💸 The Fields HOA Budget: What Changed Mid-Year — and Why You Should Be Concerned

📣 BIG PICTURE: Mid-Year Budget Revision Quietly Shifts Costs Onto Homeowners

On June 19, 2025, the Board of Directors of The Fields HOA, led by President Shawn Potsander, approved a mid-year budget revision. It wasn’t just a clerical correction—it was a major redistribution of costs to cover:

• A budgeting error the board admitted to but didn’t take full responsibility for,
• A large landscaping cost spike due to the Sugarcane Mosaic Virus,
• And newly added personnel mid-year without prior community input.

This change directly increased every homeowner’s quarterly dues—and it happened without a vote.

🧾 WHAT EXACTLY CHANGED?

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the originally approved 2025 quarterly dues vs. the new dues approved June 19:

This is not a “less than 1% increase,” as previously claimed. For many homeowners, it’s a 5–20% increase, quietly passed in a mid-year correction.

🌱 WHY THE SUDDEN JUMP?

The Board cited two main reasons:

1. Landscaping Costs from Virus Damage
   • A widespread outbreak of Sugarcane Mosaic Virus required full sod replacement at 34 homes, with 72 more forecasted.
   • Instead of tapping into the HOA’s $2.1M+ in assets, they increased dues for every home type to cover the $198K+ jump in landscaping costs.
2. A Budgeting Error
   • The original 2025 budget underestimated expected assessments due to a “clerical error.”
   • Rather than absorbing the impact or cutting elsewhere, they rebalanced by raising your dues.

🔎 WHY THIS MATTERS

🧨 1. The Increase Was Hidden

The original 2025 budget was passed with full confidence. Now, with this mid-year change:

• The board added up to $230/quarter to some homeowners’ bills.
• There was no open homeowner vote, only a 14-day notice and board-level approval.

💰 2. There Was Another Way

• The HOA is sitting on over $2.1 million in assets.
• Reserve cash alone exceeds $1 million.
• A $413,000+ surplus existed as of Q3 2024.

Yet they opted to raise your dues rather than draw from reserves or adjust operational costs.

🔒 3. It Matches a Pattern of Centralizing Control

This budget change didn’t happen in isolation:

• It coincided with a new rulebook that grants vague enforcement powers and introduces illegal “administrative fees.”
• The Board added staff (a Covenants Coordinator) to expand enforcement mid-year.
• They increased access control spending while simultaneously dropping income from rentals and clubhouse usage.

🧠 INFERRED MOTIVE: Control, Not Cost-Saving

This looks less like a correction and more like a shift in philosophy:

More staff, more rules, more control—funded by higher dues, not better service.

Homeowners are being made to pay for:

• Management’s internal mistakes
• The HOA’s strategic expansion
• Decisions made without proper community oversight

🧯 WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

• You’re now paying more for the same services—while being watched more closely.
• Your property type determines your penalty—the bigger your lot, the bigger your bill.
• This sets a precedent: the Board can change the budget any time and shift the cost to you.

🗳️ WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Request full budget documentation and Q&A with the Treasurer.
• Ask why reserves weren’t used and who was responsible for the original budget error.
• Demand that all future mid-year changes require homeowner approval.
• Organize neighbors to speak at board meetings or petition for change.

📢 FINAL WORD

This wasn’t a clerical fix—it was a quiet tax increase.

The Fields HOA had the money to protect homeowners. Instead, the board chose to raise costs, hide behind a virus, and expand their enforcement power. If we accept this now, we give them permission to do it again.

Let’s not.