8 | SUNRAYS JANUARY 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
CA NEWS
Upcoming Board Workshops
and meetings
Workshops and Meetings held quarterly
WORKSHOP
Thursday, February 13
1 p.m., SCB, Live on Channel 79
RESIDENT DIRECTORS’ OPEN
SESSION
Wednesday, February 19, 3 p.m., CCG
MEETING
Thursday, February 27
1 p.m., SCB, Live on Channel 79
Board Agenda and Minutes are posted
online at
>
Community Association > CA Board.
Board Meetings and Workshops are shown live on
Channel 79. BODMeetings are rebroadcast on the
day of the meeting at 6 and 8 p.m. and the following
Wednesday at 6 p.m. Workshops are rebroadcast at
6 and 8 p.m. the day of the workshop.
CA BoARD RESIDENT mEmBERS
Brent Baker, President
512-532-3358
•
Glynn Hatley
Vice President
512-863-8695
Kim Moran
Resident Member
512-868-5670
Board Member Views
Submitted by Dennis Walter, Treasurer
Dennis Walter
Treasurer
512-868-3087
Gary E. Preston
Secretary
512-868-9928
Capital Asset Fund and Transfer Fee
The recent budget review process created a large number of
resident comments to the Board concerning use of Transfer
Fees to pay for 2014 Capital Asset Fund purchases. After read-
ing 100-plus emails, I have drawn some conclusions; however,
before discussing these conclusions, it is important to explain
what the fund accomplishes for the community and how the
fee is generated.
The
Capital Asset Fund
was created in 2010 for the purpose
of purchasing new assets or making improvements to exist-
ing assets. Before the fund was created, the community was
prohibited from making these purchases by the Covenants,
Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs). This document governs
most of our activity in Sun City Texas and can be changed only
by the developer, not the Board of Directors. The developer
approved an amendment that incorporated the Capital Asset
Fund Policy into the CC&Rs. The Board has approved four
major projects in the 2014 Capital Asset Budget: a patio roof
for the White Wing café, one water well, one pumping system
and an emergency generator for the Social Center Ballroom.
The estimated cost of all 2014 projects is $380,000.
Article XIX of the CC&Rs establishes two fees related to the
change of ownership of homes. The first fee is an
Adminis-
trative Fee
—currently set at $200—to be paid by the buyer.
The second is a
Transfer Fee
, which is capped at one quarter
of 1 percent (.25%). The document states that
“the transferor
(seller) shall be legally responsible for paying a transfer fee to
the Community Association.”
It states further,
“the transferor,
if he so chooses, may demand that the transferee (buyer) re-
imburse the transferor for a portion or all of the transfer fee.”
The Board of Directors has the authority to establish the rate
or amount of the fee each year and has done so as part of the
2014 budget process.
The Board decision in 2013 was to raise the Transfer Fee to
the .25 percent limit and use the revenue to pay for capital
asset improvements, which are higher than in past years.
The alternative was to raise homeowners’ dues by about $30.
We researched other large-scale community associations to
determine the amount of their fees and their use of the revenue.
Many communities charge in excess of $1,000 for the fee. Use
of revenue varies from reserves to capital assets to the general
operating fund. This was a concerted effort to establish a rea-
sonable plan and was not a “monkey see, monkey do” method.
Now, the conclusions drawn from resident comments.
Continued on the next page
