Unfinished business . . .

Returning home after a month in Europe, it is apparent that this writer has quite a lot of catching up to do with the Renew Big Canoe initiative already in full swing and scheduled for the “fast track” delivery of ballots in mid to late July. But for now, after only alluding to discrepancies found in the capital fund accounts, it seems important and appropriate to finally provide the community with the details surrounding this writer’s requests for certain accounting records and the subsequent interactions with the board of directors and POA corporate counsel, Kim Gaddis. After all, it’s your money.

And as noted previously on this site, while it may be inappropriate to publish copies of the actual accounting records that have been provided to this writer, publication of other emails and correspondence including the unsolicited legal correspondence from the POA attorney is not privileged nor is it confidential. It is instead, enlightening and noteworthy and will be included in this post.

A simple request . . .

That said, what began as a simple request for certain accounting records in late 2022,  (December 29^th) progressed to the revelation of numerous accounting irregularities regarding the community’s financial reporting. These questions and concerns were respectfully forwarded to each member of the board for consideration eventually culminating in the POA legal counsel’s threats of legal action in an attempt to silence this writer. It is important to note, that no such correspondence has ever been received in response to any public posts on this site. One must certainly wonder why a property owner’s sense of obligation to privately alert our elected leaders to potentially serious irregularities would elicit such wrath? Plausible deniability?

The records . . .

And now to retrace the sequence of events, requests for certain accounting records were initiated pursuant to Georgia Code 14-3-1602 on December 29^th   (Exhibit 1)   and January 9^th  ( Exhibit 2). As required by board policy, the requests were directed to the General Manager and included the following records:

• • • • Trial balance reports dated November 30^th and December 28^th

      • Depreciation Schedules

      • November bank statements associated with General Ledger account nos. 1033-00, 1034-00 and 1035-00.

Although most requested records were produced, the Board did not authorize the release of the depreciation schedules and instead authorized an irrelevant substitute.   (Exhibit 3)

Note: Each request and subsequent correspondence can be viewed by clicking the highlighted exhibit above or in the exhibit list at the bottom of this post.

And while the actual accounting record (ex. November bank statements) can not be viewed on this site, any property owner is entitled to the same access and may “cut and paste” this writer’s format to submit a request to the GM for copies of same.

Numerous discrepancies found . . .

Regrettably, a review of the information quickly revealed a number of issues regarding the community’s financial reporting that included the following:

• As of November 2022, there was no record of any bank accounts titled “Board Designated Master Plan Fund” or “Board Designated Capital Replacement Fund”. Not even close.

• Further, the balances in the Master Plan Fund and the Capital Replacement Fund as reported on the October 31^st balance sheet (1) were inaccurate. The balance shown on the financial statement and reported to the community instead included an electronic transfer that did not take place until thirty days later.

• It does not appear that any capital expenditures are being paid out of the Master Plan Fund or the Capital Replacement Fund as has been specified by leadership and policy.

The irregularities . . .

In response to these discoveries, an eleven page letter/report outlining these and other concerns was personally, privately and confidentially forwarded to each director via U. S. Mail on February 7^th . Given the potential gravity of some of these issues, the General Manager nor any other individual was included in the notification.

An email acknowledging receipt  (Exhibit 4) was received from the POA President on February 13^th. And although discussed at least three times in the closed board meeting sessions, (2) (3) (4), this was the first and last correspondence received from any member of the board on the matter.

Subsequently . . .

On February 21^st, (Exhibit 5)  this writer requested copies of the December 2022 bank statements associated with those certain General Ledger accounts.

On February 23^rd, Finance Committee Chair advised the community that the balances in the Board Designated Master Plan Fund and Capital Replacement Fund would be “restated” as of 2022 year end based on recommendations from management. (5) https://bcmatters.org/connect-the-dots/

February 24^th – 26^th:   An email was received from a POA employee and later the General Manager requiring a meeting with the CFO and Finance Committee Chair to discuss this writer’s “misunderstanding” and “confusion” in the eleven page letter/report to the board prior to releasing any copies of the December bank statements. (Exhibit 6 )

Certified Letter mailed to the POA President . . .

In response to the General Manager’s email, a certified letter was mailed to the POA President on February 27^th stating “If you believe that there has been confusion or misunderstanding on my part as characterized by Mr. Auer, you as a member of the board should provide a response to me in writing outlining those misunderstandings.”

No response or any outline of any perceived misunderstandings was ever received from the POA President or any other member of the board.

