The Village of Oakcreek Association, a homeowners association that encompasses 2,400 residential and commercial lots in the Village of Oak Creek, is considering aiming significantly lower than the $500 fee level recommended by the association’s finance committee last summer.
The final proposed annual assessment level will likely be far lower, based on discussions during a Dec. 9 joint work session between the board of directors and finance committee.
VOCA’s finance committee had recommended that annual lot assessments be raised to $500 annually, up from their current level of $180, in order to bring VOCA’s capital reserves to a more sustainable level by 2023, following a capital reserve study conducted by a third party.
The reserve funds are needed to repair and replace aging association assets, such as irrigation pumps and landscaping equipment. During community forums held in the fall, VOCA leadership told members that the funds were necessary to cushion the HOA against a crisis necessitating major repairs.
Board and finance committee members at the recent work session were generally agreed that a raise to $500, though prudent, was unlikely to pass a community vote — required for even small increases — based on feedback received over the last several months from VOCA members.
“At $500, it’s going to be a ‘no.’ We’ve gotten so much feedback against the $500,” VOCA board president Gwen Hanna said during the meeting.
According to Hanna, many VOCA members have suggested to the board a figure closer to $360. Some VOCA members, she said, had commented that if the $180 assessment, in place for most members since 1994, were adjusted for inflation since it was first instituted, the assessment would be near the $360 mark.
But while $360 “seems like it’s about the right number” to pass, according to Hanna, other figures — between $360 and $500 — are still under consideration. At $360, board members noted, VOCA would not reach its target capitalization levels until 2031, much later than the 2023 target under the $500 proposal.
While board and finance committee members agreed that aiming for a lower fee increase was the less risky strategy, the board and committee members debated whether it was responsible for the board of directors to pursue a fee increase that would help but still leave the problem to future boards.
“I’m troubled by the idea that at $360 [annual assessment], we could just walk away” board member Kevin O’Connor said.
But by the end of the work session, the board and finance committee members seemed to reach a consensus that passing a more modest increase was preferable to no increase at all.
“Step two, if this [increase] gets voted down, is ‘What’s next?” board treasurer Jim Krauts asked. “We need the money, we need the increase — what’s going to get us there?”
Committee member Joe Jansen seconded that view.
“I honestly believe if you put $500 on the ballot, it will go down in flames. We have to put something on the ballot that the membership is going to approve,” he said.
While these sentiments represent current opinions made by VOCA leadership, a final decision about the new assessment level to pursue will not be made until the VOCA board of directors meeting on Thursday, Dec. 19. The assessment increase question will also be discussed at the finance committee meeting on Monday, Dec. 16.
Once a fee level is decided, VOCA will work with legal counsel to craft the language of the ballot question or questions, which will be put to VOCA members in April.
