Latest Poll Results

•  BACKGROUND:

• On April 6, we invited you to take a poll. (Click this link to take you to the Poll.)
• Unfortunately we had some issues with it.  Some of our valued members mentioned that they could not put their comments into the Comment boxes.

Here are the results of the poll:

QUESTION 3: SHARE YOUR COMMENTS

The GM should be taking care of the day-to-day operations only and be taking direction from the BOD and have little to say about anything. The GM should only be offering advice to the BOD.

It’s our money and it should be used to improve our community. If all they are going to do with it is build a war chest, reduce the annual assessment 

My first thought is that the GM shouldn't be involved in determining the amount because I am pissed off about this whole thing (how we are living under a dictatorship).  Giving a moment to think about it, though, the GM should have good insight on the day-to-day management and how much things cost.  So, if we weren't in a dictatorship and could trust our GM, that person should be able to weigh in.  Same goes for the BoD.  I don't trust them either - well, a couple of them I do, but mostly I don't.  Anyway, I think all 3 entities should have a say, although I'm not sure who should get the final word at this point.

We must remember the GM works for the membership.  The GM must remember they work for the membership.  Right now I think the GM has an attitude and forgets their place in Sun City.  He is an employee of Sun City, which is all the homeowners.  

The membership should have the right to approve the annual operating budget that has been prepared by the GM and approved by BOD.  

Everyone needs to be "educated" on the reasons for the reserves AND where it should be spent. If we did not have a reserve, how long would it take to raise $40 M far a project? Full time residents should have 2-votes each and part time Snowbirds only 1-vote. Full timers live through the blasting heat of summer and require escapes from the heat with more indoor activities such as indoor Pickle-ball, indoor golf driving-range, etc.

General membership should ALWAYS be made aware and have a say in voting how to use all money. We are the ones who fund this. 

We must preserve our not-for-profit status!  Monies are to fund the organizations purpose, not sitting idle. Put that money to work for the membership! The RCSC board is supposed to serve in our interest!!

The biggest issue with the carry forward are the numbers we don't see. How many clubs requested improvements and were denied or ignored? Publish the requests and then publish the results. There should be no reason not to show the members how much you do to help the clubs survive and flourish. 

For every board I have been involved with, the BoD sets policy after consults with General Membership and GMan is tasked with carrying it out--the How it is carried out is determined with input from the BoD but they should not be micromanaging day to day operations. BTW, am basing #1 answer of 6months+ for emergencies on standard advice given to individuals so not really sure how that translates to an org of our size.

Absolutely NO RCSC Management authority over Any of this money. RCSC Board and Management both need Ongoing and Depth training about the business of NPO management. The training will be administered at ASU or elsewhere in Phoenix. No going to a ""conference in Las Vegas"" for this training. They will be reimbursed for mileage and lunches on a per diem basis, but No Overnight commitments. This COULD BE treated as ""found money,"" but I believe it should not be subject to a carte blanche shopping spree. The Entire amount is open for bid from clubs who have requested help. It is also subject to fulfilling Suggestion Box requests and perhaps dedicated toward resolution of the I.T. nightmare and to fund purchase of new fitness equipment.  Monies could be dedicated to a CATERED Welcome Home to snowbirds this fall BBQ dinner with hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, chips, beverages and cake. LET US ALL EAT CAKE!! Also, the Holiday Party comes with Free beverage stations scattered all over the place and Food Truck food at half price with RCSC picking up the balance. The Member and Board Exchange as well as Board meetings have both decaf and caffeine coffee as well as orange juice along with mini muffins instead of cookies.

An amount should be recommended from the GM to the Board; the Board should share with the Membership and solicit feedback; the Board should reach agreement with GM on actual amount. And this should go without saying - but needs to be said to RCSC: all amounts clearly identified in clearly named funds.

All funds look well managed and in healthy positions

If something major happened, the problem could be addressed within 6 months to fund anything beyond the reserve fund.

If you've ever lived in a building or community with one-off Assessments you wouldn't want to consider not having a very large rainy-day fund that protects seniors in our community.  I lived in a building which had a $35,000 Assessment and two residents committed suicide.

   

Obviously, the monies carried forward for a rainy day are well in excess of what should be on hand. There should be a better accounting of this money. 

With all due respect to our GM, the technology infrastructure is in great disrepair. Just how rainy a day are they waiting for?"

The amount that is received by the Rec Center is constantly being added to as homes sell all the time and they receive the $ 3,000.00 plus the yearly fee for each one. They should be rolling in the money for those. WHY DO THEY NEED such a Large AMOUNT EVERY YEAR????

We are always told by our finance people we should have 6-12 months in 'rainy day' fund so would think the 6-12 month would be appropriate, however more to the middle of that range.

Spend the money annually as budgeted. If I hear were 15 years behind in another area (tech, security, fitness) it won't be surprise.

Fix IT and Security problem....nothing else.  No Mtn. View redo.  Absolutely wrong time to spend big money.  Be conservative.  PIF income will drop....real estate market will change (history proves it).  

