Hijacked

Outwardly, they have been the poster children for the archetypal community volunteer and concerned neighbor. But underneath their meticulously crafted public image, tireless self-promotion and thin veneer of volunteerism and community service, has been a nine year calculated endeavor to subvert the democratic will of GIL homeowners by engineering at least one election outright, contorting election procedures in every election, keeping a sharp eye out for new homeowners that can be easily manipulated and by making Board service so untenable for the ones that can’t be that they either resign or decide not to seek re-election.

There’s a thief in our midst

All of the brouhaha that has followed 'Cart-Gate' has certainly brought one question in particular more sharply into focus for everyone living here at Glen Iris Lofts.

AND THAT QUESTION IS by what authority is Kit Sutherland running about investigating key finders on carts, authoring ‘community announcements’ in the name of the Glen Iris Lofts Board of Directors (in that headmaster tone like only Kit can do) summoning the Atlanta Police Department to ‘investigate’ delusions of ‘compromised security’ on GIL property, authorizing billable time by Association attorneys and, unbelievably, having the audacity to confiscate utility carts when they are in short supply and desperately needed, when she hasn’t even been elected to serve on our Board for more than three years now? (Continued...)

Election fraud bombshell: 2003 rental cap amendment FAILED

For anyone that still harbors the quaint illusion that GIL elections are fair, honest and accurate, prepare yourself.  The Blog recently obtained a folder that contained the ballots from the February 13, 2003 Annual Homeowners’ Meeting, at which homeowners voted on whether or not to amend the By-Laws to include, among other things, a 25% rental cap.

But an audit of the vote count reveals a startling discovery - the amendment actually failed.  (Continued...)

Our broken election process: Ripe for proxy abuse

GIL ELECTION PROXY FORMS ARE NOT CERTIFIED   Given that substantially greater than half of all votes cast in elections since the inception of our Association have been by proxy, the fact that proxies are not certified as the valid instrument of those that purportedly signed them represents a serious challenge to the legitimacy of election results.

Without a process of certification, there is very little way to know if a proxy is legitimate or fraudulent. It wouldn’t take much for someone with an interest in a certain outcome to identify those who perennially fail to vote and whose non-attendance at the annual meeting is all but certain and to use that information to fraudulently vote on behalf of those members.  And if any ballots so produced were cast by mail and sent to CMA, the chances of getting caught doing it are nil. (Continued...)

Next time around, election ballots will list all the names of those wishing to serve

GIL BALLOTS DO NOT LIST THE NAMES OF ALL CANDIDATES  The fact that the those currently on the Board would not add Scott Reno’s name to the ballot in the most recent election – and, in fact, have never placed anyone on the ballot other than those recommended by an incumbent Board, represents an egregious assault on the democratic process and the rights of GIL homeowners.

When buying their home, every member of our Association agrees to bind themselves to the decisions and actions of the GIL Board, and in exchange, homeowners are supposed to have the right to fully and genuinely participate in the governance and affairs of their Association. At GIL, homeowners only get half of that bargain. They become bound by the actions and decisions of the Board but, ultimately, their rights of full and genuine participation in those actions and decisions are not forthcoming.

In future elections, the Board can keep their 'ballot' and save us the $.20 a page CMA copy fee.

WE WILL BRING OUR OWN BALLOTS - ONES THAT FAIRLY LIST ALL THE NAMES OF THOSE WISHING TO SERVE.

Remember: Rules best serve those who make them

OUR BALLOTS ARE NOT SECRET  When the ballot on which you are asked to cast your vote requires your name, unit and building number and contains a written admonishment that ballots that lack such information are ‘invalid’ and will be ‘discarded’, that’s generally a sign that your vote is not secret.

Worse, your secret-to-everyone-but-the-Sutherlands ballot then serves as an excellent tool to accurately determine whom among us is a ‘good resident’ and who needs ‘re-education’ - lest they become an object of scorn, gossip and retribution.

