Thanksgiving is over, Christmas approaches, and it’s time to take a look at the community’s finances for 2018 and look ahead to 2019.
For the last several years, Sun City has operated on a “steady as you go” basis, with balanced budgets between revenue and expenses, and similar numbers on both sides of the ledger each year. The major news for 2019 is that the community’s budget will require a $2 adjustment increase in monthly assessments per household, from $125 to $127. This comes after a $9 drop per household in 2018 that reflected some cost-cutting.
Replacement of the deck on this Prairie Lodge indoor pool will be one of the major upgrade projects performed in Sun City in 2019. (Photo by Tony Pratt/Sun Day)
Reasons for the small increase effective on January 1, 2019, are normal adjustments that are made from one year to the next, according to George Sebastian, chairman of the Finance Advisory Committee. They include anticipated reduction in home resale fee revenue, an increase in biennial seal-coating costs, a reduction in staff costs allocated to attached product neighborhoods (APNs), increased telephone service costs, and the added cost of information technology due to bringing IT support in-house.
Community assessments are broken into two parts: annual operational expenses, and reserve allocations that fund major capital improvements and replacement projects in the community’s common areas and buildings and equipment.
Copies of the 2018 actual and 2019 projected revenue and costs were mailed to all resident households in the November in Lifestyles Magazine. On November 8, residents were invited to attend a budget presentation by the board of directors. Two sessions were attended by about 150 residents, Sebastian said.
In 2018, the community’s revenue (actual and projected) is expected to total $7.59 million. That includes $6.7 million from resident monthly assessments, $445,000 from Lifestyles Magazine and website advertising, and $435,000 from other sources, such as Jameson’s Restaurant, home sales fees, room rentals, and interest.
The association spent very close to the same amount for buildings and exterior repair and maintenance, landscaping, staff, publications, insurance, and costs of fitness and entertainment activities. This trend is expected to continue next year.
Next year will be another busy one for major capital improvements funded by the community’s reserve fund. The current $125 monthly assessment obligation represents $101 for operational expenses and $24 for reserve funding. The 2019 proposed budget increases the operating portion by $2, with no change in the reserve portion.
Significant improvements planned for 2019 (numbers are projected estimates only) include $41,500 for asphalt replacement at the cold storage building, $65,000 for asphalt replacement on community trails, $70,000 for improvements at the bocce ball surfaces outside Prairie Lodge, $67,500 for HVAC improvements at Meadow View Lodge, about %54,000 for bathroom remodeling and duct repairs at Millgrove Woodshop, $25,000 for upgrades at neighborhood parks, $45,000 for upgrades at the Pavilion and park near Prairie Lodge, about $140,000 for Prairie Lodge administrative area upgrades, $57,000 for various upgrades at Drendel Ballroom, about $120,000 for improvements in the Prairie Lodge fitness center, including new TVs; $152,000 for replacement of the pool deck at the indoor pool at Prairie Lodge, $17,850 for pool deck replacement at the Prairie lodge outdoor pool, about $33,000 for various upgrades at the Tall Oaks Tennis Center, and $112,000 for shoreline improvements at Wildflower Park.
Total reserve allocation for reserve fund improvements next year is $1.67 million.
The budget was expected to be approved by the association board of directors on December 5.
