My name
is Laura Brown and I have volunteered to be the new
Franklin Meadows Treasurer. I am a 36 yrs old, widowed
mother of two children: Sabrina, who is 4, and Colin, who
is 2. I recently moved to the subdivision this past
summer. My background includes 8 years of
accounts payable work experience and
a bachelor’s degree in accounting. I also have
plans to take the CPA exam in 2010 while working
on a Masters Degree of Economics next year. I look forward
to working with my fellow neighbors to continue to make
Franklin Meadows the great neighborhood that it is. Seasons
Greetings!
The
2009 Profit and Loss Statement is now available. Please
click on the "Downloads" link to your left and then click
on the "2009 Profit and Loss" link to download your copy.
REPORT
OF
FRANKLIN MEADOWS EXPENSES 2008
THE FOLLOWING IS THE REPORT OF EXPENSES FOR FRANKLIN
MEADOWS FOR THE YEAR 2008
COMMUNICATIONS
– NEWSLETTER $649.64
COMMUNICATIONS – WEBSITE $120.00
INSURANCE – DIRECTORS $834.00
INSURANCE – LIABILITY $2,482.00
LEGAL $367.00
MAINTENANCE – CLEAN UP $12,259.46
MAINTENANCE – IMPROVEMENTS $6,481.70
MAINTENANCE – LAWN MOWING $5,706.65
MAINTENANCE - REPAIRS $2,587.60
MAINTENANCE – SNOW REMOVAL $8,514.55
MISCELLANEOUS – OFFICE SUPPLIES $507.74
MISCELLANEOUS - OTHER $32.97
MISCELLANEOUS – POSTAGE $277.20
SOCIAL EVENTS – CHRISTMAS $435.80
SOCIAL EVENTS – EASTER EGG HUNT $297.03
SOCIAL EVENTS – OKTOBERFEST $3,231.95
SOCIAL EVENTS – OTHER $396.95
UTILITIES – ELECTRIC $585.42
UTILITIES – WATER $1,123.39
WHY ARE MY DUES GOING UP?
Posted 11/08/08
Recently around
our subdivision a question has been asked a few times of
various board members….”why are my dues going
up?” This is a very valid question and deserves some
explanation.
It would be easy to say that there is one reason for dues
to be increasing, but it is more complex than that. The
last few years, the boards have been faced with a few
problems that required costly solutions. It seemed that the
perfect storm had hit Franklin Meadows.
First, the pathways in our parks were in need of major
repairs. The paths in the park south of Independence had
sections that were beginning to be down right dangerous for
adults walking or children playing. The repairs that were
made cost our association a large sum of money. And in
spite of the large sum of money spent, the repairs that
were made were not as complete as the contractors wanted
the board to make. The budget of our association limited
the choices the board had at its disposal, so prudent
repairs and maintenance were made to keep our parks safe
for all to use.
Second, the parks in our subdivision were hit by the
Emerald Ash Borer. The result was a large number of ash
trees all through our subdivision that suddenly were dead.
At first only those trees that fell were removed. But this
policy had its drawbacks. It meant that many times, only a
minor wind storm could bring down a number of trees. A few
of those incidents caused damage to items like the tennis
courts that required expensive repairs. It became very
clear that many trees were going to have to be removed and
removed quickly before the damage spread to
resident’s property. Last year we addressed as much
of the problem as we could afford and hopefully the
remaining trees will be addressed.
Third, Franklin Meadows is 30 years old and the association
had no reserve fund to be able to use when serious and
costly problems occur in our subdivision. In the financial
turmoil that is currently being experienced in our country,
many financial advisors, like Suzie Ormond, are telling
their viewers to check out the financials of the
developments that they are planning on buying property in
and make sure that the associations have sufficient
financial strength so that the new homeowner won’t be
open to huge increases in fees. The board is acutely aware
that lack of financial planning on our association’s
part, could be a significant reason for potential new
buyers not wishing to purchase a home here in Franklin
Meadows. Steps are being made to address the issue.
Fourth, just like every resident who lives in Franklin
Meadows, the costs of the goods and services that are
purchased is rising due to the recent run up in the cost of
energy. In spite of watching every expense and bidding out
the large service contracts, the cost of just providing the
level of past services is going up.
And lastly, the State of Michigan is increasing its
oversight of non profit organizations, like the Franklin
Meadows Club. These increased guidelines require your board
to act more like a business. Many more issues by the board
must be addressed with more scrutiny and require decisions
that will provide a strong and viable organization going
into the future.
There are still many other upgrades that need to be made in
our subdivision in order to provide a safe and pleasant
environment for the residents of Franklin Meadows. So the
idea of raising dues was done with much reluctance by the
board and with the hope that in the future the needs of
Franklin Meadows will be addressed and at the same time
keep the costs to the homeowners kept reasonable.
Sincerely,
Robert Michalewicz
Franklin Meadows Treasurer
Franklin Meadows
Treasurer’s Report
Well,
it’s already fall and the leaves are getting ready to
turn colors and so I give you my report of our expenses for
this year so far. As is clearly evident our largest expense
is maintenance. The two biggest maintenance expenditures
were the paving and seal coating of the paths in the Big
Park and the cutting of a large number of dead trees in the
Big Park due to the Ash Borer. All other categories of
expenses were held to past levels. Looking ahead, it seems
that we will probably have to pay more for the services we
contract for due to the rise in energy costs. The board has
worked very hard to get as much value as possible for the
money spent in order to keep Franklin Meadows in as best
shape as possible.