Our By-Laws mandate ‘secret ballots’.  AND SECRET BALLOTS ARE WHAT WE WILL HAVE.

BREAKING NEWS: We’re broke.

2012 should be a year to celebrate – our Association will have its 10^th birthday.  But the guests to that party will have to bring their own kazoos, ice cream and cake – because, after nearly a decade of Sutherland control and domination of Board operation, we are, effectively, broke.  Yes, you read correctly, broke.  You could say that we are an island surrounded by a sea of Sutherland red ink.

We ended 2011 with total assets of $214,035 that are expected to be augmented by an additional $46,106 in reserve fund additions over the coming 12 months, for a projected total of $260,141. However, we also have repairs that have been identified and determined to be necessary expenditures (Continued...)

Exciting news and an open letter from the founding author of the Blog...

AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE FOUNDING AUTHOR OF THE BLOG

TO THE BLOG’S MANY SUPPORTERS
The generosity of your loyal readership, comments, e-mails and offers of support has been truly amazing, and I thank you.  Apart from making the countless hours required by this endeavor more rewarding, your support has provided incontrovertible evidence that a new day is dawning for our shared community. Your overwhelming support is witness to the well spring of interest, concern and desire to participate that exists in the hearts and minds of everyone here at Glen Iris Lofts. (Continued...)

Glen Iris Farm, Pt. 2: Napoleon gets an attorney

It was always the pigs who put forward the resolutions. The other animals understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions of their own.

-George Orwell, The Animal Farm, Chapter 3

THE PROBLEM (Oink)  The only problem with giving people the right to vote is that, all too often, they don’t vote correctly.

THE BACKROOM DEAL  Although the By-Laws specifically state owners are to write the names of those for whom they are voting, what we pigs must do is help them be better Comrades and voters by writing down only the very best choices for them, so they don’t become hopelessly confused and make the wrong choices.

‘But then what shall the purpose of voting be?’ squealed one pig, after pondering the scheme for a moment. ‘So there’s voting!’ boomed Napoleon. ‘And so that people have the opportunity to vote for my wise choices’, he added.  And, then, with a watery snort that misted the air a full three feet in front of his snout, he turned his attention back to the hushed and ominously intense conversation he had been having on the urgent matter of his continued Stewardship of the animals with a very sinister looking pig with nervous, darting eyes and whose eerie ability to move about a room unnoticed reminded everyone of a pig they had known many years ago but whom had not been seen since the day Jones left the farm and it was decided that one pig would go to the city to learn how to read laws and make resolutions and things.

A VIDEO PRIMER  The Blog created this video to help better explain exactly how homeowners were duped into a system where there is voting, but no choice.

THE BARNYARD SCOREBOARD  Pigs 2, Homeowners 0!

 

As long as people continue to accept the Board’s ‘ballots’ as though they are the only 'true' ballot, when, in reality, they are only an artifice specifically designed to ensure that homeowners actually (Continued...)

Glen Iris Farm, Pt. 1: The rise of Napoleon and the Stewardship of pigs

They had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes.

-George Orwell, The Animal Farm, Chapter 7

PROBLEM (Oink!) Too many homeowners participate in the Annual Meeting in February and, to make matters worse, they are watching their money more closely, after having over-spent during the holidays.  This untenable situation simply creates too much unnecessary risk to our eternal Stewardship of the poor animals – and they need us!

BACKROOM DEAL  Move the Annual Meeting from the middle of February, as the By-Laws clearly appoint as the time for the Annual Meeting, to the middle of December. ‘But people are so busy around the holidays!’ squealed one pig. ‘Oink, that’s the point’, grumbled another.

COVER STORY  By moving the meeting to December, you also make the new year's budget official starting January 1, as opposed to March.  As a result, the the new monthly assessment amount can be collected on a schedule that's more closely aligned with the budget and our fiscal year.

