Margaret Walker is a resident of Sun Valley/Elkhorn.
By MARGARET WALKER
Letters, accusations, justifications and attorneys' comments continue to fly back and forth as Elkhorn homeowners demand answers from the board of directors of the Sun Valley-Elkhorn Association. Some homeowners are up in arms about the exorbitant spending patterns of the board of directors and the Elkhorn administrative staff over the past two years.
The board represents approximately 1,600 homeowners and is entrusted with the duty of prudently managing the association's money to ensure it is spent wisely and for the good of all of the members of the association. When budgets are compiled, the board receives input from the Elkhorn administrative staff and bases its decisions, in part, on the recommendations put forth. My research shows that the administrative staff has now grown to five persons with a 2007 budgeted payroll increase of 73 percent over 2005 figures.
In the past two years, while homeowners continue to get the same services and have the same amenities, the same swimming pools, the same tennis courts, and the same programs, and while the staff responsibilities remain unchanged, the costs of their services have skyrocketed.
In the corporate world, this is called "empire building"—less work per person and more manager responsibilities. I cannot believe that the nine men and women who comprise the Elkhorn board looked at these figures and said, "Yes, we are doing a great job." In their own businesses they would never allow their staffs to increase spending at the rate of 60 to 73 percent if it came out of their own pockets.
Elkhorn financial statements from 2001 to 2007 are posted on the Elkhorn Web site. These figures say it all:
- From 2001 until 2005, the total operational expenses, management expenses, and administrative payroll of the Elkhorn association remained stable, growing only (plus or minus) 5 percent in five years.
- From 2005 to 2007, the total operational expenses have increased from $603,646 to $821,293, an increase of 36 percent, while the management expenses have risen from $277,023 to $442,026, a 60 percent increase in two years. The most spectacular increase, however, is the administrative payroll line item, which includes payroll, health insurance, payroll taxes and retirement benefits for Elkhorn administrative employees. In two years, the administrative payroll rose from $190,409 to the incredible 2007 budgeted figure of $329,121, or an increase of 73 percent.
The administrative payroll figures do not include the Village Pool payroll and payroll taxes of $64,000 or the Harker Pool payroll and payroll taxes of $73,000, or the money paid to the independent contractor who competently runs the tennis and kids camp programs each summer.
It is time for the Sun Valley Elkhorn board to take a more active involvement in what is going on in the office. This may be difficult since only three of the nine members of the board of directors live here full-time.
The annual meeting was held in December but the budget was not sent out ahead of time, so members did not have the chance to go over it, and the homeowners unable to attend in the winter are still in the dark. At the meeting, budget questions were asked, but not answered because of "time limitations." Is it any wonder answers are needed now?
In this resort community, there are only two or three months in the summer, needing owner/staff contact and very little if any activity in the winter months. The staff's year-around responsibilities are the same as in any other association, but the bottom line here is: with no change in the number of owners, services or amenities, the Sun Valley-Elkhorn budget should remain within a 5 percent ballpark of the year before.
It is time to act. Sun Valley-Elkhorn homeowners, please let your board know how you feel and demand a reduction in administrative overhead to the 2005 level.
