July 2023

MANAGEMENT TRENDS

Sense of Community or Cents for Community? Thomas Curry, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Rossmoor Community Association, Inc.

M aintaining a sense of community is more important than ever in these divided times. Common interest community (CIC) managers and boards need to continue to promote ways for residents to become acquainted with their association neighbors. A community needs residents to be aware of their similarities to each other. Community members need to feel an affil iation, a linkage, a willingness, to give or help others as they would expect from them. They need to feel they are part of a larger dependable and stable community. Local community association-sponsored events and programs can help provide that sense of community. In multiple CAI management courses, community managers are taught to foster a sense of community awareness along with finding ways to help their boards create lasting decisions in line with their communities’ short-range plans, long-range plans, and mission statements. The two concepts usually work well together, but when budget season arrives, the social side of the budget that helps foster a sense of community tends to be the easiest to reduce. Reductions in services and programs that would bring a community together, such as group sports, summer camps, concerts, fairs, community yard sales, or even the frequency of a newsletter, are sometimes the first to be eliminated or reduced. It’s all a balancing act between needs, wants, and desires. There isn’t a perfect or standard way to deal with budget changes during tough times because there are too many variables. Deciding what’s best is difficult, sometimes confusing, and can have unexpected consequences. Cuts in association social events and programs will result in residents looking outside of their community to fill the void. Some residents will instead join a health club, have their kids play in local sports programs, or sign up for other summer camps. If fairs or concert events are eliminated, they will look outside the community for alternative events. While an association’s program cuts may reduce monthly dues, owners will likely end up paying more for similar

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programs outside of their association. More importantly, those residents will miss out on opportunities to meet and be involved in activities involving their association neighbors. Rather than building a sense of community, these cuts only serve to alienate a community. During budget creation, board members must remember they are fiduciaries. They need to act in good faith to promote the best interests of the entire association. Decisions to “help” residents in the short term by creating budgets with little or no increase may work for a year or two, but what happens if the economy continues with high inflation? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index increase in 2021 was 7.48%, in 2022 it was 6.41%, and to date is around 5%. Boards that are elected with a promise to reduce expens es and keep assessments low may be making decisions that could negatively impact their community in the long run. Boards must carefully consider whether keeping assessment increases below inflation is a wise approach. Providing a sense of community through association-spon sored events and programs needs to be a higher priority for every board, it’s just too important to eliminate. n “Reductions in services and programs that would bring a community together... are sometimes the first to be eliminated or reduced.”

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JULY 2023