Donner Board Passes 2021 Budget Unanimously

Dear members,

“Tahoe Donner is a vibrant and desirable mountain community…” begins our vision statement. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful area. Our goal is to preserve the Tahoe Donner mountain lifestyle, enhance the value of your Tahoe Donner home and ensure a safe environment for you and your family. With this in mind, the 2021 budget was unanimously approved at the October 23 board meeting. The 2021 budget reflects the impacts COVID-19 has had on the association along with upcoming capital needs.

We are coming up on Tahoe Donner’s 50^th anniversary, an exciting event that also reminds us that facilities built around our opening in 1971, such as the Downhill Ski Lodge, Northwoods Clubhouse and Tennis Center, are nearing the end of their long and useful lives and need to be replaced. The board has a responsibility under California law to ensure there are funding sources for these projects.

At the same time, we are sensitive to the impacts COVID-19 is having on all our lives. With that in mind, the board chose not to fund the New Machinery and Equipment Fund this year, creating some savings in our members’ assessments. Below is a breakdown of the 2021 Annual Assessment:

This total is a $176 increase from the previous year.  Below is a breakdown of key drivers for each of the funds.

OPERATING FUND

• Amenity operations assume COVID-19 restrictions through the spring of 2021. As in 2020, if circumstances change, we will quickly adapt; the Operating Budget is set up to flex.
• Expenses outside our control:
  • Liability insurance costs increased $327,000
  • Minimum wage is mandated to go up 7.7% causing a $200,00 impact to the budget
  • The federal government eliminated the J-1 international employee option, which has helped us control costs in the past
  • General inflation covering supplies and utilities

Together, these account for the increase in Operating Fund contributions in 2021. We worked diligently to keep all other costs in line, looking for tradeoffs where adjustments needed to be made.

REPLACEMENT RESERVE FUND

• California law dictates that homeowner associations, including Tahoe Donner, plan for and fund the repair, replacement, restoration and maintenance of major assets. The assessment contribution is in line with this requirement.

NEW MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT FUND

• In deference to our COVID-19 environment, the board chose not to fund these discretionary capital purchases.
• As items progress, the board will review requests based on need and situation.

DEVELOPMENT FUND

• This fund addresses capital projects outside the Replacement Reserve Fund. As noted above, the association must plan and fund the replacement or restoration of buildings.
• Building replacements have never been a part of the reserve schedules. As we near our 50^th anniversary, several of our older buildings (most notably Downhill Ski Lodge, Northwoods Clubhouse and Tennis Center) should have been in the reserve schedule, and the Development Fund contribution addresses this situation.

CAPITAL PROJECTS PROCESS
There has been a lot of discussion related to capital projects, specifically the lodge at Downhill Ski. This project is still in the community input stage and is not expected to go into construction until 2023 or 2024. There is still much work to do as we complete member outreach and business plan development for the lodge. Once that is finalized and a design team is on board, final design and a much more accurate cost estimate will be completed. This process will also determine the size of the new lodge.

All capital projects go through a rigorous planning process, including member input, before any replacement or restoration construction takes place. Each major capital project will have a two-way member communication plan. Official Tahoe Donner emails and website posts will always have the latest, most accurate information.

The 2021 budget approval came after an extensive open process, including three open workshops, four dedicated budget emails like this one, a story in Tahoe Donner News, meeting reminders, a dedicated webpage and feedback form. Member feedback and involvement was extensive and much appreciated.

The approved budget represents our obligations under law, our obligations to the membership for lifestyle, property values and property protection in addition to consideration for the COVID-19 environment we live in. You may view all the budget presentations, detailed background and workshop videos at tahoedonner.com/2021-budget-workshops.

Be well,

David Mickaelian | General Manager
Don Koenes | Board President