With the abundance of recent governance issues and civil complaint filings, there hasn’t been much room on these pages to discuss anything financial. Thus, before pondering the recent Town Hall meeting, it should at least be noted that a 26 page financial package containing a plethora of useful information was apparently inadvertently posted to the POA website.
Unfortunately, the package containing the May 2026 financial results was quickly removed and replaced with management’s standard seven pages. As this writer managed to retain the file before its removal, it might be worthwhile to share several examples of the information included in that original posting.
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For instance, bad debt expense totaled $22k for the month of May and $171k year to date which was $109k over budget and $43k more than 2025.
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Note: No mention of this significant variance has ever been made in any of the financial presentations.
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Amazon fees collected both historically and year to date total only $1,488 despite the onslaught of deliveries at the Package Porch.
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For those interested in reviewing other examples, this writer will be happy to forward a copy of the original financial package to any property owner upon request at thepcrosses@gmail.com).
Meanwhile, perhaps management can be encouraged to post this same level of information to the POA website in the future. Doing so could be a testament to transparency while also reducing the number of Ask the POA inquiries.
As for that July 25th Town Hall . . .
In a refreshing detour from the General Manager’s customary drama infused presentation of the financial results, the POA Treasurer instead provided a generally no nonsense discussion of the mid year results while highlighting the much improved food and beverage performance. (1a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiaQGkb7-EE at 1:3:00 With a year to date loss of only $113k, kudos are definitely due to the clubhouse management and employees. One can only hope that this improvement will continue throughout the remainder of the year.
Also of particular note, was the Association’s current cash position of $15 million with the POA Treasurer pledging that the Association was “saving up” the cash for the anticipated construction of the Lake Petit dam spillway. Kudos for that pledge.
Note: It goes without saying that had leadership made appropriate contributions to the covenant mandated and restricted capital reserve fund, such last minute pledges to “save” would not have been as necessary.
However . . .
It must not be forgotten that approximately $3.5 million of the Association’s cash was obtained via previous draws against the $15 million Wells Fargo loan to be held for the construction of the spillway. In addition, $1.7 million was derived from the employee retention credit received in late 2025. (2) https://bcmatters.org/unbeknownst/ Both amounts totaling $5.2 million were transferred to the Capital Fund. With that fund currently standing at only $4.8 million, management still has a bit to go before recouping those funds much less saving additional dollars.
About that spillway . . .
For reasons not fully known, construction of the Lake Petit dam spillway has been extended to mid to late 2027. Obviously, this delay will provide time for management to continue saving and accumulating funds. That said, it is important to recognize that the project will likely require rebidding and the currently estimated costs at $8 million plus will likely escalate at a rate perhaps greater than any accumulated savings.
An admission of vulnerability . . .
Quite remarkably, the Treasurer also made the revelation during his presentation that the recent purchase of an accounting system known as Vena would allow the Association to “run more like a corporation than on . . . spreadsheets that [the Director of Finance] is the only person on earth that knew how it all worked together.” (1b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiaQGkb7-EE at 1:4:30
The Treasurer’s statement was not a compliment of the Director of Finance.
It was instead a disastrous confession of leadership’s past acceptance and acknowledgement of the Association’s complete lack of any internal controls.
In fact, several years ago, this writer privately expressed concern to the board of directors regarding certain accounting irregularities while also suggesting that management put accounting software to use rather than rely on internally prepared reports (spreadsheets).
For the record, these concerns and suggestions were ignored and even resulted in threats of legal action from the Association’s corporate counsel.
Note: Given the Treasurer’s current admission, one might ascertain that any D&O coverage for financial issues that may have taken place prior to the purchase of Vena will be invalidated.
Silenced . . .
Considering that well informed property owners have chosen to stand at recent open board meetings to pose substantive and probative questions to leadership, (3) https://bcmatters.org/maneuverings/ it was most disappointing to learn that the impromptu Q&A sessions will be discontinued beginning with the August 27th board meeting.
Instead, as announced by the POA President at the Town Hall, these sessions will be replaced with rehearsed responses to property owner questions submitted in advance of the meeting. (1c) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiaQGkb7-EE at timestamp 1:34:15.
And under surveillance . . .
In response to questions regarding a recent security incident, the General Manager stated that 130 high tech security cameras had been placed throughout the community in the previous six years (his tenure) at a cost of $150k. (1d) at 1:59:30
In contrast, the gate access system no longer has the capability to determine if an individual that enters the community using a “guest pass” ever actually exits the community. However, the GM emphasized that all entrances and exits of property owners and other transponder holders are trackable.
Further, when questioned on the location of the security cameras, the POA President responded “we don’t want to tell our property owners where they are because we don’t want the ‘bad guys’ to know where the cameras are.” (1e) beginning at 2:06:50 through 2:08:30.
Perhaps, it might be time to revisit priorities.
Looking ahead to new management . . .
Most certainly one of the high points of the morning came with the announcement of the hiring of the new General Manager. Currently serving as the Assistant Town Manager of Strategic Initiatives in the town of Hilton Head, the new GM also carries the CMCA designation and has many years experience as the Director of Planning for the Palmetto Dunes Property Owners Association. (4)
For example, with his CMCA (Certified Manager of Community Associations) designation, it is anticipated that he will understand the importance of timely reserve studies and appropriate funding as so often discussed by this writer in previous posts on this site.
Note: A complete follow-up on this subject will be forthcoming as promised.
And as an additional matter of interest, it is this writer’s understanding that Palmetto Dunes is a debt free community (excluding a negligible balance in operating leases) with significant reserves that utilizes “fund accounting” (5) as also discussed in prior posts on this site. Given those differences, the new General Manager could have a number of valuable insights to offer the board and the finance committee for the betterment of Big Canoe.
This writer, for one, will welcome the arrival of new eyes and new ideas.
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Should you believe the information found in this post is important, please continue to share with your friends and neighbors wherever possible. As for those who wish to see additional articles posted in the future, please subscribe for an email notification or check back frequently. And as always, feel free to contact me directly at thepcrosses@gmail.com for questions or further discussion. Meanwhile, take care and thank you for your readership.
Patricia Cross
10438 Big Canoe
References:
1) Big Canoe POA Town Hall Meeting, July 25th, 2026, video on Youtube at a) 1:3:00; b) 1:4:30; c) 1:34:15; d) at 1:59:30; e) beginning at 2:06:50 through 2:08:30; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiaQGkb7-EE
2) “Unbeknownst”, January 6th, 2026, bcmatters.org, https://bcmatters.org/unbeknownst/
3) “Maneuverings”, May 13th, 2026, bcmatters.org, https://bcmatters.org/maneuverings/
4) “Ben Brown is new GM of Big Canoe POA”, Smoke Signals, July28th, 2026, https://smokesignalsnews.com/news/big_canoe/ben-brown-is-new-gm-of-big-canoe-poa/article_12973500-9d3a-4335-8587-b871897bc5d5.html
5) Palmetto Dunes audited financial statement, December 31st, 2023, https://pdpoa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/12.31.23-Audited-Financials.pdf