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What Homeowner Associations Can Teach Governments About Spending

by Harvey Radin People in government should take field trips to well-run homeowner associations. To experience fiscal responsibility first hand. To see how elected leaders in some homeowner associations -- HOAs -- are actually spending public money prudently and efficiently. Like governments, homeowner associations collect money to fund a host of community needs. Homeowners residing in HOAs pay dues to their association. This is similar in a way to government taxation. So, if there are roads in an HOA property that are not city-maintained streets, a portion of the money homeowners pay in dues may be set aside for the upkeep of these roads. Governments use tax dollars for public parks maintenance. Homeowner associations have what's known as common areas, landscaped parcels of HOA property that are often maintained by the homeowner association. Some HOAs assume responsibility for roof maintenance on homes, and painting maintenance. Some have recreational facilities that are mai...
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Always the same old HOA news

When there's news about HOAs on TV or in newspapers, it's mostly the same old news over and over again. Someone puts up a flag, changes something on their home, has hens, roosters or pigs on their property, maybe playground equipment. Things like that. If reporters happen to call, what happens? Lots of scrambling around, probably. An OMG! moment.  There's a reporter calling, emailing or knocking on the door! What are we going to do? What comes in handy, sometimes, is having some kind of general response in mind. So, when a reporter asks: What are you planning to do about this? (The THIS being one of those things like flags, roosters, etc.), the response might be: We hope to be able to address this situation through discussions involving the homeowner, our homeowners association and concerned neighbors. Something that says a little something, without saying more than should be said, especially when you're under pressure.
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Beating big PR in the publicity game

Big corporate PR staffs work like crazy to get even a little publicity about their companies. And that's all they get much of the time, little or nothing for their effort. Unless their company screws up...that's a different story, so to speak. So when you see stories in the media about organizations or businesses that in all likelihood aren't staffed with an army of PR people, how cool is that? Like TV coverage of a school's unique yearbook. Kids on the yearbook staff added pictures of actors and animated characters, mixing them in among class pictures of the students.  There was good news about a homeowners association saving "millions of gallons of water with native plants." A homeowner attending HOA meetings heard "that more than 40 percent of the budget went to water bills," according to an article in an Audubon publication. The homeowner researched native plants and engaged neighbors in a conservation effort. Irrigation systems were upgraded...
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