Result

The budget is ratified.

Votes

Washington State Law

Within thirty days after adoption by the board of directors of any proposed regular or special budget of the association, the board shall set a date for a meeting of the owners to consider ratification of the budget not less than fourteen nor more than sixty days after mailing of the summary. Unless at that meeting the owners of a majority of the votes in the association are allocated or any larger percentage specified in the governing documents reject the budget, in person or by proxy, the budget is ratified, whether or not a quorum is present. In the event the proposed budget is rejected or the required notice is not given, the periodic budget last ratified by the owners shall be continued until such time as the owners ratify a subsequent budget proposed by the board of directors.

What the Law Means

At the budget ratification meeting, unless the budget adopted by the board is rejected by a vote of a majority of the total voting power of the association (or any larger percentage specified in the governing documents), the budget “is ratified.” In other words, the owners do not approve the budget—the budget is automatically approved unless it is rejected by a majority of the total voting power. Thus, if less than a majority of the total voting power is present in person or by proxy at the budget ratification meeting, it is legally impossible for the budget to be rejected and ratification is automatic.

Ballot Counting Procedure

1.  Ballots are received:
   1. By personally being deposited into the WRA Ballot Box,
   2. By USPS mail at the WRA PO Box 315, picked up by the Administrative Assistant and delivered to the WRA Office,
   3. By personal Drop Off into the WRA Office Mail Drop Box outside the Office door,
   4. All Ballots are deposited into the WRA Ballot Box prior to the close of voting at the Membership Meeting.
2. The Ballot Box is kept in a secure location and the keys to the Ballot Box are entrusted to the secretary and/or locked in the Key Lock Box in the WRA Office.
3. After the close of voting:
   1. All actions involving the Ballots will involve a minimum of two persons who have signed Confidentiality Forms,
   2. The Ballot Box is unlocked,
   3. The Ballots are removed from the Ballot Box,
   4. The Ballots are separated into two groups,
      1. Ballots with names, addresses, and/or lot numbers for identification, and
      2. Ballots without identification.
   5. The Ballots that can be identified are turned over to at least two persons who will verify the names on the outside of the Ballots with the Master Registration List.
      1. The WRA listing will be available by Lot Number / Account Number, and
      2. By Alpha listing – the alpha listing will serve as the master Registration List.
   6. Ballots that cannot be identified without opening will be turned over to at least two persons who will open each Ballot to determine what WRA member submitted the Ballot, if possible.
      1. These Ballot will be identified by member name and number, and
      2. Will be added to the Master Registration List.
   7. In the event that a clear and valid identification cannot be made the Ballot will be set aside as invalid.
4. After all Ballots that are identified as valid Membership votes,
   1. The Ballots will be opened and the identification portion will be removed and saved separately.
   2. The Voting portion of the Ballot will be separated into groups of 10 or 20 depending on the number of Ballots received and the complexity of the voting involved on the Ballot.
5. A separate sheet (page) will be available for each group of Ballots for tallying the votes.
   1. Three persons will count each group of Ballots by individual item on that Ballot.
      1. Either by one person reading the results and another noting the responses,
      2. Or by one person reading the results and two others noting the responses,
      3. The roles of the persons counting the Ballots will then reverse and the count will be done again,
      4. If the counts are not in agreement in any one group of Ballots, the count will be repeated until an agreement on the votes is achieved,

      5. When the counts are in agreement, the total of each item’s votes will be logged onto a Master Ballot Count Sheet.

   2. The Master Ballot Count Sheet will be verified by another group of counters.
6. After verification that all ballots have been counted and the results posted to the Master Ballot Count Sheet, the results will be given to the president of the Board of Trustees for publication to the Membership.

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Q:  Please have the treasurer, Donna Greathouse, explain the two line items “Board of Trustees $150″(Assessment) and “Repairs – WRA Buildings $12,000”?

A:  The $12000 is projected for roof repairs on the Chalet and office.  If this proves to not be enough we will at least set aside this much to combine with funds from the next year.  Our goal is to not have to ask the members for a special assessment for what should be paid out of operating revenue.  The primary purpose of the assessment revenue is to care for the assets of the association.

The Board of Trustees line was added to account for expenses specific to Board administration, such as the recurring need to replace or re-key to office door lock.  Now that we have that key-less entry that cost should be minimal but we did make that expense in the current fiscal year. Another item that most likely should go in there is the cost of trustee manuals.  It isn’t significant in itself but we are trying to have detail where it can be useful in determining ways to control costs and be accountable for expenditures.

If you have lost an item in the park, it may have been turned in at the Chalet.

