2024-25 Annual Meeting Report

The increase in assessments for 2025 is 3.79%.

The board reported that the community’s financial condition has greatly improved over the last five years. Despite some staggering financial challenges, the community has held the annual average assessment increase to 4.4% over this five year period, which is slightly below the North Texas inflation rate.

By purchasing wholesale  and restructuring the finances over the last 5 years, the community has:

• reduced the debt from $1,000,000 to $179,000;
• increased reserves from $0 to $829,410; 
• absorbed skyrocketing insurance costs that went from $99,000/year to $234,000/year;
• and completed multiple capital improvements without a loan or special assessment, including:
  
  • resolving drainage/flooding issues,
  • repairing the brick joint grouting 60,000 sq ft of brick wall/fence,
  • CellGate gate controlling system,
  • landscaping, including the addition 41 oak trees,
  • tree lighting system,
  • installing foundation piers building F,
  • pool resurfacing, 
  • dog park,
  • remodeling the pool house and bath,
  • installing a grilling station.

Effective January 1, monthly assessments will be as follows.

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Every dollar collected will be spent as follows. Notably, the Association is now spending more on proactive maintenance than reactive and deferred maintenance. Insurance at 31% of the budget is the single largest expense and a most burdensome overhead. Now that LoBT has been thrust into the high-risk pool, a dedicated committee is being formed to explore improving insurance coverage and costs.

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The reserves at the end of 2023 and 2024 are as follows. The Association plans to repair the lake retaining wall in 2025/26 and paint the buildings in 2026, and do this without a loan or special assessment. $225,000 of the reserve has been set aside in a restricted fund to eliminate the need for insurance financing at 12%, thus saving $14,000 yearly in interest.

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The capital budget is as follows. It should be noted that only 9 of the twenty-two categories are fully funded YTD as the capital reserve plan is being phased in.

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The operating budget is as follows:

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The operating budget change, 2024 vs 2025 is as follows. It is notable that fixed expenses have been reduced and the saving for future capital expenses increased to further the Association's financial stability and greatly reduce the likelihood of the capital repair special assessments of the past. 

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Sixty percent(60%) of eligible owners signed up and are participating in the group purchase master electric contract.

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INFORMAL POLL AT MEETING

During the meeting, two owners raised concerns about the transparency of the board election process. Specifically, they objected to the use of "secret" ballots and requested that candidate representatives be allowed to participate in the vote count. This prompted a discussion of Texas Property Code §209.005, which requires secret ballots for HOAs with more than 10 units.

While many attendees voiced trust in the integrity of both the board and the management company—who currently oversee vote counting per standard industry practice—a board member proposed a compromise: hiring an independent third party (such as a law firm or CPA) to count votes alongside the management company. However, a show-of-hands poll indicated strong support for maintaining the current process without additional oversight.

The conversation then turned to the benefits of the new online voting system, which is expected to significantly increase owner participation. In past elections, fewer than 25 owners voted directly, with most ballots submitted via proxy to board officers. With electronic voting, all ballots will come directly from owners themselves, including those unable to attend the meeting.

Additionally, the combination of machine and manual counting will improve accuracy, especially since LoBT votes are fractional and based on unit square footage. For example, the largest homes carry a vote weight of 1.503, while the smallest have a 0.977 vote.

Finally, LoBT will now comply with state custodial requirements. All ballots and tally sheets will be stored in a sealed and signed envelope, available for review by a Justice of the Peace in the event of a contested result.

Note: Four owners ran to fill four vacant seats this year and last year two owners ran for two vacant seats. In the last seven years, only one person running for the board was not elected.

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BLOG UPDATE

For convenience, the links to the financial reports and governing documents have been moved to the blog header at the top of each page. A new website is under devlopment and will be published later this year.