” he said.
“It was a pleasure working with my colleagues through this process and I am looking forward to putting this budget into practice,” he said.
Director Knepper, said Thompson and his staff had prepared a solid budget and the budget and finance advisory committee had conducted a thorough review and made good recommendations. The review was helpful, he said, adding that board members had also received emailed suggestions from members as well as the comments made during the public hearing. Although sparsely attended, we did receive comments there.
During the public meeting member Carol Mills voiced her opposition to a proposal to increase the fee for parking at the Beach Club. Calling the proposed fee increase “outrageous” she pointed out there had been no improvements made to warrant the increased costs. Thompson pointed out that there had been no increased costs for the amenity during the past five years, despite increases in expenses during that time.
Director Marty Clarke also seemed pleased about the fee reduction, which he called “a step in the right direction.” But he pointed out the reduction for the community’s 8,447 property holders only amounted to $42,235 and compared that to the total assessments that have ranged from $6.8 million in 2009 to $8 million in 2013.
In the context of those increases, which he said have ranged from a minimum of $30 in some years, Clarke noted, the $5 reduction was “not a big deal.” For the first 10 years, according to Clarke the assessments were never more than $100. From 1991 to 1993, the assessment was $370 and was raised by gradual increases until the fee increased from $575 in 2007 to $725 for 2008 and 2009. At the time, the $150 increase was explained as a way to bolster the OPA’s reserve accounts, Clarke said.
He said he was “not real thrilled about a couple of things” that remain in the proposed budget. First, was the increase in payroll spending, although the proposal to create four new Public Works positions would be halved to two and supplemented instead with culvert cleaning equipment.
Second, Clarke said the OPA should not increase the price for beach club parking passes, an amenity he called “a cash cow.” He suggested in order to forgo a proposed increase in parking pass costs, a $25,000 reduction in the rate of growth for payroll spending was warranted.
In contrast, he noted the revenue losses and capital expenses generated by investments for improving the golf course, which he said has drained revenue from the OPA. Clarke seemed baffled about what would justify lowering the costs for individual memberships, which cost 141 members $1,320 in 2009 and 58 members $1,315 in 2014, when he said, “Price is obviously not the problem.” He questioned the need for additional golf course investments, “Because we are losing members like a broken fire hose loses water.”
Director Terri Mohr also credited the Budget and Finance Committee for doing a great job in preparing the guidance that helped the process go smoothly this year. “I appreciate their hard work and expertise,” she said, adding that Thompson and Controller Art Carmine “also did an exemplary job creating the budget.”
Mohr said each budget item was well thought out and presented with supporting documentation “that definitely makes our job a little easier. We have much to look forward to in 2014 with our new Yacht Club and golf operations.”
An obviously pleased OPA President Tom Terry, said later he was “Absolutely thrilled that we are getting an opportunity, for the first time that I know of, to lower the dues,” which will result in the annual member base assessment decreasing from $914 to $909.
He credited the combined efforts of the Budget and Finance Committee, General Manager Bob Thompson and his staff, and the board of directors, for a collaborative effort that pared the 2014-2015 budget downward.
Thompson said on Feb. 18, he felt the budget process went “pretty smoothly” this year. He confirmed the assessment fee reduction was a first in recent years. “Everybody really pulled together and worked for our membership,” he added.
He said the board’s decision to forgo paving the Beach Club parking lot this year took one of the pricier projects off the list of expenses, along with the board’s insistence that the Yacht Club break even, rather than allow for a possible $97,000 loss in the first year of the reopening. The board rejected a proposal that would have added a $10 across-the-board charge to the assessment fee to fund a $25 coupon for members to use at the Yacht Club, Terry also pointed out.
The OPA Budget and Finance Advisory Committee chair Dennis Hudson presented the board with the committee’s annual fiscal year budget review and guidance during a Feb. 3 meeting.
OPA Vice President Sharyn O’Hare said she was very pleased with the professionalism of the Budget and Finance committee and staff, during the in-depth review of the budget. “This was a very smooth process this year,” she said.