Office hours and contact information are in the website sidebar.

Wilderness Rim was started in 1967.

We have:

• an Administrative Assistant in the WRA Office located in the Rim
• an independent bookkeeper
• a Certified Public Accountant
• an attorney
• an insurance agent
• a private security patrol staffed by off-duty King County officers
• an amazing Water System to bring us some of the best water in the country
• a Certified Water System Operator
• a current and effective water and assessment billing software
• a Greenbelt
• a nice, well-maintained park with a lake
• contractors and/or employees to maintain our properties
• a bank account with more than a half million dollars saved

Our Homeowners’ Annual Dues remain at only $80 per lot.

We pay our taxes and help our neighbors.  We have social functions for our members and their children.  Santa visits us.  Sometimes the Easter Bunny, too.  We have accomplished all of this due to the significant and generous contributions of volunteers who have helped this association for the last 47 years.

We have managed all of this without an Oversight Committee because the WRA Bylaws clearly define how to manage this business, including supervision of WRA employees:

Bylaw 3.3.1  President.  The president shall:

• preside at all meetings of the trustees and membership;
• sign as president all contracts or other written instruments authorized by the Board of Trustees;
• call special meetings of the trustees or of the membership whenever deemed necessary;
• supervise the employees of WRA, under the direction of the Board of Trustees;
• appoint chairpersons as required; and
• conduct the business affairs of WRA, under the direction of the Board of Trustees.

It is the duty of the four Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) to oversee the day to day operations of the association.
This business structure has served us well for decades.

The volunteers who you have elected to serve as your Board of Trustees are proud to be a part of this great legacy.

Wilderness Rim Association oversees the Wilderness Rim water system, Cascade Park, the greenbelt, and the office.  The volunteers who serve on your Board of Trustees give generously of their time, endeavoring to act in your best interests and to serve with honesty and integrity.

We would greatly appreciate your support.

Questions and answers regarding water concerns:

Was there something that happened with Sallal? Is it just to save money, and if so why are we doing this now and not waiting to do it at the regular meeting?

We are changing now (and not in July) because the contract with Sallal is renewed each January.
We are going back to handling our own billing to reduce costs, to have accurate accounting as requested by our CPA, and to provide office services here in the community.

How much money is being saved, and how?

We anticipate saving at least $10,000 per year by performing these tasks ourselves.
For example, our new budget for meter reading is less than $3,500 a year.  With Sallal it would cost $7800.

How will we be hiring the new employees to make this happen?

We have hired a very capable office person, Suzanne Glazier, to do the billing and to handle member concerns and payments.

And how/who will ensure that they are trained appropriately?

Denny Scott, our water system operator, has been working with Wil Chromey, our new meter reader.  The meters have already been read and the process went smoothly.  Our existing billing software license includes support for Suzanne.

Is Sallal continuing to do maintenance?

We are only resuming accounting-related functions.  Sallal will continue to be our water system operator.  They will continue to monitor water quality and to maintain the system.   Our water quality will not be affected.

A Response from the Department of Health

From: Ernie Henrie

Sent: Friday, February 7, 2014 2:32 PM
To: Wilderness Rim Association Office; trustees@wildrim.org
Subject: Re: Heads Up About Calls To WA Dept of Health

Hello Trustees,

I just spoke with Brian Boyce of the Department of Health (in Kent) in regards to the water complaint. He indicated that the call he received was from an unidentified person with concerns about our service contract with Sallal. This person indicated that the contract was “no good” because of changes made to it by the WRA Board of Trustees.  I advised Mr. Boyce that two changes were made to the contract, and the were as follows:

• Do the billing in-house, as advised by our auditor.
• Reading our own meters.

The remainder of the contract was left in tact, and that Sallal was still the Water System Operator and responsible for water quality.

Mr. Boyce indicated that WRA has done nothing wrong in making these changes and they would only get involved if water quality or system operations had problems. Mr. Boyce did speak highly of Sallal, and as far as they are concerned this matter is closed.

Ernie

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Jessica Besso, CPA, CFE, and a Budget & Finance Committee member, is hosting a Budget Question and Answer Session at the Chalet on:

• Saturday, February 8th at 11:00 am

and again on

• Tuesday, February 11th at 7:30 pm

  Please note: if you cannot make it to either of these sessions, please email the Secretary@wildrim.org with your questions and they will be answered promptly.

Please come and learn about how the Board’s approved budget was created and get answers to all of your budget-related questions.  Topics can include the history of the WRA business, the purpose of budgets, reserves, current activity, and future plans.  The sessions will be recorded for future reference.  Bring your neighbors!