General Manager’s Update – 9-24-20

Dear Landings Association Members, There still is time to vote in The Landings Association’s Annual Dues (Assessment) proposal. Property owner turnout for the vote is critical to ensure that the outcome will truly represent the will of the majority. Why? Consider these points…

• Our Covenants require a supermajority of 2/3 approval (66.7%) of those voting for the Proposal to pass.
• The majority of voters (66%) in 2018 approved the Proposal, but it failed by 0.7%. That’s why it’s important for all owners to vote.
• Higher turnout means the vote result is more representative of the entire community.

Please make sure to vote either online or via the paper ballot, if you have not already done so. Email webmaster@landings.org or call 912-598-2520 if you need assistance voting. The vote ends on October 5 at 4 p.m., and the tabulation process is finalized immediately thereafter. The Landings Association engages our external auditing firm to track vote results so we are assured of an independent, anonymous process and results, whether you vote online or you return a paper ballot that our auditors enter into the online system manually. The sealed ballots that are mailed or dropped off at TLA are sent by FedEx twice a week to the auditors, who open the ballots and manually enter the votes into the system. The results will be shared with the staff and Board and then the community the evening of October 5. Next week, Budget Liaisons from the Finance Committee will begin meeting with staff from our various departments to review year-end estimates for our revenues and expenses, draft 2021 budget line items, and draft 2022-2026 projections. Based on these meetings, we will update and finalize draft budgets for each department. We also are updating the assumptions in the Capital Asset Management Plan (CAMP) for estimated costs and lifespans of our infrastructure and related assets. We again will work with our Reserves Subcommittee and an independent Reserve Specialist to update our Reserve Study. The cost for the independent Reserve Specialist will be lower ($2,400), as we do not require another onsite visit to catalog our assets at this time. Rather, we expect to have an onsite visit every six years or so. Once results from the Annual Dues vote are known, we can finalize the draft budgets for full Finance Committee and Board review, as the vote plays a major role in determining operational service levels as well as funding available for the repair and replacement of our capital assets. Based on Finance Committee and Board feedback over the next two months, we will finalize the 2021 Budget, for approval by the Board at our December Board Meeting. As always, the Budget then will be posted on our website. Last year, we presented a series of well-received Budget Workshops as part of this process. COVID-19 has put a damper on in-person events this year, but we plan to present more Budget Workshops in 2021, permitting it is safe to do so by then.