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April Newsletter
Spring is here....Achoooo...so are weeds, wild growth and scrub
Spring is here…achooo… and things are growing like wildfire with all the rains and moderate temperatures. Over the past month, SCHOA has been trying to make personal contact with property owners while making inspections of homes in the area in lieu of sending letters. While this has been successful, letters have been sent out to those property owners that could not be contacted.
Condition of property complaints have increased by about 12-15 percent over the past month and even with that increase, staff only initiated a small percentage of those complaints. Home owners should contact their landscapers to correct the problems, and for you do-it-yourselfers, there are several products on the market through commercial vendors for weed and pest control. As a member you have access to several vendors listed with SCHOA and through the SCHOA website. Take advantage of this service and help keep Sun City weed free.
Advertising Scare
Many home owners have received a post card advertising saying “Attention” and “Warning”, and “Requires Immediate Actions”. Don’t be fooled and taken in by scare tactics in advertising. Companies pay thousands of dollars yearly to find a way to get their foot into your house, and once they do, this free offer turns into several hundred dollars or even thousand dollar repair. Contact the Better Business Bureau and check on-line to see if any complaints have been filed.
Information from Sun City Recreation Centers - Use Caution
Residents should use caution with home visitors. Recreations Centers of Sun City, Inc, want to remind cardholders and residents to use caution with whom they invite into their home. RCSC received information from residents, that people claiming to be associated with RCSC Card holder services had called and wanted to meet them at their home and discuss how RCSC was spending money.
RCSC was not involved with these phone calls. No RSCS employee would ever have a reason to meet with a cardholder or residents at their home. It is the intent of the RSCS to only inform the community about these incidents and to ask residents to be wary of random phone calls from people who ask to meet you at your home.
Arizona widows and widowers may be eligible for a reduction in their real estate taxes. To be eligible, the applicant must be a current Arizona resident and the deceased spouse must have been an Arizona resident at the time of death. The applicant must be over 17 years old. The program exempts $3,455 in assessed value with a corresponding reduction in annual property taxes. (Assessed value is 10% of full cash value) This is a permanent exemption as long as eligibility requirements are met.
To be eligible, the applicant’s annual income must be less than $28,713 if no minor children are in the home or $34,455 if there are children under 18 are in the home. These income limits are Arizona Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) plus excluded capital gains minus social security. If you are interested, please call Sun City Taxpayers Association at 623-933-7530 to make an appointment with the in-house Maricopa County Representative for information and assistance.
SCHOA March Monthly Activity
SCHOA had 639 new reported violations during the month of March. Here is a brief summary of some of the activity;
- 205 Condition of Property for month 806 since November 538 Closed
- 38 Age for the March month 169 since November 127 Closed
- 239 Age for 2009 216 Closed
- 141 Vehicles for March 79 Closed
- 1,600 vendor referrals and 984 walk-ins
Office staff has been inundated with building request and building reported construction without permits and in violation of setback requirements. Most of
these have been turned over to the County. People have still been building
without permits and it has been costing them much more than the headache for obtaining a permit from the County. SCHOA encourages every homeowner to
check for building limitations, restrictions, and setback requirements as outlined
in the deed restrictions.
Leaving for the Summer?
Many of our residents still head north for the cooler summer temps. When you are gone, there is still the responsibility of property maintenance. Here are a few summer traveler tips. This list is not all inclusive, but a good start.
- Provide emergency contact numbers with neighbors, friends or SCHOA
- Have a yard care person checking and cleaning your property
- Shut off water to the interior of the home
- Notify the Posse for home and property checks
- Stopping mail and newspaper delivery
- Have someone make regular checks to remove any posted advertising
- Anti freeze in toilets and seal drains
- Have someone checks for rodent, pest, and bee infestation
Do I Need A Permit?
SCHOA cannot answer for the County Planning and Development as to construction codes and when a permit is required. However, we have regular contact with Planning and Development and Code Enforcement regarding set backs and extensions to the home. As of most recent, carport extensions and patiocovers do require a permit and need to meet setback requirements when they are attached to the house. This is an extension of the home. If it is not attached, a permit may not be required, but you still will have to meet SCHOA deed restriction requirements. Other common items are fences, carport conversations, remodeling (interior & exterior), or storage attachments. Home owners are urged to check with Planning and Development regarding permit requirements and with SCHOA as it pertains to any deed restrictions.
ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Sun City is doing great in these economic times to get roadwork done. Several of the streets are being repaved and resurfaced and concrete gutters being repaired and replaced. “Give ‘em a Brake” and obeys signs for parking, road closures, and detours. The construction that started in March is slated for finish in late June. For traffic updates, you can call a 24-hour Construction Hotline at 480-350-9288.
Office Note
SCHOA is still looking for office volunteers for 2-3 hours per week. If you have an interest, please contact Jeannine Frederick at 623-974-4718 or by e-mail at adminmgr@suncityhoa.org
Library Bill Pulled
Due to the overwhelming phone calls and e-mails, the latest Bill has been pulled. Now we need to continue the efforts in the future for the water rate increase. See the following information. We still have to be watchful because the Bill has only been pulled and is still being reconsidered.