I haven't cared for the term ""placeholder"" for future estimated expenses. Even for planned replacements, either over or under $300,000, the best estimate should be used. ""Bogus figures"" terminology is even worse! No reasonable person expects any Board to have exact numbers for projects five, ten, fifteen years out, but those projects should be on a list. I served on one board where a ""Capital Expenditures"" list was kept. As soon as a piece of equipment, then $5,000 or more, was made, it was estimated when it would need to be replaced and put on the list. For example, if a pickup was purchased for $15,000 and estimated to serve the organization for eight years, its replacement was immediately added to the list at $15,000 eight years down the list. The amounts were adjusted each year according to the Consumer Price Index. Most often, the management would come to the Board to purchase a new pickup at, say, ten years, rather than the estimated eight. They would explain that it had been on the Capital Improvement List for two years, but they had been able to extend its usable life. Rarely was anything needed earlier than planned. It seemed like a good way to plan. Perhaps RCSC has such as list but I am not aware of it. There were other ""lists"" such as when various roofs needed to replaced, annual room painting lists, etc. I don't know about anyone else, but I am ready for new shirts for the employees

Personally, I believe that the money charged to ""new Home Buyers"" is way over the top and needs to be reduced even lower than it was.  Home Owners should NOT have paid full price during the pandemic time that RCSC facilities were not open to members as the facilities did not need full cleaning, supplies, employees, utilities and so on.  The recent past Board of Directors seemed to vote on their personal outlook for Sun City affairs rather than on the broader scope of All Sun City residents; which should include the lower income, middle income and those who are in a comfortable income bracket. The present Board shows some hope, but not enough at this time.  Previously committed money and contracts which have come to light thanks to good reporting from the Independent Newspaper, are opening eyes and conversation is traveling fast between Sun City residents.  There are many-many questions and very few answers from the RCSC Board. How in the world can membership dues be spent on a Lake project with just ONE Bidder?  There must be others somewhere!   Lastly, how can the Mountain View renovation start in June (the date I am aware of) when it is not CLEAR, exactly what sports facilities will be included, whether or not a gymnasium or theater are in the approved plans/drawings.  What about Phase 1?, 2?, 3?... not clear either.

QUESTION 4: DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

 I got a little confused at first by question 1, mainly because I think I read that the GM referred to the 'Carry Forward' as the 'rainy day fund'.  So at first I thought the question was about the Carry Forward pile as opposed to the Cash Reserve pile.  I think I have it figured out now, but others may have also gotten confused by this question.  Or maybe it's just me! lol

 Why can't the general membership have a say in the spending? I knew the Grand ave project would cost a lot and only benefit a few - these type of things should be voted on.

 Why can't membership ""vote"" when they pay their annual fees? A list of proposed projects or allocation of funds could be presented and we could decide where we want some of our $ to go? Couldn't we also encourage members to ""round up"" the fee with $ divided among our various orgs like Posse and Prides etc.? How can we have input into the job descriptions of the salaries we are paying for? Ex: Who determines that our Activities Coordinator basically books shows rather than organizing actual activities that would bring us together socially rather than as audiences?

 Why was this allowed to grow so Huge when I and many others were burning our feet at the pools every day? I have a friend with diabetic feet (that are basically numb) who sustained second degree burns to the bottoms of his feet. He required doctor's care and weeks of healing, thank God. Had they Not Healed, his feet would have been subject to amputations. I believe I used the Suggestion Box to request Cool Deck. I don't recall for sure that I did. Why are locker room floors allowed to remain to be like skating rinks when MEMBERS (myself included) have slipped and fallen inside Fairway And Mountain View locker rooms? I got push back from Chris Herring that the surfaces ARE ADA compliant. This seems outside the purview of your survey. I think it notable that Chris Herring reminded me that, as a private club, RCSC needn't honor ADA regulations. Employees need sensitivity training for not only ADA, but communicating with seniors AND people with disabilities. This is where some of their found money"" can be dedicated. Where was Board oversight as this RIDICULOUS amount of money continued to accrue? Why is there not Policy that Prohibits this behavior that May put our NPO status at risk?"

 Our fitness equipment is in good condition, so i do not believe we need to cater to younger people they will come without being begged or bought i hope we can keep out the troubles that close at hand sun city is a oasis here and kids ( 18 +) are moving  in with grandparents now and to entice others will deteriorate our oasis i hope are bylaws can be enforced in todays time as they are changing and the good ole days of hard work are gone new cultures are present and hardwork and respect are no longer taught history no longer taught civics no longer taught .I hope sun city can weather the storms that are coming. I may be wrong but tine will tell.

 Why does the Rules Say only the Names on the Ownership Papers of the Home are Members BUT if they get Married or Are Married but only one name is on them the other is not a MEMBER?

 Was not able to attend so am wondering if these questions came to be from this last meeting?

 No real questions.

 It's interesting to watch Weiland pull everyone's chain regarding his new name change...aren't fake names fun to deal with.

 I was not sure how to answer your second question. Certainly I think the General Manager should be part of the conversation about the amount in the cash reserves. However the Board and Membership should be the deciding people. It is easier to have the Board make that determination with their votes. The Membership should be able to convey their thoughts to the Board before the vote. Most often, at least in government entities, a hearing on the budget would be held before adoption. That gives the public a chance at input and the Board/Management the opportunity to answer questions.

 We deserve answers and must not give up until we get them.  I am in favor of stalling the Lake project and Mountain View renovation ... they are both highly expensive and it's questionable if the Board has a clean report on either of them.