It’s all about Politics. And Politics is all about Lies, Manipulation and Special Interests. Big Canoe Politics is really no different than Washington DC Politics.
Let’s explore the Big Canoe Capitol Reserve Fund. We will start with the applicable Governing Documents, posted on the POA website, screenshot as follows….
Step 1: Manipulate what people see. Hide anything that weighs to the negative. As a bit of ironic twist, do it in a way that hides it in plain site, and provides you the ability to say, “but it is posted on the website!”
So what exactly are these “updated” Capitol Reserve Policies? Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so lets just look at the changes in the 2012 Covenant…
So what changed?
- PROJECT >>> BUDGET: Instead of a “single capital project” of $1,000,000 or less, they have changed the scope of the definition to make it an annual “capital budget” of up to $1,000,000. My guess is that this is a way to tap the Reserve to pay for “studies and consulting” prior to actually doing “the formal Project”. Not sure, but is it possible that this new language could allow a multi-million dollar Project to be spread out into multi-year budgets that didn’t exceed $1,000,000 in any given year? As I interpret it, a project of this magnitute could be done wihout voter approval if stretched out into different annual budgets.
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One question I would be asking is…. where is the Study Money for the Golf course “project to be” coming out of? Admiistrative budget? Or Capitol Reseve? Or other? Surely they will tell you.And in regards to other special projects (i.e. Troon, Internet, Water, Fire Station, Spa) will they provide you an accounting breakdown of expenses for each project individually? So that you can get actual totals of the cost?
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- VOTING APPROVAL CHANGE: This is actually the bigger issue. The bar to get Projects approved was dramatically lowered. 50% of the members is a lot different thing than 50% of the voting members. This was the really big change, and basically allows them to do whatever they want. Remember, it is ALWAYS about the manipulated Vote, and you are NEVER allowed to know how that Vote is tabulated. That is at the core of ALL Big Canoe politics and decisions.
Example: We’re going to actually use the numbers from the 2012 Covenant Vote to give an illustration. Below is the excerpt fromt he same document, regarding vote tally….
5,765 Votes was the total possible member votes. If “50% of the members” had to approve something, under the OLD Capitol Reserve language, then it would take 2,882 votes to approve a $1,000,000 + Capital Reserve Project.
The total Votes Cast in the above election was 2,306, but the quorom was only 1,441 Votes. Now, if only “50% of votes cast” have to approve something under the NEW Capitol Reserve language, it only takes 1,155 votes to approve a $1,000,000 + Capital Reserve Project. But it could be as low as needing only 721 votes to pass somethig in the event of a 1,441 Quorom.
That is a really low approval level to pass $1,000,000+ projects. And lets not forget that you, the property owners do not have a clue how many votes are Class D or Class E. You really can’t tell whether your vote even counts at these low levels, because they won’t tell you.
They are talking a lot now about a massive multi-million dollar Golf Course remodel. Percentage wise very few people in the community support this. My guess is that as we speak they are spending a lot of money on the Spa and Golf studies (possibly tapping the Reserve Fund for this money already), and they are going to use that to trot out a Vote in Support. That Vote will pass even if almost everyone in the community hates it is my guess.
The “Study” and “Long Range Plans” they pay exhorbitant money for (also known as “YOUR MONEY”), are simply going to provide them with political cover for the eventual Voter support. Everyone will wonder where the voter support came from when it passes, but because of the Study no one will question too hard why they haven’t met hardly anyone who actually voted for it. The Studies will at least make it look legitimate to keep the voters placated. Right now they can sense the opposition and unease in the community, so they are just buying time, redirecting this into a study…. for political reasons.
Welcome to Politics 101. Now you know why they are going to pay a lot of money for a Study that supports what they already plan to do.
PS…. This is NOT an anti-Golf post, nor is it a suggestion that we should discontinue Golf in Big Canoe, nor stop spending money to keep the courses in good shape. It is simply an educational post on how the Capitol Reserve Fund can be abused to pay for Bloated Special Interest Projects that support a minority of Property Owners.
Please share our website with neighbors, as we continue to unearth all the hidden politics within Big Canoe. Or discuss it on our Facebook Group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/FocusonBigCanoeGA/
Peace,
-david hh / publisher
* a publication of www.TheMountainsVoice.com
Big Canoe, GA 30143
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