October 23, 2024

Dear Maple Hill Homeowners:

Due West of the Budweiser Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, our 634-unit Homeowners Association includes a Certified Natural Area, walking trails, an outdoor summer pool, and two Little Free Libraries. The annual budget is a key element of managing an association’s expenses and is used to allocate common expenses to homeowners via monthly association assessments (aka “dues”).

What do my dues pay for and why are they important?

Generally speaking, Association dues help maintain property values of the community by paying for the common expenses of the neighborhood including landscaping, snow removal, and other amenities such as the pool.

A portion of dues is also allocated to a savings account which is called the reserve fund. This reserve fund allows the Association to pay for large projects over time to maintain and upkeep the common property. As the Association gets older, more and more of these projects need to be implemented and paid for by this fund.

The reserve fund is especially important as it cushions the community against a special assessment. A special assessment is when lot owners are required to pay an additional amount of dues to cover a project because the reserve fund is insufficient.

As it is common for rates to increase on household bills (such as utilities), the same goes for Association costs. Most Associations typically increase dues by 5-10% every year to account for general inflation as well as standard increases in vendor contract fees. In light of all the expenses incurred as part of a maturing neighborhood, the 2024 Board is pleased to announce that while yes, there will be a minor dues increase in 2025, this will only be by $3.46 per month! We have worked diligently to seek more owner input, collaborate more effectively with CCG and provide everyone maximum value for their dues. Maple Hill has some of the lowest assessments in the area for the amenities we offer.

General and Administrative expenses comprise of management, accounting, insurance, and other items necessary for the day-to-day business of the Association. Notable changes to the 2025 Budget include:

A 20% increase in CCG’s Management & Accounting Services contract fees which includes some expanded scopes. CCG may apply a monthly discount to these fees based on the level of involvement of the Board of Directors.
An annual audit of the Association’s financial statements is required per Bylaw Section 4.12. Therefore this line item is added to the 2025 Budget and will be on all future budgets until or if this Bylaw is amended.
A 21% decrease in the Postage/Printing budget. During 2022, legislation was passed (HB22-1137) related to collections and enforcement communications that increased office expenses in 2023 & 2024. However, 2024 legislation (HB24-1233) builds on and amends certain aspects of HB22-1137, allowing the Association to pass the postage costs on to the homeowners and thus reducing the cost to the Association.
Committees will now have their own budgets for programming.
Taking homeowner feedback into consideration, the 2025 Budget includes an independent and anonymous platform for surveys & votes. Additionally, a professional email and SMS campaign tool is included in the 2025 Budget.

Landscape and Grounds Maintenance expenses entail landscaping maintenance and related projects including trees and shrubs, sprinkler and irrigation repairs, snow removal, natural area maintenance, dog waste stations, and the security system. Highlights for the 2025 Budget include:

An 18% increase to the landscaping contract. After careful consideration, a new landscaping vendor, All Terrain, was selected for the 2025 maintenance contract. This agreement is only for 1 year as a trial basis. Please note:

The Association was under a 3 year contract with the previous landscaping vendor from 2022-2024 and that this agreement locked in “competitive” pricing. The old adage “you get what you pay for” could be seen across the greenspaces this summer.
The 2024 Board of Directors interviewed and received bids from 8 different landscaping vendors and ultimately selected All Terrain based on (1) their expertise in irrigation systems, including rainbird, (2) their proven track record of “retraining” turf to be less water dependent but still vibrant, and (3) their local footprint (not a national chain).
All Terrain’s original bid was around $105k and the 2024 Board of Directors was able to renegotiate to the lower $92k price.

Landscaping projects including trees and bushes are not budgeted in the 2025 operating expenses but rather are included in the 2025 reserve expenses.
Based on homeowner feedback and taking expert advice into consideration, the Natural Area budget increased to accommodate additional maintenance.

Pool expenses encompass the Splash contract, chemicals, supplies, repairs, utilities, and maintenance to the pool house. Key items for the 2025 budget include:

A standard 3% increase in the Splash contract.
Standard 4-7% increases in utilities.
The trash budget includes monthly bin cleaning during the pool season.

Reserve contributions will remain even at $92,004 of dues transfers in the 2025 Budget. While the 2023 Reserve Study indicates that the Association is currently overfunding the reserve fund, there are a number of upcoming projects that need to be planned sooner than suggested or simply not considered in that study.

The 2023 study indicates that the irrigation system will not need to begin phased replacements for another 10 years. Based on conversations with many experts, we will be lucky to get another 3-5 years out of the system.
As seen over the 2024 summer season, water availability in the Association wells is not always consistent. To lessen the dependency on water across the greenspaces, native grasses and/or xeriscaping projects will need to be planned and implemented. These high ticket prices are not accounted for in the 2023 Reserve Study.
While grants may assist with these large cost projects, they typically require 1:1 matching funds.