At the behest of Management and the Board of Directors . . .

With that, this writer joined that elite group of property owners worthy of the attention of the Association’ s legal counsel all in response to correspondence to the members of the board and requests for additional accounting records. Just another example of your POA dollars at work.

That said, the legal counsel’s March 6^th letter  (Exhibit 7)  which can be viewed here actually instructed this writer to “not contact individual Board Members regarding such requests in the future” while advising “You may direct inquiries regarding all other POA matters to the AskThePOA platform.” Respectfully Ms. Gaddis – I don’t think so.

And while citing this partial passage from the cover page of this writer’s February 7^th (eleven page) letter to the board, “manipulation of the Association’s books and records and falsification of the financial statements as presented to the community”, the Association’s legal counsel deemed the issues cited in the original letter as “completely unfounded and without merit” and remarkably threatened legal action if such “claims” continued. Thus, rather than choosing to actually investigate the specific examples provided (much akin to a “Whistleblower” complaint), the POA attorney elected to demonize the messenger. Well unfortunately, that happens.

A failure to attest . . .

Given that absurdity, this writer’s March 10^th letter to Ms. Gaddis ( Exhibit 8 ) and copied individually to each member of the board, addressed the following questions: They follow verbatim.

• “With all due respect Ms. Gaddis, as one example, have you and each member of the board personally examined and reviewed the November bank statements? And can you and each member of the board attest to the November 30^th, 2022 existence of a bank account titled Board Designated – Master Plan Fund?”

• “Further, can you and each member of the board attest to the November 30^th, 2022 existence of a bank account titled Board Designated – Capital Replacement Fund? And can you and each member of the board attest to the accuracy of the cash balance in the capital fund accounts as shown on the Association’s October 31^st comparative balance sheet?”

Needless to say, . . . neither the legal counsel nor any member of the board has been able to attest to any of the above.

And where does that leave us now? . . .

It leaves us with a bundle of unanswered questions that we don’t need to have all on the cusp of a leadership’s quest for multi-millions in master plan initiatives known as Renew Big Canoe. It leaves us with capital funds that do not reconcile to the financial statements produced and presented to the community. And why when reconciling would be so simple? It leaves us with mistitled bank accounts containing no distinction from other bank accounts. Again why? Sloppiness or intent? It leaves us wondering which individuals authorized the opening, titling and transfer of funds in these accounts and does that even matter? And do such details even matter anymore?

And why would the board of directors refuse to produce the depreciation schedules (as required by Georgia Code) which would authenticate the true costs, book value and other details of the community’s current capital assets especially whilst seeking to max out our credit lines and spend $$$ on new capital improvements?

Too many questions and too many whys all while the shell game and musical chairs with our money continues to flourish.

In closing . . .

Maybe none of this matters to anyone. And maybe it does as it matters profoundly to this writer.

But either way, these are the facts, and this is your board.

. . . .

If you believe the information contained in this post is important, please pass it on. And should you wish to see additional articles posted in the future, please subscribe for an email notification or check back frequently for guest spots and posts that may be forthcoming on the Renew Big Canoe initiative. For questions or further discussion, I may be contacted at thepcrosses@gmail.com. Meanwhile, take care, stay safe and thank you for your readership.

Patricia Cross

10438 Big Canoe

Exhibits:

Exhibit 1   December 29^th request for accounting records

Exhibit 2   January 9^th request for accounting records

Exhibit 3   February 1^st emails regarding the failure to produce depreciation schedules

Exhibit 4  February 13^th acknowledgement of receipt from POA President

Exhibit 5    February 21^st request for accounting records

Exhibit 6    February 24^th – 26^th email thread from POA employee and General Manager

Exhibit 7    March 6^th letter from POA legal counsel, Kim Gaddis

Exhibit 8  March 10^th letter from writer to POA legal counsel

References:

(1) October 2022 Financial Package, Summary of Operations, pg. 2, Comparative Balance Sheet

(POAwebsite>login>POA>financials>2022October)

(2) Special Board Meeting Minutes, February 13^th, 2023 (POAwebsite>login>meetings>Minutes>2023>February13th)

(3) Special Board Meeting Minutes, February 20^th, 2023 (POAwebsite>login>meetings>Minutes>2023>February20th)

(4) Special Board Meeting Minutes, May 8^th, 2023 (POAwebsite>login>meetings>Minutes>2023>May8th)

(5) https://bcmatters.org/connect-the-dots/