Sincerely,
Robert Michalewicz
Franklin Meadows Treasurer
Franklin
Meadows
3rd
Quarter
Financial Report
YTD Expenses
Communications
- $587.47
Insurance - $3,316.00
Legal - $367.00
Maintenance - $27,766.81
Postage & Supplies - $702.12
Social Events - $3,894.94
Utilities - $734.47
THE UPCOMING ELECTION, FRANKLIN MEADOWS & YOU
This
winter, the board received many comments about the quality
of the snow removal service here in Franklin Meadows. Many
homeowners commented that the service was not as good as
the past. I thought this was a great time to let the
homeowners of Franklin Meadows know what had changed.
First, let me begin with the fact that our major streets in
this subdivision are deeded to Macomb County and fall under
their area of responsibility. In the past, your board had
contracted with a private company to plow our streets
anytime snow accumulated more than 2 inches. This policy
has not changed. For the most part, immediately after the
snow quits falling, our contractor plows our streets. In
the past, after the main roads have been cleared, the
Macomb County Road Commission would have a truck come
through the subdivision and either lightly plow any
remaining snow, and/or would salt at the major
intersections. This did NOT happen this winter. Due to the
county budget problems, the county discontinued any service
on secondary roads like ours.
This discontinuance of service on secondary roads does not
seem all that important, but without that little extra, our
roads were not up to the standard of the past years.
Looking at the coming year, the county money problems have
not gone away, so the chances of our streets being
maintained to the high level of previous years, does not
seem probable. The reason the county is in such dire
straits is because, your county commissioners did a very
poor job of managing the expenses of the county and allowed
their expenses to exceed their revenues. And add to that
the fact that the economy here in Michigan has tanked, and
property values are falling, the funds are not there to pay
for this level of expenditures.
Why did I mention the upcoming election in the title of
this article, because it is your chance as a Franklin
Meadows and Macomb county homeowner to get the message to
those people who are running for office, that you do not
want services like snow removal cut just so the status quo
can be maintained at the county. Every person living here
in Michigan has had to make adjustments to their lifestyles
due to the poor economy. Let your elected officials know
that taking away services is not the way you want them to
solve their money problems. Now is the time to call, write
or email county candidates, township candidates, state
candidates and federal candidates and get them to look into
your concerns. This is the time to voice your concerns
while they need still your vote.
Please keep in
mind that last winter, the entire yearly dues paid by about
40 Franklin Meadows homeowner’s went to clear our
streets of snow. And if you wish to go back to the level of
service that was provided in the past when the county did
additional snow removal, even more money from our
homeowner’s would be needed to be spent. We all pay
taxes. It’s up to us to see that we get something in
return for those taxes. Now is your time to get your voice
heard. Call, write or email them and let your concerns be
known.
Sincerely,
Robert Michalewicz
Franklin Meadows Treasurer.
FRANKLIN MEADOWS
TREASURER MID-YEAR REPORT
It’s
already June, and time for the mid-year Franklin Meadows
financial report. This year is shaping up to be an
expensive one for our subdivision.
The category that has seen the biggest percentage of change
is Maintenance. Due to the above average number of snow
falls and the effects of Mother’s nature, our
maintenance spending has increased by 30%. Included in this
increase was the paving and seal coating of the Big Parks
pathways.
We did manage to cut our Insurance costs again this year
and most of the other categories other than Utilities were
in line with last year. While our financial situation is
good, the ever increasing rise in costs hampers our ability
to move beyond just maintaining what we have, instead of
making improvements.
Other change that has happened financially was that the
Board in December passed an increase in the Franklin
Meadows Association Dues to $175.00 that will be reflected
in the billing that will be mailed out in September of this
year. The hope is that this increase will allow us to
continue the level of service that has been provided in the
past and withstand our ever rising costs without having to
revisit the idea of another increase in the near future.
Sincerely,
Bob Michalewicz
Franklin Meadows Treasurer
2007 Year End
Treasurer’s Report
With the year 2007 now in the history books, as Treasurer I
want to recap the expenses of Franklin Meadows for the past
year and I am having posted a detailed report of the
Franklin Meadows Subdivision expenses for the year. The
year 2007 has been an interesting year to say the least.
Our biggest expense category has been Maintenance.
Under this heading is included the resurfacing and
resealing of the pathways south of Independence. These were
done to keep them in a safe state of repair. Most of the
other subcategories, were in line with the previous year.
But looking forward most of the costs we face in this
category will be going up.
One of the areas, we were able to cut costs vs 2006, was in
category of Insurance.
Our
insurance needs were put up for bid and we were able to
reduce this expense in the amount of $2,275.03.
All the other categories, were in line with the previous
year and we were able to keep the level of services
provided at their high level. A special thanks should be
given to our Social
Director, Karen Hebel,
for her hard work at keeping up our strong line up of
social events and doing so while keeping their costs at
2006 levels. The number of residents participating at these
events has been growing.
Looking forward, the board is planning to have the pathways
resurfaced and resealed north of Independence. This will
bring all of the parks pathways up to a high standard. The
playground equiptment in the big park is need of
improvements and might be addressed if funds permit.
Your board has worked hard to keep Franklin Meadows a
beautiful place to live. But as homeowners, there are
things that you could help to make this task easier.
- Volunteer to help in your subdivisions events. Events
like The Park Clean Up, Oktoberfest and The Easter Egg Hunt
are huge undertakings and the more residents involved
allows the board to keep costs under control.
- Pay your dues on time. If you can’t, please contact
any of the board members to make an arrangement that works
for you. This will save us from having to go to the expense
of getting the FMC attorney involved.
- Finally, thanks to all who have paid their dues on time.
The late fees of $10.50 must be added to any checks after
March 1st,
2008.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bob Michalewicz