Arizona American Water
In a recent newspaper article the Arizona American Water Company spokesperson defended the company’s recent request for a rate increase. It was pointed out that an application to increase rates is an application to recover an investment the company has already made and the customers are already benefitting from. This was our foundation argument about two years ago in opposing the rate increase for the “water flow rate increase” project. We aired our disagreement and now we agree; that is a good thing. The spokesperson for the water company implied that the residents of the Sun City Water District considered the company as adversaries. I know that it sometimes appears that way; we do complain about price increases in food, rent, gasoline, utilities, health care, RCSC Fees etc. Perhaps we should spend more time in expressing gratitude for all
that we enjoy.
Having served on the board of directors for the Sun City Taxpayers Association and Community Action Network, I am aware of the benefit of the discount provided by the water company to our low income seniors. The company announced this program without external prodding. The program is a display of corporate compassion and it is appreciated. The water company’s support of the Sun City PRIDES is an excellent example of corporate partnering with a community organization. The entire community benefits from the work of the PRIDES and Arizona American Water Company is deserving of a heartfelt thanks for their support.
Justification for the current rate increase for the Sun City Water District is not at all obvious. The accountants at the Arizona Corporation Commission and the Residential Utility Consumer Office will examine the value of investments, operating cost, expenses and depreciation methodology, all of which is a bit too academic and beyond my level of comprehension. The reasons for my objections to the increase can best be described as a layman’s observation.
The current rate increase request of 27.7 percent for water and 40.8 percent for wastewater seems exorbitant particularly in light of the fact that the last rate increase of 26.2 percent for water and 24.7 percent for wastewater became effective in July of 2008; just 12 months before the filing of the current rate increase request. Using the rate increase that became effective in July of 2008 and assuming 10,000 gallon use rate for all customers in the Sun City Water District, I estimate a monthly revenue increase of $152,034.08. That is a revenue increase of over $1.8 million per year. The new request, if approved, will produce a revenue increase of well over $2 million annually. The justification for the current increase request given by the water company spokesperson is that the company had invested $5 million in improvements for the water district over the
past two years. It seems to me that the requested increase would return the $5 million in 2 to 2.5 years. That is better than a 40 Percent annual rate of return on investment. That seems like a rather high rate of return for any business.
It is frequently pointed out that Sun City has the lowest water rates than any of the other water districts owned by Arizona American as if that alone justifies an increase. I think our rate is low because we have what is probably the best water in Arizona and the district is densely populated. After examining other districts I feel that a strong argument could be made to support a significantly lower rate for Sun City.
In terms of metered customers, Agua Fria is the largest district owned by Arizona American and Sun City is second largest. Agua Fria has 39 percent more wells than Sun City. Agua Fria has 42 percent more metered customers than Sun City and 243 percent more footage of water mains to connect those customers. The largest main in Sun City is 18 inches. Agua Fria has 99,087 feet of mains that are 20 to 48 inch size. Agua Fria has 223.9 percent more water storage capacity than Sun City. Agua Fria has a Fire Hydrant for every 6 metered customers. Sun City has only one Fire Hydrant for every 13 metered customers. Agua Fria has 86 percent more Booster Pumps than Sun City and 93 percent more pressure tank capacity than Sun City. Agua Fria water supply requires Arsenic and Nitrate removal equipment. Sun City water supply does not require any special equipment or handling. On a relative basis of investment and operating cost it seems that the Sun City basic rate would be 50 to 65 percent lower than Agua Fria’s basic water rate; but Sun City’s basic rate is only 44.5 percent less than Agua Fria’s. How long has the Sun City Water District been overcharged?
Doyle Dickson, Sun City Taxpayers Association
Community Intervention Program
There have been some changes in addressing vacant and unoccupied properties in Sun City. Sometimes we need additional 90 days before SCHOA can go in and clean some of these properties. Recent changes in which define possession during foreclosures make this necessary. SCHOA needs to ensure that it can recover all if its investment in the property. We ask home owners that are affected by unkempt properties in thier neighborhood, to keep SCHOA informed of any information or activities that occur at the property.
Is There Baseball In Heaven?
Two old men had been best friends for years, and they both live to their early 90's, when one of them suddenly falls deathly ill. His friend comes to visit him on his deathbed, and they're reminiscing about their long friendship, when the dying man's friend asks, "Listen, when you die, do me a favor. I want to know if there's baseball in heaven."
The dying man said, "We've been friends for years, this I'll do for you." And then he dies.
A couple days later, his surviving friend is sleeping when he hears his friend's voice. The voice says, "I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that there's baseball in heaven."
"What's the bad news?"
"You're pitching on Wednesday."
Disclamier: The mind is an amazing and wonderful. It learns to adjust to even the finite mistakes so that we can under stand. Sew, if U C any errs,
U can blame it on my skooling. Englsh was knot my gr8est subject. Eye luved history and shop and teeching. eye'm knot wordly as moist, butt
hve maid trips frm tme 2 tme. Eye have bin in moist sttes n the US and
in 2 countyies in Your-up. Hope y'll had a gr8 Easter weak end. Enjoy the spring and some-errrrr.
For any information about services that SCHOA provides, stop by our office and meet our staff at 10401 W Coggins (off 103rd Ave) or call us at 623-974-4718