I. MISSION: To formulate recommendations to the Board of Directors for the Association’s Annual Budget and to update the financial portion of the Master Plan.
II. COMPOSITION:
The Committee:
Will be composed of not less than five (5) and no more than seven (7) voting members and as many alternates and/or advisors as requested by the Chair.
Voting:
Alternates may be considered voting members when replacing voting members for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. No absentee or proxy voting is allowed. A member of the board may serve on the Committee as Board Liaison without voting privileges. A tenant of the community may serve only as an advisor without vote, in accordance with the Association’s Bylaws.
Restrictions:
No person shall serve on more than one standing committee of the Association reporting directly to the Board of Directors. Two family members or husband/wife may not serve together on the same standing committee.
Chair: To be elected by the committee members.
Vice Chair: To be elected by the Committee members, or, in the absence of a vote, may be appointed by the Chair.
Secretary: To be elected by the Committee members or, in the absence of a vote, may be appointed by the Chair.
Chain of Responsibility: The Vice Chair, in the absence of the Chair, shall perform all duties of the Chair. In the absence of both the Chair and Vice Chair, the Secretary shall act as Chair pro tempore.
III TENURE: The term of committee members shall begin on May 1 and end on April 30 of the following year at the discretion of the Board. No voting member shall serve more than three (3) consecutive years unless a qualified volunteer cannot be found. Vacancies will be filled in accordance with the Association’s Bylaws. The Committee Chair will submit a list of recommended members to the Vice President of the Board of Directors on or before April.
The Committee Chair may remove any member of the Committee who consistently fails to attend Committee meetings for cause on petition to the LOWA Board of Directors.
IV AUTHORITY: The Committee functions as advisory to the Board of Directors, and has only that specific authority granted to it by the Board as outlined in the “Responsibility Section" of this Charter.Under no circumstances shall the Committee Chair or any committee member give direction to any LOWA personnel in dealing with committee matters. Primary contact for information gathering purposes shall be with the General Manager. In addition, no personal gain shall accrue from service on a LOWA Committee. Any member violating these guidelines shall be removed from the Committee.
V. REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES: The Committee reports to the Board of Directors. Copies of all minutes shall be provided to the Board of Directors and the General Manager. Verbal reports shall be made at the BOD meetings on a quarterly basis. A brief annual report of the Committee’s activities during the preceding year shall be submitted to the Board of Directors by April 1 of each year.
VI. RELATIONSHIPS:
A. Other Committees: Throughout the year, the Finance Committee will maintain a liaison contact with each of the other committees and/or cost centers in order to gather information and understand their budget needs. Additionally, the Committee will meet with each entity yearly to provide guidance on budget input and to review their budget needs.
B. Master Plan: The committee shall work with the General Manager, cost center managers as directed by the General Manager and each of the other committees to develop the financial portions of the five-year Master Plan. The committee will follow the guidance of the Planning Committee pertaining to the format and schedule for updating the document.
C. Outside Contacts:
1. Information Gathering: With the approval of the General Manager, committee members may contact business firms or other organizations as necessary to gather information to carry out committee responsibilities.
2. Counsel or Government Representative: Contact with LOWA General Counsel, any government representatives, or other agency on official LOWA business, must have prior approval of the General Manager.
3. Press: With approval of the General Manager, local news media may be informed of scheduled events and LOW participation in outside events. Other contacts with the media on LOWA matters will be conducted through the General Manager.
VII RESPONSIBLITIES:
A. The Committee and the General Manager shall receive from the Board of Directors, guidance for the preparation of the annual budget and act in accordance with this guidance. The Committee may review this guidance and report back to the Board of Directors, through the Chair, any recommended changes.
B. Provide guidance, with the approval of the General Manager, to other committees and cost centers on budget preparation on or before September of each year.
C. Review and recommend changes to the proposed operating and capital budget received from the General Manager for the fiscal year commencing on May 1 of each calendar year and ending on April 30 of the following calendar year.
D. Conduct the public hearing on the proposed operations budget items on or about mid-November.
E. Conduct hearings, along with the Planning Committee, with other committees and cost centers to discuss items that are requested for the Capital Budget.
F. Provide the Planning Committee in mid-August, an updated estimate of available reserves for capital equipment, based on the audited results of the preceding year.
G. Receive and review the report from the Planning Committee on prioritized capital items for inclusion in the annual budget.
H. Attend the public hearing for capital equipment items.
I. Prepare and submit to the Board any changes recommended to the General Manger’s proposed budget. Provide a copy of the recommended changes and rationale to the General Manager.
M. Recommend to the Board of Directors the annual assessment to be levied against each lot owner, which would provide the required revenue to fully fund expenditures explained in the budget document. .
N. In conjunction with the Planning Committee, receive, review and recommend to the Board the disposition of all suggestions and requests for Capital Expenditures exceeding $3,500, and not provided for in the budget adopted by the Board or in the Master Plan for the fiscal year in which such expenditures may be sought.
O. Review annually the procurement policy and recommend, in conjunction with the General Manger, such changes therein as will take maximum advantage of competitive bidding, availability and cost of leasing, quantity purchasing, and seasonal purchasing.
P. Review annually the insurance portfolio of the Association to make certain that the Association is adequately protected against possible loss and that insurance is obtained at the lowest cost of such insurance.
Q. Respond to any other request of the Board for financial opinion or advice.
R. Comply with and operate under the Association’s Operations Manual, Section XIII, A and B, and Regulation XV.
THIS CHARTER IS EFFECTIVE UPON APPROVAL BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. IT SHALL BE REVIEWED FOR READOPTION AT LEAST EVERY FIVE YEARS FROM DATE OF MOST RECENT ADOPTION.
DATE OF APPROVAL:
Revised:
Revised:
Revised:
Revised:
Revised: