November 2008

The weather is definitely changing.  As I write this, the leaves are beginning to change.  Soon they will be falling like snow.  I guess I should have picked another analogy!  Sorry about that.

Each year, with the cooler weather and the leaves falling, we find ourselves thinking about elections.  You probably won’t get this before Election Day.  Soon, we will have a new President elect.  Judging from the mix of signs in the neighborhood, some of you will be very happy and others, not so much.  I hope all of you exercised your right to vote.  It’s what makes our country so great.  As far as the signs, please be sure to remove them within 7 days after the election as our rules require.  As hotly contested as the US Presidential race was, the elections for HSIA Officers seems to be the opposite this year.  Even so, I urge each one of you to send in your ballot.

One of the most important things the HSIA Officers and committee chairpersons do each fall is set the budget for the next fiscal year.  The Budget Committee met on October 20 this year.  Using the budget requests from the committee chairs, we create three proposed budgets, General Fund,  Piers & Harbors and  Special Tax.

Each year the HSIA Board of Directors approves all three proposed budgets at its October meeting.  At the November General Meeting, the membership gets to give their input and sometimes vote on items that the board wants community guidance on.  The Board of Directors then gives final approval to the budgets at the November Board Meeting.  These budgets are then published in the December Sea Breeze.  At the January General Meeting, the General Fund and Piers & Harbors budgets are formally approved by the membership.  There is no vote on the Special Tax budget at that meeting since it is too late to make any changes because of county legal requirements.  The HSIA board is proposing a significant increase in the Special Tax budget to provide greatly enhanced security.

The General Fund is for all the income and expenses not related to Special Tax or to Piers & Harbors.  Income to the General Fund comes from dues, donations, tee shirt sales, and the rental property.  General Fund money is spent on rental property maintenance, committee costs, dues and donations to organizations like the South River Federation, and the wonderful community events like the Ice Cream Social, Easter Egg Hunt, and the Beach Happy Hours.  Some of you might not know why we have a rental property.  HSIA owns the property the pool is located on.  There is one house next to the pool, at the corner of Harbor and Great Lake Drives.  HSIA wisely purchased that house many years ago so that we would control the entire parcel.  This gives us much more flexibility in case we decide to develop the property in the future for things such as a community center or other recreational uses.

Piers & Harbors consists of not only the main marina, but all the boat ramps, dinghy rack and kayak storage racks, the boat storage park, and two other piers with boat slips.  Some of the recent projects that the P&H budget has paid for are replacing deteriorated boat ramps and piers, new gates, and security cameras.  The entire P&H budget is funded from slip fees, boat ramp keys, and boat and dinghy storage fees.  In other words, no Special Tax or general community money is used by P&H.  If you don’t use the marina or other P&H facilities, then you are not contributing to these projects.  When I say “use”, I mean things like renting a slip or getting a boat ramp key.  All residents are welcome to use the marina and piers for activities like crabbing, fishing, or just enjoying the views of the bay.

The biggest budget is Special Tax.  Each year, the HSIA Board of Directors approves a Special Tax budget and submits it to the county.  They add $2,000 for an administrative fee and divide the total budget by the number of taxable properties in Hillsmere.  The resulting figure is added to each property’s real estate tax bill.  The collected money is distributed to HSIA in several installments during the fiscal year.  Although the fiscal year starts on July 1, we don’t get the first check for several months.  Special Tax money can only be spent on things that benefit the entire community.  Boat slips would not be eligible since everyone can’t get one, for example.  The community beach, playground equipment, grass cutting on the Hillsmere Drive islands and beach, trash pick-up at the beach, community beautification, legal expenses, and security are some of the things Special Tax money is spent on.

This year, for the entire tax year that began on July 1, 2008, the Special Tax was approximately $160 per property.  For next year, beginning July 1, 2009, the proposed budget will result in a Special Tax payment of only $90 per property.  This is mainly due to reduced beach improvements and a surplus that was carried over from previous tax years.  However, we are proposing a new expense that will significantly increase the budget while greatly improving security.

We are proposing that Hillsmere have its own Anne Arundel County police officer.  Bay Ridge has been doing this for decades.  Here is how it works.  The county calculates the cost of one police officer based on the total county police expenses.  Currently, that amount is approximately $105,000 per year.  That includes the police officer, police car, gas, insurance, and any other expenses.  We would pay that amount to the county.  In return, a particular police officer would be assigned to Hillsmere.  He or she would work full time in Hillsmere.  It would be a mix of day and night work.  The officer would patrol in Hillsmere 40 hours a week.  He or she would not be assigned calls outside of Hillsmere except for very urgent emergencies, such as an officer needing help.  When our officer had days off, was on vacation, or out sick, we would have the same coverage we have now from the county.  Unfortunately, that is not very much.  There is usually only one county police officer assigned to the entire Annapolis Neck from Rt. 2 to Bay Ridge.  We are adding the $105,000 to our existing $40,000 security budget.  This means that we will still have off-duty county police officers and private security guards patrolling when our assigned police officer is not working.

This is expensive, but it will mean greatly increased police presence in our community.  How expensive is this proposal?  Each property’s Special Tax will increase by $86 per year to pay for the full-time police officer.  That is only $7.16 per month.  Because the Special Tax budget is being reduced to $90 next year (without the police officer), the overall increase, with the full-time police officer, is only $16 per year.

Why do we need a full time police officer?  As you know, there has been a general increase in crime both in Hillsmere and in the surrounding communities.  There have been a few disturbing incidents recently in Hillsmere, including the home invasion on Cedar Lane a few months ago and the persons soliciting money and upsetting residents last summer.  There has also been an increase in vandalism and car thefts.  With the current financial crisis and a possible prolonged recession, crime rates may continue to increase.  Many residents have called and emailed me asking that something be done to increase security.  We are a very large community.  Because of the number of homes, about 1,220 properties, the cost per property is very low.  I think this is the best way to improve our security.  Since this is part of the budget for FY2010, the police officer would not start working in Hillsmere until July 1, 2009 (about 9 months from now).  It is possible that we could start a little earlier if there is money left in the current budget.

The membership will be asked to approve the additional $105,000 at the November General Meeting on November 13.  If you want to have your feelings known and your vote count, then please attend this meeting.

I often worry that people will get a negative impression of our community because of all this talk of crime.  Over 50 years ago, crime was not an issue.  The whole world has changed and Hillsmere has changed along with it.  Our community is still a wonderful place to live.  It is still home to many, many wonderful, caring, good people.  In my opinion, spending additional money to increase security is simply the prudent thing to do.  It doesn’t mean anyone should be afraid to live or play here.  In fact, it means quite the opposite.