Each month the Association President and Treasurer prepares three summary budget documents based on the detail financial reports by our property management company. These reports are the
2020 Year To Date Budget Summary,
2020 Monthly and Cumulative Spending Versus Budget and
2020 Year to Date Major Variable Costs. These reports give any member the opportunity to quickly review our budget on a monthly basis. These summaries are typically completed within two and a half weeks of the previous months expenditures, and can also be found on the Van Dyke Farms Web Portal under My Association/Association Documents/2020 Expenditures Year to Date.
A review of this year's budget to date shows we are doing great as an Association. We are halfway through the year and recurring expenditures are halfway spent. However, several budget items are working in our favor. For example, expenditures such as major insurance coverages, annual financial report, tax returns and federal tax bills have already been paid in full. Further, although we have exceeded our landscape improvement and irrigation system repair budgets by $1,812 and $440, respectively, we have managed to keep our Legal and Tennis Improvements and Maintenance line item budgets to just $8,123 of $47,000 and $181 of $7260, respectively. We are on track to finish the year an estimated $20,000 to $40,000 under budget.
Relative to our Special Projects Reserve Fund line item budget, we entered the year with a balance of $111,379. We currently have a balance of $69,472 remaining with $1,400 spent for the Lake Gazebo cupola and weather vane, $19,980 to resurface the four remaining tennis courts, $8,350 to repair and paint the Clubhouse, Guardhouse and Park Gazebo, $4,300 to pressure wash, repair and paint the racquetball courts, and $7,877 partial payment for Phase I Playground Improvements. We have another $8,250 in anticipated expenditures to complete the Phase I Playground Upgrade, which will result in the expenditures of about $50,000 from the Special Projects reserve fund this year. This compares to last year's expenditures of $80,616. Going into 2021, we anticipate a balance of $61,000, and as has been done in the last several years, we anticipate the Board will budget another $42,180. Also, consistent with past Board practice, we anticipate the current Board to move the estimated $20,000 to $40,000 of surplus funds into this account. This will boost our Special Project Reserve Funds to somewhere between $123,000 to $143,000 on January 1, 2021, an amount greater than we entered this year with.
Forecasts based on the above Recurring and Special Projects Reserve Fund expenditures could allow the Board to consider leaving assessments where they are ($750 per dwelling unit per year) or reducing them, and still have up to $75,000 to invest in a Phase II Playground Equipment Upgrade and the $11,500 needed to finally paint the back wall of the subdivision. Of course, this is just one of many scenarios the Board will discuss at its 2021 Budget Development Board Meeting tentatively scheduled for September 24, 2020.
