This Is our Village

Sunday, July 20, 2014

"Reserve Requirement"

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This question is for Mr. O'Brien- or anyone else who cares to answer:

In the Treasurer's Column, published in this months UCO Reporter, mention is made several times of a "reserve requirement".

Who, or what entity, "requires" the reserve amounts quoted in the article? Is this a law? Are these amounts based on guidelines provided by some government agency or professional association?

It may be that these reserve numbers are simply the professional opinion of one highly qualified individual (Howard), who was elected by the Delegate Assembly to analyse UCO finances and offer a plan for our future. And that's fine- prudent reserves based on accurate and objective analysis of the Village's physical plant just makes good sense.

But is it a "requirement"?

6 comments:

  1. Hi all,

    I know it's buried in the Comment stream elsewhere, so it is easily missed.

    So here it is again, UCO is a Mutual Benefit Organization organized under FS-617; NOT a Condominium Association under FS-718.

    I challenged anyone to find a "requirement" to build Reserves in FS-617; I still await the response.

    In short, there is no Legal requirement, save for common business sense.
    We live here in a City, larger than thousands of small towns across the United States.

    We have huge responsibilities to maintain infrastructure, the value of which escalates into the millions of dollars, and much of which is over 40 years aged.

    Roads, Drainage, Irrigation, Landscaping...!

    Thus, it will be up to our Board of Directors as to exactly how to build these Reserve funds; how big must this fund be?

    We have before us an opinion as to how much, and how soon to amass the funds.

    Of course this issue is being exploited by those who disrupt our meetings, launch Recalls and file Lawsuits, and who spew nasty and bile on the Internet.

    What do they add to the debate, absolutely nothing.

    So I say to all, how do you want to solve this problem, do you want to throw Wi-Fi off the raft, by panic mongering the electorate,
    or, do you want to solve this problem through slow, well thought out non-stressful budgeting, It's "our" company, and it's in your hands.

    Think about this from the point of view of the mutual benefit of all of the Village Residents, not from the point of view of a few panic mongering individuals.

    So, there is no legal requirement, but there is no rational alternative to being financially prepared for worst case scenario.

    Dave Israel

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are no requirements for reserves.

    One more time, there is NO RESERVE REQUIREMENT under Florida law for the UCO corporation. There has never been, NEVER!!! There are ONLY prudent business practices regarding reserves for a mutual benefit corporation (which buys insurance, transport and security services, etc.).

    Any CPA familiar and competent with Florida condo or corporate law cannot say otherwise.

    The morons on the other blogs are trying to paint Dave Israel with years of past UCO Presidents Weiss, Walsh and Lowenstein actions for NOT building up reserves. Ask Lowenstein why he spurned Mark Levy's offer of a FREE building for UCO. We would have $750,000 MORE for UCO right now without the current building that Lowenstein's UCO paid for.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just had a short conversation with UCO VP Marcia, who suggested that I clarify my original question:

    Obviously, a healthy reserve is a necessary part of any facilities management budget, and, as such, is a "requirement" - part of the fiduciary responsibility assumed by the officers when they were elected.

    My question, or my opinion if you like, is that the reserve amounts and accumulation timeframes mentioned in the Reporter article are not, strictly speaking, "requirements". They are strong suggestions from our highly qualified, self-avowed fiscally conservative Treasurer. As such, these numbers and timeframes are subject to discussion, debate, negotiation and, ultimately, consensus.

    So let the consensus-building begin!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Don4060,
    July 22, 2014 at 10:06 AM,

    Yes indeed Don, and it can be done without killing Campus wide Wi-Fi.

    Once again it will be in the hands of the Delegates to save Wi-Fi.

    Dave Israel

    ReplyDelete
  5. I beleive back in the late 90's
    Co Op & Condo 718, mandated Reserve's must be instituted,
    Prior to that, one could reject
    that suggestion( the CoOp we previously owned in Dade Cty did,
    for many yrs. until it became Law)
    however, 617 is a horse of another
    color..Of course it would be the
    prudent thing to do, as for the time element (5-7-10yrs)should be considered...We cannot predict replacement costs,only accumulate
    funds to offset the inevitable.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, appropriate reserves would be important. We are lucky that DAVE ISRAEL'S UCO--NOT GEORGE LOWENSTEIN'S UCO-finally addresses appropriate reserve levels. Not even ex-UCO Treasurer Tetro figured out the reserve issue.

    ReplyDelete

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