A View from the Board

The following is the latest in a series of monthly messages from the RVR Master Association Board, called “A View From the Board.” The messages summarize recent Board decisions and discussions, and are designed to bring RVR homeowners up to date on issues important to the community.

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Welcome to our first “View From the Board” of 2020. And, a belated Happy New Year.

We’re going to begin the year with a topic that represents the Board’s most important responsibility: the RVR Master Association Budget.

I’m pleased to tell you that RVR homeowners have ratified our 2020 annual budget. This ratification took place at the RVRMA annual meeting on December 18, 2019

If you’d like to see the approved 2020 budget, and 2019 year-end actuals, you can view them on the RVR website under “resources/finance.” Budgets and year-end actuals are available for the RVR Master Association, Old Town and the Settlement.

Budget Process Review: RVR has 550 lots. Each lot owner gets a vote on the budget. Voting occurs each year in November and December, for the following year’s budget. The results traditionally become official at the RVRMA Annual Meeting. That will change in 2020 as we move our Annual Meeting to the summer. This year, we’ll have a Budget Ratification Meeting in December.

Of RVR’s 550 lot owners, 124 sent back their ballots on the 2020 budget. That’s a 22 percent response rate. Only four of the 124 ballots were not in favor of the new budget, so it was ratified, according to our governing documents and Colorado law. For the budget not to be ratified, 67 percent of lot owners would have to vote against it. Such a rejection would require 368 “no” votes.

At our December Board meeting, we discussed the small voting response and talked about ways to get more of the community involved in the budget process. For this year’s budget cycle, we agreed to look into electronic voting, to streamline the balloting process, become more modern, and save time and money.

2020 Budget Highlights. The RVR Master Association collects dues from each lot owner, every month. The 2020 budget includes a $6 monthly increase; $2 for operations and $4 for reserves. All lot owners now pay $298 each month to the Master Association; this $298 per month assessment reflects our combined operational and reserve budget. Of this $298 monthly amount, 84 percent ($251) goes to operations, and the remaining 16 percent ($47) goes to the reserve account.

Reserve Rationale: Our community is now more than 20 years old. Our facilities and infrastructure are aging. Many things that are the Master Association’s responsibility are needing repair or replacement, or soon will. That’s why we have about $1.4 million in our reserve account.

To help us get a handle on reserve needs, we have a Reserve Study that looks at short- and long-term capital expenses. The Reserve Study is done by an independent contractor who reviews our facilities and infrastructure, then gives us their best estimate as to when we may need to make repairs and replacements.

RVR management uses the Reserve Study as a tool to evaluate necessary capital expenses each year. This year, we anticipate needing more than $500,000 for repairs and replacements to our facilities and equipment. Some expenses will be deferred and others are urgently needed to keep RVR looking good and functioning efficiently. At present, our annual contribution to the 2020 Reserve Budget is $306,000.

To see the most recent Reserve Study, go to the RVR Website and view it under “resources/finance.” 

To see how the Reserve Account fits into our overall financial picture, you can view our end-of-year Balance Sheet on the RVR website. It’s also under “resources/finance.” That’s where you’ll see the $1.4 million in the reserve account.

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I hope you’ve found this RVRMA Budget 101 useful. This Board truly wants the community to know that we’re being responsible stewards of your money, and being transparent about the process is one way we can do that.

Our next Board meeting is Wednesday, February 19, at 5:30 pm in the Ranch House Board meeting room. Hope to see you there.

On behalf of your volunteer RVRMA Board,

Yvonne Perry
Board President








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