During our years as residents of Sun City, Cynthia O’Connor’s name has come up numerous times – and in positive ways. She’s the person who knew how Sun City worked and was always willing to help members with their problems. In club meetings, her name came up as the go-to person when something needed to get done. She always had a smile, laughter, and a positive attitude that is rarely found in a workplace environment these days. So we were appalled when we heard she would no longer be a part of the FSR team. We don’t know the details of her leaving, but if it was to save a few bucks, we think that was sending the wrong message. If she was as valuable to the community as we believe her to have been, and received promotions and salary increases as appropriate for her efforts, then to let her go because of her hard working, dedicated efforts was the wrong decision. Cynthia is the kind of person Sun City needs.
Donald and Barbara Terao (N14)
Why would anyone, with the best interest of the Community in mind, argue against upgrading (modernizing) the budgeting process while saving $110,000?
The new capability provides 24/7 online access to financial information with a trained and certified support staff. This new technology and the experienced budget staff will help the Board continue controlling expenses and resident assessments.
I understand this new technology replaces a series of home-grown excel spreadsheets. A lot of work, and thank you, but it is slow, ponderous, and error-prone. Itâs time to move on.
The Boardâs decision may have been done without a formal study. But the savings for each resident is over $20 annually in assessments. Iâll take it and applaud the Board for acting expeditiously in the best interest of the community. Postponing the decision in favor of a study would have lost the savings during a prolonged debate. A lost savings opportunity that could never be recovered.
I have lived here since 2003 and each year we had an assessment increase â until the present board took control of the expenses. The lack of expense control was obvious to all of us, except, apparently, to the old board. I am not sure what the finance committee does (it is not established in the Community By-Laws), but it did not control expenses â maybe it was due to inadequate budgeting tools.
Personally, my MBA and doctoral studies were in the 60s and 70s; my experience as a trustee of a senior housing project was in the 80s; my senior executive experience ended with retirement in the 90s. I admit that my knowledge is dated and I accept newer techniques. Those against upgrading (modernizing) and arguing for the status quo should do the same.
The Sun Day article was low on facts and high on emotion. I get it. The Board bruised some egos by moving ahead without the blessing of an unelected committee that serves at the sufferance of the Board. Sorry. But that is what the Board is elected to do. The Board upgraded our budgeting capability and saved us money, which has enabled the Board to keep our assessment under control.
Sometimes the Board must make decisions that are in the best interest of the Community but politically unpopular. Egos get bruised. This is apparently one of those times.
Thanks to the Board for thinking of the Communityâs interest and doing the right thing.
Jim Gaudette
Buying a New Car or a Nightmare Experience?
Will area car dealers actually defraud seniors? The answer to that is yes. When I recently bought a new car I went in thinking that they are going to best me with their experience in negotiations over price, but I was surprise when they took it to a whole new level.
After test-driving a car, spending fiveand a half hours waiting for them to inspect our trade-in, and waiting for the finance official, my wife and I were tired and hungry. Our salesman had gained our trust. We had joked around; we thought he was honest. We had told him we were from Sun City. Perhaps that was our first mistake. He took us for senior dupes, and we were.
We agreed on a price for our trade-in. We agreed on the car. The rest should be easy, right? That is when they got us. First, they repeatedly tried to get us to purchase five thousand dollars worth of warranties, which we declined. We quickly signed all the reams of papers they threw at us, and then rushed to meet up with our family for dinner. It was a few days later that we looked carefully at the contract we signed. We were shocked. First the MSRP was $175 more than was on the car sticker. The price for the trade-in was $550 less than we had agreed on. And, to our surprise, there were after-market add-ons of $700 that the car had that we didnât want or need and which they never mentioned.
When we called up our salesperson, he tried to explain the trade-in difference. We had agreed on $8500 for the trade-in. But they had credited us for just $7950 on the contract. Since the sales tax on that amount would have been about $600, our savings was over $8500 according to him! I told him that was defrauding us.
After meeting with him in person, he offered us $200 to make it âright.â Eventually, they âgaveâ us $1000 worth of upgrades to the car, which tells you they knew they had cheated us. What car dealership would offer upgrades after you have already paid for the car?
What should car buyers always do? First right down the sticker price of your car and see if it matches with the price on the contract. Second, check to see if the trade-in price on the contract is the same as what you had agreed to. An honest dealership will make a point of showing you each line of the contact; a dishonest one will rush you over the actual costs. Third, ask if the car you pick out has any aftermarket upgrades, and then check the contract carefully. If anything does not match up, run, donât walk, out of that dealership.
John Scott
Editorâs Note: It is important to stress that, although it is not the Sun Dayâs responsibility to police our advertiserss business tactics, we pride ourselves on featuring friendly anrd reputable local and reginoal establishments. This said, itâs important to note that the dealership Mr. Scott is referencing is NOT either Fenzel Motor Sales or Tom Peck Ford, both of which, we work with closely and personally and are staffed with extremely reputable sales personnel.
