HOA requests public feedback on Quarterly Assessments increasing to $165 per Quarter ​

September 13, 2023

Dear TrailMark Residents,

As mentioned in each HOA Meeting this year, the TrailMark HOA Board of Directors has been keeping a close eye on our budget as many expenses have risen sharply over the past year. Every company has raised prices as it’s a sign of the times. Our Board has done our best to cut back expenses, specifically non-discretionary expenses in order to save money. For example, our Board even cut back on the Common Area Committee and Social Committee’s budgets in 2023, so we could help pay the necessary monthly expenses like trash, landscape maintenance, snow removal, irrigation and fence maintenance, and management to name a few.

Resident Sandy Farish has always graciously extended her financial expertise and advice to the TrailMark HOA Board considering our annual budget. Sandy was able to crunch our current numbers along with the help of the accountant at Westwind Management Group. A copy of the proposed 2024 budget, along with your proxy, and HOA election ballot will be mailed in your annual meeting packet sometime in October.

Our proposed budget for 2024 was presented to the HOA Board of Directors last night. If we continue charging residents $135 per quarter for assessments, then our bottom line would be $39,404 below our budget. This means our quarterly assessments will definitely need to be increased. 

Our goal is to set a fair and reasonable quarterly assessment where we are not in the red, but where we are able to pay our bills on time, and still contribute a monetary amount to our reserve account as per our guidelines and reserve studies conducted. That being said, the Board looked at alternative, suggested quarterly assessment amounts that Sandy prepared to see if the Board could sustain our monthly expenses with the assessments collected.

If the Board were to raise our quarterly assessments to $155 per quarter, our bottom line at the end of 2024, would be $8,625 below budget. So, $155 per quarter will not work.

If the Board were to raise our quarterly assessments to $165 per quarter, then our bottom line is $23,375 above budget. The TrailMark HOA Board was advised that this is the safe, comfortable quarterly assessment amount to maintain our fixed expenses, contribute to our reserve account, and keep us from being below budget.

The Board even explored a quarterly assessment of $175 per quarter. Charging each household $175 per quarter would leave the Board with a surplus of $55,375 at the end of 2024. The Board agreed that $175 per quarter was too much and not necessary.

Prior to the TrailMark HOA Board raising any member’s quarterly assessment, the Board historically has always given our members a 30-day courtesy to collect homeowner feedback and input. If any of you have comments, complaints, or praises considering raising our HOA quarterly assessments to $165 per quarter, then please send your comments by email to trailmark@westwindmanagement.com. All public comments will be collected and are due by October 14th, 2023. 

​Here are some facts to share with residents. Raising our quarterly assessments to $165 will be an additional $10 per month, per household. As you all know $10 is a normal day for a Starbucks customer. One less day at Starbucks per month pays for your increase in quarterly assessments.

The Board will begin collecting all public input and listen to the collected public comments at the Annual meeting on November 14th at 6:00 p.m. After reviewing the public comments collected, the Board would then make a public vote at the November 14th Annual meeting to raise our quarterly assessments to $165 per quarter. If the vote passes, then the new $165 per quarter assessment would go into effect on January 1, 2024.

Please understand that the TrailMark HOA Board of Directors has tried to avoid a price increase in quarterly assessments as long as we could by cutting expenses where we were able. The time has come where we need to raise our quarterly assessments to $165 per quarter. If you are interested, please take some time and submit your comments and feedback to trailmark@westwindmanagement.com. 

We appreciate your feedback and cooperation.

Thank you,

TrailMark HOA Board of Directors
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