Letter: Eagle-Vail Metro District treasurer addresses community’s financial issues
I am not sure what organization letter writer Mary Blair represents, but she is not the spokesperson for either the Eagle-Vail Metropolitan District or the Eagle-Vail Property Owners Association. She is entitled to her opinion but not entitled to make up or manipulate information. Her recent comments are an embarrassment to the nine hard-working members of both boards who donate hours of their time to help make sure these two entities function properly.
It is hard to understand what she meant by “setting the record straight,” as Ms. Blair rarely attends Joint Board meetings and, over the past two years, has not attended any Finance Committee meetings. The financial information we use is available to the public and is also online, so no need to distort facts.
Ms. Blair is right about the fact there is no financial crisis with the Property Owners Association. With new management and decreased costs, it should stay healthy. It should also be noted it has more in reserves than legally allowed, so a refund to all property owners is forthcoming. This is a good thing.
The Eagle-Vail Metro District presents a different challenge. Although there is no financial crisis today, if we don’t plan for the future now, we will be facing major problems soon. This is not a scare tactic; this is understanding financial statements and financial projections.
Maintenance projects have been deferred far too long and will now be addressed. It is all in our updated Capital Reserve Analysis. The Metro District has run overall deficits eight of the last 13 years, including three of the last six. The Metro District reserve fund balance is projected to be depleted by 2021 while staying in the red from 2022 on. A Special District like ours is not allowed to have a negative fund balance — ever. So the time to tackle our problems is now.
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Extracting money from homeowners in the form of high annual Property Owner Association dues only to transfer a large portion to the Metro District has always been a dubious practice at best. This funding tactic has been discontinued. So we have to look elsewhere to solve our long-term Metro District financial issues. This includes new sources of revenue, as well as major belt tightening on the expense side.
I would like to leave the Eagle-Vail Metro Board in a better place than when I was elected. I am sure all of my fellow Board members feel the same way. We can work through our potential problems without name-calling and innuendos. But I refuse to put my head in the sand and pretend everything is all right. We are all part of this community, and with the help and cooperation of all homeowners, I am confident we will find solutions.
I invite Ms. Blair to either run for one of the three Metro Board seats in May or start coming to our Finance Committee meetings. We welcome and encourage all participation and feedback.
Sincerely,
David Warner
Treasurer, Eagle Vail Metropolitan District
