Crunching the Numbers

The budget process will begin in earnest in a few days. It might be helpful to review some frequently asked questions to refresh your memory about how this happens. This entry is devoted to basic budget questions. As we move through the cycle, I will provide additional updates.

WHY do we budget?
It costs money every day, to cut the grass, heat the pools, answer the phone, spray the bugs, clean the gutters, pickup trash, pay for cable and all the other things that keep Wildewood Springs going. The budget process is the formal evaluation and decision process that we use to plan what we believe it will cost to run this community for the coming year.

WHAT is the WWS budget?
The annual budget is the anticipated cost for the coming year. The total dollar amount is allocated by unit size to 558 units as maintenance fees.

The budget is comprised of two main sections.
The first section, Reserves, are monies we accumulate for capital projects such as roof coating, painting and paving.
The second section, Operating Expenses, are the everyday expenses incurred in running Wildewood Springs such as trash, water, sewer, electricity, insurance, administration and cable tv.

WHO creates the WWS budget?
The Budget Committee develops the budget with input from the Property Manager and from service providers. The Board of Directors approves the WWS Budget and the Owners approve the funding level for Reserves.

HOW is this done?
All those costs mentioned above are reported and tracked during the year. When the budget cycle begins, the current year's costs are reviewed and considered to develop the new budget. Anticipated rate increases for items such as insurance, electricity, gas, water and trash are factored into the equation. The schedule for large capital projects such as painting must be reviewed to verify we are accumulating reserve monies at an adequate rate to have funds when the projects are planned to occur.

WHEN does the process occur?
The budget process dates are tentative. Here are the milestones:

April/May
The preliminary Budget Committee meeting. This is generally an overview of the cycle.

August/September/October
There are a series of meetings where the budget components are reviewed and revised.

October
The budget is presented to the BOD tentatively in the October meeting.
The Board gives approval for distribution and budget copies are distributed to all owners.

November
Final Board approval is tentatively planned for the November meeting.


WHERE do the meetings happen?
The first committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday September 8, 2009 at 9AM in the Wildewood Springs office. Watch for official meeting notices on the office bulletin board and additional notices posted on the cluster bulletin boards, Channel 95 and the reminder email notices. Budget Committee meetings are open to all owners. Additional meetings will follow and be announced in the same fashion.

A Blast from the Past

I thought it might be fun to devote this entry to some material I came across in the WWS office. I'm not certain who found these materials. But I enjoyed comparing them to current photos of the same locations and I hope you like it as well.

The first item on the left is a photo postcard from Wildewood Springs. It must date from the late 70's and might have been created as marketing material for condo sales. The photograph is Pool 3 looking toward the rear of cluster G. On the right is a recent photo taken from approximately the same location and orientation.
























The next pair of photos shows Pool 1 in the same approximate time frames as the photos above. This view looks toward the rear of cluster B. The old photo is from a WWS marketing brochure.



































The most striking difference for me was the lack of mature trees in the early photos. I had thought the trees we can see in the later shots were always on the grounds. It's easy to see the visual impact of a mature landscape for this property. It looked nice then, but it looks wonderful now. Maybe this place was named 'Wildewood' because someone had a crystal ball. Enjoy the photos!

Looking Up

There's been much activity recently at Wildewood Springs. But unless you're accustomed to looking up, you may have missed it.

Tim our roof specialist has been working on the most recent round of roof cleaning. As you may recall, Tim was hired to provide a constant monitor on the new roof coating that was completed in 2007. Under his watchful eye, potential problem areas are identified and given appropriate remedial attention on a proactive basis. The result; we've had no billable roof maintenance since Tim has taken over this task. Plus the incidence of plugged gutters and has fallen virtually to zero.

The palm tree trimming has recently been completed. This is done each year in the mid summer. Removal of the dead fronds, flowers and seed pods eliminates debris that fall on the sidewalks, stairs and roof and may become projectiles during any high wind. The tree contractor also removed a number of dead trees and trimmed a a few problem trees on the grounds. The grounds look beautiful.




Special Meeting Information

We've finally been able to establish a date for the Special Meeting for the Documents Revision Mini Project. The Special Meeting is set for November 10, 2009 at 2PM. The location is not yet established.

We've also set aside two dates for workshops on the two amendments we'll be voting on.

• October 12, 2009 9AM Workshop Bylaws 4.3 Director Terms
• October 19, 2009 9AM Workshop Article X Insurance.

These workshops are established to help owners understand each amendment and ask related questions. More information will be published regarding these meetings as the dates approach.