HOA Budget Meetin without the Property Mgr

You don't have to have the property manager there, but if this is part of the manager's job, why wouldn't you? The board has to approve the budget and the property manager works under the board's direction. Seems like you and your board have some trust issues with your manager that you need to fix immedia. Otherwise, how do you expect for him or her to do the work you contracted for?

The property manager can listen and make sugges, but the board is responsible for making the final decision. If you can't trust your property manager to stay in his/her land and not behave like he/she is a board member, either you folks are trying to micromanage or you need another manager you can work with.

Your second question may be in your documents - get them out and start reading. Or talk to your reserve specialist. And read your reserve study, which you should be using as a guide to prepare your budget. If you don't know how to do that, keep talking to the specialist. You may want to have the property manager in non that discussion too, because he or she likely has more information on the common areas and what's required to care for them properly.

Eh, don't quote me on the "first budget after turnover" part. The statute isn't really clear on that point and when I read it again, there's a chance it applies to developer-controlled boards even before turnover. I am not sure about that.

I am not a financial expert but as I understand it there are two accounting methods to run an HOA budget. Cssh Method and Accrual Method. Cash is the simplest to do and understand. It is how most people typically run their own finances. Accrual is what accountant types prefer and harder to understand unless simply explained. I am not going to try and explain but it is not as confusing as some believe. It just needs a simple and good explanation.

Any budget is a best guess but it simply starts with what income do you expect and what expenses (including funding Reserves) do you expect. As an example, we have 4 sources (lines) of income with assessments dues being 97% of it.

We have about 25 line of expenses. Some are a fixed amount monthly expenses (like our MC cost), others vary like the electricity, water, etc. Some are once a year like insurance. Some are random like an entrance sign repair.

As far as funding Reserves, the amount needed and when needed comes as the result of Reserve Study which looks at everything and places an amount needed and when needed on each item. Depending on the size and complexity of your association you may need a professional to do the study for you. We did not need a professional as we have few amenities yet we did consult with experts on things like fence replacement cost, etc. We also learned as we went along like finding out our pond sprinkler fountain only lasts an average of 5 years (7 years on original, 3 years on replacement) and needs replacing at a cost of $3K. So this tells us we should fund a Fountain Reserve with $600 per year. Will this be exact? No, but we will be better prepared than if we did not fund it.