Homeowner paying for maintenance?

Thomas,

That would be a decision by your Board.

In my Association, we inform members that if they can not wait for Association to fund a tree removal they may request prior approval to have the job done at their expense. We also specify what the job requires:

1) Removal of all tree debris
2) Grinding of the stump and removal of stump shavings
3) Fill Dirt and seeding for grass

great info, thanks gents.

Thing is, if the board doesn't remove the tree, they are ignoring a known danger and could increase liability for the HOA

Just how many millions does it cost to remove a tree in California?

If the association has no funds to pay for removal of a dead tree from a common area, what other expenses does it not have money for? It sounds like your association has more serious problems than a diseased tree. It seems to have no reserve funds at all.

Larry,

The tree is not dead, it is sick and dying (per the poster).

Using my Association as an example, we are over 30 years old with many mature trees. In the past, there was no plan for maintaining the trees. It wasn't until 4 years ago that we brought an Arborist onsite to evaluate every tree and provide a report. This gave us a plan but we still had to fund it.

Cost to remove a tree for us varies between $750 and $1,500 depending on size and location. Grinding the stump is another $500. We only budget $7,000 per year for trees and the plan said we needed $50,000 worth of work. Being on the Board, to aid this, I volunteered to absorb the bookkeeping duties each year into the Treasurer duties. This freed up another $4,200 that we placed in the tree budget and placed us on a 5 year time frame to address issues identified in the arborist report. Unfortunately, over 5 years, other trees die, are damaged by storms or become diseased. These (like storm damage) may take priority over the arborist report.

Over time, we have increased the tree budget to $10,000 per year. This still may not be enough but it's a work in the right direction.

I suspect that Thomas's Association may have similar issues. We have been blessed with an extremely low deliquency rate for assessments. Thomas's Association may have a high delinquency rate (hence the reason for deferred maintenance).

Thomas, Larrys point should not be lost. You should check into your Association finances and find out what the issue is on why the Board continues to say there is no money.
Is the issue real or perceived?
Is it that the Board simply doesn't want to spend the money or that the money isn't coming in (delinquent accounts)?
Is it poor budgeting?
Is it poor spending?
Well, you get the point. You should check to see what the issue is so it can be addressed.

Your costs seem high Tim, especially the stump grinding. I assume that soil & seed is included in that cost, but still high IMO.