NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — The Killearn Lakes Plantation Homeowners’ Association is postponing a proposed dues increase after a plan to raise annual dues from $120 to $250 and $268 for lakefront owners. The proposed increase sparked concerns from neighbors in this community.
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In a notice to residents on May 14, the Board of Directors said the scheduled adjustment is “deferred until further notice” and that a “revised implementation timeline” is being “finalized.”
This deferment sparked by a voting process that many homeowners say, “went off the rails.”
Homeowner Ted Phillips says during one of those meetings, the board mismanaged proxies, or votes assigned to a present homeowner on behalf of those unable to attend.
“I made an announcement and told everybody, ‘If you want to vote ‘no’ with your proxy, do not give it to these people. They're automatically counting every proxy they collect as a ‘yes’ vote,” he said. “That's when the crowd got angry and loud.”
Since then, he says he’s lost the trust in the board – on top of dealing with covenant enforcement – some which, he says, requires residents to not have trash cans or A/C units visible from the road.
“I don't trust anything they do or say. The whole board needs to go, and we need to replace them with honest people and put some people in there that are going to be transparent and are going to be frugal with our money,” he said.
Though, Phillips says he isn’t opposed to only a slight increase.
According to letters the HOA sent out to homeowners, increased dues would pay for an additional code enforcement employee, lake and park maintenance and the upkeep of green space.
It would also help them prepare for what they call “inevitable repairs” on the dams, spillways and control valves for its five lakes.
The board cited inflation and limited revenue sources like dues and estoppel fees, saying its revenues “remain flat” and that the increase necessary to “sustain financial stability.”
Mark Reichert, a former board president who has lived in the area for 42 years, says the last dues increase was 20 years ago in 2005.
He says the community has lost multiple programs since then — part of the reason he supports an increase.
"You can't run an organization the size of a small city on a budget that has been flat for 21 years,” he said. “That's not sustainable, and you know, just since 2005, the consumer price increase has gone up 64%, so how have we managed over the years? We've cut services.”
He adds that he also values his property value.
“I want my property to increase the value. If this neighborhood starts falling apart, that's not going to happen," Reichert said.
The controversy behind a rise in annual dues led to the resignation of the board's most recent president.
Interim President Richard P. Massa, Jr. says the first step to addressing the issue is owning the board’s mistakes and finding a better way to communicate with homeowners.
"We did notice that there was a certain population of individuals that felt that they didn't have enough information, and that's a problem, so we want to be able to address that," Massa said.
As far as a mismanagement of proxies, he says can’t recall what the past president said about how the proxies would be handled.
Moving forward, there will be another monthly meeting in June.
Massa says it will act as a forum where residents can ask questions and voice concerns, but the dues increase won’t be a formal item on the agenda.
He says he asked an attorney to be present at that meeting to make sure they’re operating correctly.
“That's where forgiveness comes in, so we're hoping by the actions that we're taking as a board to earn that trust, if they want to throw that word around, being transparent and having an open dialogue,” Massa said.
***This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.***
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