Greetings everyone. Ever wonder how the association dues are calculated? Well, a lot of it depends on how much everything costs. At Moravian Meadows the two costliest items in our monthly budget are trash collection and water; both services we absolutely must have. While our trash collection costs have remained relatively stable, our water bills have increased yearly and continue to rise, as we see more increases from the water department.
So, is it any wonder when homeowners see other homeowners watering the grass, or washing their cars every other day, board members get complaints with demands to, “Make it stop!”? They know this could impact our water bills, and eventually effect the HOA dues. And they’re right. According to our treasurer, Dolores Hayes, “Our last (water) bill was up almost $4,000 from last month’s previous bill.” That is not sustainable. In addition to the real possibility that the increases will negatively impact our HOA dues, having to pay the increased monthly amount for water takes money out of the budget for other necessary repairs.”
Here's how our water bills look on average; For June 2023, our water bill averaged $77 per unit. The previous month of May 2023 it was only $60 per unit. For the entire community, we usually average $15,000 per month for the first six months of the year. But in June of 2023, our water bill was more than $18,000! That means June 2023 was the highest bill so far this year and it is partially due to watering vehicles.
In case you didn’t know, there is a minimum charge even if your unit is not occupied.
We do not pay sewage fees for the sprinklers, but sewage charges are affected by the water used by co-owners for washing cars and all other household uses. So – if you could wash your car using the sprinkler system, that would cost us a lot less. But of course, you can’t do that.
The bottom line is you can help keep our HOA dues down. We are asking you to please refrain from washing your cars in the driveway. And watering the grass is totally unnecessary, as we’ve spent thousands of dollars to fix and update our sprinkler system. If your sprinklers are not working, please fill out a work order and leave it at the gatehouse. For emergencies, contact the board immediately at 586-493-0591 and leave a message.
See you in the next post . . .
Cordially,
Ed Mroz
President, Moravian Meadows Homeowners Association
Board members Michelle Parnell and Dolores Hayes contributed to this article.
Comments