Hi, Country Meadows! At our July board meeting, our treasurer said he keeps hearing questions like these, "Why are we paying dues? We don't have a swimming pool or tennis courts, so what do these dues do anyway?" Before coming onto the board, I didn't have a clue. It just seemed like a fine charged just for living in our neighborhood. Our treasurer put together a list, which I'll share below, but first I want you to know that any homeowner (confirmed in the Tarrant County Appraisal District tax records) may receive details on any of the budget items below, and can review our 2019 budget by contacting the HOA Treasurer using the contact form on this website.
So, what are we paying for with our dues? Right now, just the basics, but we have ideas about future projects and are open to hearing your suggestions, too. Here is the list of the basic needs we can cover now:
1) Liability insurance for our two Common Areas (1701 Barbados Drive and 1908 Cancun Drive) and the two community entrance areas at FM 1187 and Cancun and Coastline Drives.
2) Maintenance of those areas: Mowing, weeding, tree trimming, plus managing the storm drain runoff into common area catch basin culverts for flood control. Clearing these culverts can make the areas usable again, once they can dry out.
3) Directors and Officers Insurance
4) General office supplies and mailing supplies, including postage
5) A post office box
6) Rental of an annual meeting space
7) This website, a domain name, and security for your privacy
8) Legal fees and taxes as required (we are a non-profit, but we pay property taxes on the common areas)
9) Fees for a CPA to do our required annual accounting
Believe it or not, only a fraction of the home owners in our community pay their annual dues. This is because there was some confusion about who is in the HOA, how much to pay, and when the dues are actually due. (See the FAQ section of this site to find the answers to those questions.) As a board, we are making a huge effort to communicate better, because if word gets out about the importance every homeowner's dues can effect, we could have the resources to make some major improvements to our neighborhood, instead of just doing the basic financial tasks that we are handling now. We have heard some great ideas, such as providing sidewalks and speed bumps for the safety of our school children and anyone else who enjoys walking our Country Meadows streets. Another benefit to you is that if your dues are paid up to date, you will have the ability to vote on issues, changes, board members, policies, etc, during our annual meeting, coming up in February of 2020.
If you need other information about the dues or any financial matters of the HOA, please reach out to the board. We volunteer to take care of these things in order to be of service to you and your families.