Dear Owners,
The Board of Directors is pleased to present the Fireside Condominium 2024 draft budget and proxy/ballot for the Annual Meeting of Fireside Condominium to be held on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2023, in the community room adjacent to the onsite office.
Enclosed for your review and comment is the proposed 2024 annual budget. At the Annual Meeting you will be given the opportunity to ask questions and vote on the budget for the coming year. The Board, with the assistance of the onsite manager, has prepared a budget which was carefully developed considering expected income, anticipated expenses, contributions to reserves, delinquencies, and past years’ deficits. The budget addresses the financial needs of the community to operate efficiently and sets aside necessary funds, as required by the operating documents of the association, for reserves. This year’s budget includes a zero percent (0%) increase. Although we are not proposing an increase, it is anticipated that our reserve funds will be seriously consumed this year as we will continue replacing the stairs throughout the four story buildings that are in disrepair, replacing the ceilings inside the buildings so that they are able to be power washed, paint the inside and outside of the buildings, replace the tot lot, crack fill and seal the parking lots and drive lanes, continue replacing the breaker panels inside the units and many other property improvements. All of these improvements cost a significant amount of money and as such, zero percent increases are not always an option. Owners must be vigilant in helping to reduce overall expenses by being cognizant of utility usage – meaning keeping windows and doors shut when the heat or a/c is on, reporting drippy faucets, properly disposing of trash, bulk trash and recycling, leaving inside doors open so that the heating/a-c unit can properly heat and cool the entire apartment and properly maintaining their heating/a-c unit so that it utilizes less electricity to operate. The board and management work very hard to try and maintain the community to the highest standards, but we cannot do it all and community support and cooperation is necessary. Offsite owners, please speak with your tenants about properly maintaining both your unit and the community overall. Their participation is even more urgent as the community is about 50% tenant occupied. This means that tenants with coaching from their owners is needed to better maintain the community.
To conduct the Annual Meeting, Fireside must have 51% (132 units) of the unit owners in person or by proxy. Your proxy allows you to be counted even if you are not present during the meeting. Included on the absentee proxy owners are asked to vote for board members and to approve the proposed budget. At the holding of the meeting, the term of one member will be expiring. If you would like to serve as a board member, please plan to join the meeting and introduce yourself. Your participation, as an owner, is very important and should be taken seriously. To ensure that every unit is represented at the Annual Meeting, please complete the attached Absentee Proxy/Ballot even if you plan to attend the Zoom meeting and return it to the onsite office, via email, fax, USPS or by dropping your proxy/ballot in the mail slot located in the door at the onsite management office.
While the Board is hopeful that a quorum will be established, if a quorum is not obtained at this meeting pursuant to the Association’s governing documents, an additional meeting will be called as authorized by Section 5-206 of the Corporations and Associations Article of the MD Annotated Code and a second proxy/ballot will be sent to every owner as required by the association documents. If you have returned the proxy/ballot from this mailing to us, you will not need to return the second one, unless you wish to change your vote. At the second meeting, those present in person or by proxy may do or take any action that may have been taken at the first meeting had there been sufficient quorum to hold the meeting.
The Board of Directors will hold the regular monthly meeting immediately following the adjournment or conclusion of the Annual Meeting.
We look forward to seeing you at the meeting in person on Tuesday, January 23, 2023, at 6:30 pm. Our very best wishes to you and your family for a safe and successful 2024.
Respectfully,
Fireside Condominium Board of Directors
**Owners with multiple units are asked to sign and return a proxy/ballot for each unit or to write the addresses of every unit owned on one proxy/ballot before returning to the onsite office.
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