Did you know that...giving someone your proxy means you are authorizing that person to vote for you on ALL items put to a vote, even if that is NOT the way you would want your vote cast.
Look at the proxy sent to you for next weeks annual meeting.
Burning Tree Master Association board of directors has once again failed to provide a limited proxy. A "general" proxy does not tell you what it is that is being voted on, nor does it tell you the candidates who are running or their qualifications. (Career board members learned many years ago to send out a general proxy then simply rush around collecting handfuls of proxies so they can cast votes for themselves to stay on-- as some have-- for many years!)
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Why is what all is to be voted on so "sneakrative"? The Burning Tree Master Association board of directors knows exactly what they are voting on! If you have attended any of the meetings this year you will know they have been eagerly anticipating this years annual meeting to get proxies from unsuspecting homeowners so they can make some big changes without anyone standing up to them.
Burning Tree Master Association board of directors know homeowners will hand over those proxies, as they always have, and the board of directors will do whatever they want to with your vote.
All proposed changes to the by-laws should have been included in that newsletter so each resident has time to consider how they want to vote. Additionally, the homeowner should have been allowed to decide their vote by letting the proxy deliver it for them, instead of this out-dated style of not allowing homeowners to have a say once they hand off the proxy.
One of the by-laws they desperately want to get voted in quickly is the "ratification of an amendment" from the 1980s to not have to do an audit. How can they ratify something that was never voted on? The newsletter states that they will be discussing Amendments to the Associations By-Laws! (CLICK HERE: to read about this one!)
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OH, NO! MANY OF US WERE NOT AWARE OF THIS!Your proxy given to anyone representing the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors means the board can cast your vote for something to which you are vehemently opposed! They could vote to increase the assessments to $1,000....or have special assessments and here you are the one who handed your vote to them!
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ASSESSMENTS WERE NOT USED TO MEET FEDERAL MANDATE THIS YEAR SO NOW THEY NEED MORE....MUCH MORE...FROM YOU
Most people know that the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors never bothered to follow the ADA federally mandated guidelines, choosing instead to spend your money on buying swimsuits, bonuses, parties, games, prizes and much more.
The Burning Tree Master Association board of directors ignored warnings by homeowners that they were required by FEDERAL law to bring the facilities into compliance with the ADA, instead spending the seemingly unlimited supply of assessments on things they wanted.
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HOW WILL BURNING TREE MASTER ASSOCIATION GET THIS MONEY?
They now need LOTS of money to try to do what they were warned to do some time ago....and where do you think it will come from....Special assessments? And with your proxy given to a board member, it will be like taking candy from a baby.
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BUT I THOUGHT THE PROXY WAS JUST FOR MONDAY NIGHT AND ONLY FOR A VOTE OF DIRECTORS
The proxy states that it can be used during the
annual meeting on September 10 or at any subsequent meeting prior to October
10.
Think of the things the
Burning Tree Master Association board of directors can come up with to vote on during that time and use your proxy to vote for you! Boy, will your neighbors be mad at you if your proxy was the deciding vote cast for something nobody wanted!
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BURNING TREE BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE RINGING YOUR DOOR BELL OR CALLING YOU ANY MINUTE NOWYear after year, career board members scurry around collecting up proxies then vote them any way they want..... another reason why there is such an awful mess.
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SHOULD WE HAND OUR PROXY OVER TO THE BTMA WHEN THEY SHOW UP TELLING US THEY NEED IT?
It has never been wise to give someone your proxy (especially a general one as the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors always sends out).
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GIVING OUR PROXY TO SOMEONE COULD BE THE MOST FOOLISH THING ANY OF US COULD EVER DO! If you have handed yours to ANYONE, to protect yourself you should demand it back before the meeting Monday night...unless you are you willing to hand it over and let them make the decisions. They will tell you how it turns out, after the damage is done. Remember that once you hand over your proxy (your legal right to have a say) you are doing so at your own peril by giving the BTMA free rein over your destiny.
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ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON IF YOU WISH TO VOTE BUT NEVER HAND A GENERAL PROXY TO ANYONE!
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Take away points: Do not give your proxy to anyone. Show up at the meeting if you wish to vote, so you will have the opportunity to have your vote cast as you want.
If you have already given your proxy to someone it is best to get it back and not let it be voted at all, instead of in a way you to which you would never agree.
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QUESTION for the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors:
Why aren't homeowners given the opportunity to vote on whether general proxies are allowed? (LET'S PUT IT TO A VOTE!)
Excellent point you made about all proposed changes to the by-laws should have been included in that newsletter so each resident has time to consider how they want to vote. Also about voting on no longer having general proxies.
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