According to O’Hare, “Most of the BOD members attended the B&F meetings and listened to all the committee reports. We all worked very well together and I feel the results showed. For the first time in my recollection (and I have been here since 1975), we were actually able to LOWER the dues!”
“Pleased” was the descriptive theme from several members of the board, who were asked for comments on the budget proposal they will vote on during a scheduled meeting on Feb. 22. While Terry acknowledged that the assessment was not being decreased by a huge amount, “it is definitely going in the right direction,” a sentiment that was echoed in a separate comment by the board’s newest member director Jeff Knepper.
Director Bill Cordwell, who as a candidate for the board ran on a platform promise not to vote for additional assessment increases, also noted the budget process went in a more positive direction this year. “It started with the board of directors giving guidance to the general manager, the G.M. and his directors putting together a budget framework and then the budget and finance committee interviewing the directors and giving their thoughts to the BOD,” Cordwell said.
The committee’s guidance apparently gave the board the tools it needed to lower the annual assessment in the same year OPA is making a substantial investment in a brand new Yacht Club. “All involved worked toward the same goal, doing the best for the residents of Ocean Pine,” Cordwell said. “Did we all agree on everything? No, but that is what the process is supposed to do, give everyone a voice,” he said.
“It was a pleasure working with my colleagues through this process and I am looking forward to putting this budget into practice,” he said.
Director Knepper, said Thompson and his staff had prepared a solid budget and the budget and finance advisory committee had conducted a thorough review and made good recommendations. The review was helpful, he said, adding that board members had also received emailed suggestions from members as well as the comments made during the public hearing. Although sparsely attended, we did receive comments there.
During the public meeting member Carol Mills voiced her opposition to a proposal to increase the fee for parking at the Beach Club. Calling the proposed fee increase “outrageous” she pointed out there had been no improvements made to warrant the increased costs. Thompson pointed out that there had been no increased costs for the amenity during the past five years, despite increases in expenses during that time.
Director Marty Clarke also seemed pleased about the fee reduction, which he called “a step in the right direction.” But he pointed out the reduction for the community’s 8,447 property holders only amounted to $42,235 and compared that to the total assessments that have ranged from $6.8 million in 2009 to $8 million in 2013.
In the context of those increases, which he said have ranged from a minimum of $30 in some years, Clarke noted, the $5 reduction was “not a big deal.” For the first 10 years, according to Clarke the assessments were never more than $100. From 1991 to 1993, the assessment was $370 and was raised by gradual increases until the fee increased from $575 in 2007 to $725 for 2008 and 2009. At the time, the $150 increase was explained as a way to bolster the OPA’s reserve accounts, Clarke said.
He said he was “not real thrilled about a couple of things” that remain in the proposed budget. First, was the increase in payroll spending, although the proposal to create four new Public Works positions would be halved to two and supplemented instead with culvert cleaning equipment.
Second, Clarke said the OPA should not increase the price for beach club parking passes, an amenity he called “a cash cow.” He suggested in order to forgo a proposed increase in parking pass costs, a $25,000 reduction in the rate of growth for payroll spending was warranted.
In contrast, he noted the revenue losses and capital expenses generated by investments for improving the golf course, which he said has drained revenue from the OPA. Clarke seemed baffled about what would justify lowering the costs for individual memberships, which cost 141 members $1,320 in 2009 and 58 members $1,315 in 2014, when he said, “Price is obviously not the problem.” He questioned the need for additional golf course investments, “Because we are losing members like a broken fire hose loses water.”
Director Terri Mohr also credited the Budget and Finance Committee for doing a great job in preparing the guidance that helped the process go smoothly this year. “I appreciate their hard work and expertise,” she said, adding that Thompson and Controller Art Carmine “also did an exemplary job creating the budget.”
Mohr said each budget item was well thought out and presented with supporting documentation “that definitely makes our job a little easier. We have much to look forward to in 2014 with our new Yacht Club and golf operations.”