COVER STORY FACT CHECK  From a budgeting perspective, there's nothing more ‘magical’ about January than December.  If the two months present different levels of expense or income, then you plan for that - that's the purpose of a budget!  Contracts with vendors expire at staggered periods throughout the year, depending on the month they were first signed, so it isn't like our expenses are all radically different in January than they were the month prior.  And even with a December budget adoption, the marginal increase in revenue (this assumes every budget is bigger than the last because, I think everyone would agree that's the pretty much the norm anymore) comes only one month sooner than it would have otherwise – and we have sufficient working capital to cover well beyond the incremental new revenue represented by just one month’s assessment increase.  As for alignment with the fiscal year, whats so difficult about budgeting January and February with what you know will be the revenue and then budgeting the remaining ten months with what the new revenue number will be?

A change in the budget process that would make more sense than bumping forward its approval would be to construct it in an orthodox manner where 'pine straw' isn't its own budget category, but, rather, is included in a 'Landscape Maintenance' category. (Continued...)

Let's take it back!

Tired of backroom deals, half-truths and feeling like what's really being managed around here is you?

Change is coming.  Be a part of it.

It's still 'Kit's Board' and Fidel's Cuba...

You know how you can always tell when you've had a busy weekend going here, going there, shopping for this and dropping off that....compared with one where you sat around the house not doing much of this and careful to not do too much of that?  Easy.  You end up with a pocket full of receipts and paper doing the former and nary two cotton fibers to rub together doing the later.

And it's no different with GIL Board members as it is with anyone else.  That's how you know that despite their big put-on for the they've-fallen-for-that-crap-for-nearly-six-years-now-so-surely-they-will-again homeowners (you know the skit - Stuart pretends to be on-the-Board-and-In-Charge while
Kit takes a hiatus, sticking her nose into other people's business other than ours), Kit has never really gone anywhere.  She's right where she's been all along - running 'her Board'.
You know how I know? That's simple. (Continued...)

Latest election of Board members not valid, according to GIL By-Laws

According to the GIL By-Laws (as amended, 2003), the latest election held to fill the number of vacant Board positions at the Annual Meeting was not valid as it violated several provisions governing elections set forth in section 4.07 'Procedure for Election' (Section 4.07 in its entirety included with this post, below).  Specifically, the recent election violated the By-Laws as follows:


1.  The By-Laws do not accommodate voting in advance of the meeting.  Accordingly, any ballots that were mailed to Maggie at CMA prior to the Annual Meeting are not valid.

"Election of Board of Directors shall be by secret written ballot, unless dispensed by unanimous consent, and at such election, members or their proxies may cast..."

Notice the By-Laws do not accommodate voting prior to such election. The votes for Board positions sent prior to the meeting to Maggie at CMA are invalid as they were not voted at the election.


In fact, advance voting is not possible under the current By-Laws as those casting votes are required to list the names of those for whom they wish to vote after the completion of the nomination process, which takes place, according to the By-Laws, at the annual meeting itself.  See issue two, below. (Continued...)

Annual HOA Meeting Kabuki Theater...

Well, there we were again...Stuart pretending to listen and homeowners pretending that they are involved.  And what with Kit and her damned laptop?! She gets more abrasive every year.  By this time next year, she may even be as pompous and abrasive as her husband... Mmm....nah.  Not possible.

And, ah, show up an hour late, busy yourself with everything but what you're supposedly there for and then dart out the back door before anyone could ask you a question much?  She was no doubt late to another meeting...at 10:00 p.m.  And hasn't anyone noticed that Kit herself has said nothing on the subject of whether or not she is affiliated in any way with Miller-Gallman Developers?  Not a word.  In fact, she wrapped up her intrusive and disrespectful keyboarding session but fast once someone said that they would just ask her the questions about Miller-Gallman themselves rather than continue to pose them to Stuart.


All I know is that...I might be inclined to think that maybe her name popping up with Miller-Gallman is just some weird fluke - were it not for what seems to me as completely guilty behavior.