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CA Board of Directors Meeting: September 26, 2024
At our last meeting, the CA Board received updates on the Inner Arbor Trust, the
Minority Business Enterprise Metrics, and the Strategic Plan. In addition, the CA Board
reviewed the Quarterly Financial Reports and Emergency Cash Reserves Policy.
However, a majority of the board meeting was used to discuss the strategic priorities for
the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget.
As we begin the budget season, the CA Board discussed the areas of emphasis that CA
staff can use in creating the budget that covers the next fiscal year, May 2025 – April
2026. After a robust discussion, the CA Board agreed on a short list of strategic areas.
The list below is preliminary and will be amended and finalized at our next meeting
(October 24, 2024).
● Open Space
● Sustainability
● Programs/Services/Facility Return on Investment (ROI), value, and utilization
● Affordability and Accessibility
● Information Technology
● Data Collection
From this list, I believe it is important to discuss the Affordability and Accessibility topic a
little further. Two members of the CA Board want to change how the fundamentally
Columbia Association does business.
Since the early days of Columbia, CA has charged a membership fee for access to CA
facilities such as the swimming pools, tennis courts, ice rink, golf, and other facility-
based amenities. The philosophy was simple: have those who want to use the facilities,
pay for the facilities, thereby keeping the annual assessments (liens) as low as possible.
Until about 2005, this worked well. Membership revenue kept pace with and exceeded facility expenses in some years.
Over the last 20 years, membership revenue has lagged behind facility expenses, and
each year money from the annual assessments had to be used to cover the shortfall.
That being said, membership revenue has historically been the largest single source of
revenue to the Columbia Association, followed closely by the residential property
assessments, with the commercial property assessments a distant third.
During our last CA Board meeting, some members put forward the idea of eliminating
the “Play” membership and “Fit and Play” membership for residents that either directly
or indirectly pay the CA assessment. They stated that CA has millions of dollars already
in the budget that can pay for the costs of facility operations directly and CA no longer
requires a membership program.
As we start this budget and operational discussion, I want to be clear to my friends and
neighbors: I believe that the financial barrier to using the facilities should be as low as
possible, and CA should offer a variety of programs to expand facility access to the
widest number of residents. However, CA must remain fiscally sound and pay our bills.
This balance is a challenge in every budget cycle.
I am doing my homework: validating the assumptions and data presented at
our meeting last week. I am reviewing past budgets, engaging subject matter experts,
and reaching out to past CA board members for input. I would also like to hear from
Wilde Lake residents before the October 24, 2024 meeting.
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