As reported by Howard Pitman in an email on Nov. 26, the board has created a line item under the Maintenance section of the Kings Forest budget for Revitalization. This is a half-step in the right direction, and we'll explain why.
What the board did was to create a line item for expenses only. It has not created a line item under revenue to capture any set asides for revitalization.
For those of us less versed in accounting, this is akin to creating a line item in your family budget to record what you've spent on Christmas, but not setting up an account to track what you'll have available to spend -- or where you can deposit money throughout the year toward Christmas.
The Revitalization Committee had asked for a separate line item or Revitalization Fund in the November 5 board meeting so that any moneys saved by reducing pool expenditures, raising the assessment, or voluntary contributions could be captured.
Residents have been quite specific in how they want their assessment increase spent. We've had a number of residents who have already volunteered to contribute up to a thousand dollars toward revitalization.
The Committee strongly believes we need a Revitalization Fund in the revenue line. This will be a topic for the upcoming board meeting on December 3.
