Budget, 5-Year Plan Clear Key Hurdle

It’s full steam ahead for the Montgomery Village Foundation’s 2012 budget and five-year capital plan after specially appointed representatives—each casting a vote on behalf of each of Montgomery Village’s two dozen communities—gave the OK to two crucial precursors to making those proposals feasible.

At issue in Monday night’s vote:

• Raising the ceiling on the Montgomery Village Foundation’s homeowner assessment fees high enough to last through 2016. The ceiling will go up $3.75 per month but actual payments will stay flat in 2012 and 2013, then jump $1.25 per month for 2014, another $1.25 for 2015 and again for 2016.

• Amending the MVF by-laws to allow a fee on home sales. Known as the Capital Contribution Fee, the measure will require homebuyers to pay MVF one-tenth of 1 percent of the purchase price—money that will be pooled into a fund that must be used on construction of community amenities.

Montgomery Village leaders have been working on the proposals for the better part of a year. That work all came down to Monday night’s vote, when representatives of the Village’s HOA’s and condo associations each cast one vote on behalf of their community. Each vote was weighted according to that community’s number of homes.

Instituting the fee required an amendment to Montgomery Village by-laws, the first time in 15 years that MVF had attempted to do so, and the counting lapsed into confusion before being set straight.

East Village and Northgate—Montgomery Village’s largest and third-largest HOAs—as well as the Christopher Court and Heron's Cove condo communities came out against the amendment, totaling 6,426 votes.

The reps for North Village, Patton Ridge, South Village, Whetstone, Eastgate and Maryland Place—as well as most of the condo associations—supported the fee, for a total of 10,496 votes.

Believing that the amendment required a majority of the total possible votes—11,299—it appeared that the fee had come up short.

Then MVF staff pored through the Village’s 45-year-old founding documents and determined that the amendment instead needed only a majority of the votes in attendance. Because the reps for Stedwick (2,520 votes) and Middle Village (1,056 votes) were absent, the target became 8,462 votes.

The increase to the assessment ceiling required a two-thirds majority, or 11,281 votes. That passed by a smaller margin: 12,092 votes were cast in favor, compared to 4,830 against.

Monday’s vote clears the way for approval of the foundation’s $7.2 million budget for 2012, which once passed, will mark a sea change in the way the 501c4 nonprofit operates—doing away with one of its most recognizable operations and embarking on a five-year course to upgrade aging facilities, institute a diverse array of resident initiatives.

The proposed 2012 budget will be the first push in making Montgomery Village more attractive and competitive, said board president Bob Hydorn.

"Ask any of the realtors. They’re constantly saying you’ve got to pass these [measures] because the Village has got to be improved. You’ve got to move away from the original look and thought of the community. It’s now 2011. It’s not 1970, and people want different things," Hydorn said. "People want the activities for their kids and we want people to come in with their young children because that’s what makes any community grow."

David Humpton, the foundation’s executive vice president, has laid out a multi-million dollar plan for capital projects over the next five years, the foundation’s first attempt at planning that big and that far ahead.

Included on the list: $1.5 million renovations for the Whetstone pool and Apple Ridge pool, a $250,000 study and overhaul of the Village’s network of walking paths, and a $260,000 project to build a bathroom and concession stand at South Valley Park next year.

The home-sale fee is projected to generate roughly $80,000 per year starting in 2013, which will combine with nearly $1 million in savings accrued over the last four years to pay for the capital expenditures.

While the ceiling increase and the home-sale fee create the financial capacity within which the five-year plan will fit, the specific projects—and their timelines—are not yet set. Now that Monday night’s hurdle has been cleared, the MVF board can start honing those specifics.

"We’ve got our work cut out for us to make it happen for all the things we want to do," Humpton said.

The budget has throughout its process this summer drawn support from board members for its vision and broad thinking, and it is expected to pass easily at the board’s Oct. 27 meeting. The foundation’s board meeting on Thursday is the final opportunity for resident input on the 2012 budget.

"There still may be things we’ll be looking at. At our board meeting this week, I’m sure we’ll here from certain residents about things in that budget."

Chief among those is the South Valley Park proposal, which has spurred opposition from a vocal group of neighbors. Hydorn vowed that the proposal will follow due process, going to the MVF Recreation Committee for review and recommendation before the board of directors makes a decision.

"That vetting will start," Hydorn said.