It’s budget season in Heritage Hills. The Metro District held its 2027 budget work session last Friday, and our HOA board approved its 2027 budget on Tuesday, October 20. This recap covers the HOA budget.

Starting in January, our HOA dues go from $180 to $220 a year. It’s the first increase in five years.

The $40 itself isn’t the story. What stands out is the shift. Not long ago, the HOA board discussed pausing our dues altogether because of how much our HOA has in reserves. More below.

The events budget was $60,000 this year. Our HOA is on track to spend about $80,000, so the board set that as next year’s events budget.

Our events this year have been fantastic, from the bigger spring event to fall family photos this Saturday, October 24, where more than 70 families signed up. A huge thank you to all the neighbors who volunteer to plan and run our events. The board said that if volunteers aren’t available, that money won’t be spent. If you haven’t been to an event lately, please come to the next one, or raise your hand to help.

Our HOA has about $360,000 in reserves. For the past couple of years, the board has said that was more than we needed.

That view was supported by a 2019 reserve study, which recommended a “Fully Funded Reserve Balance” of $1,750. At the time, our HOA had over $366,000, about what we have now. That means we were more than 20,000% funded.

The only major expense the study expected in the next 30 years was refurbishing or replacing one Heritage Hills sign in 2047, at a cost of less than $40,000.

So our question is simple: why keep hundreds of thousands in reserve and raise our dues? We’re asking the same question about the nearly $5 million our Metro District keeps in reserve.

The good news: our HOA’s insurance came in around $5,500 this year, compared with $9,000 budgeted.

The HOA president shared that this was due to a recommendation he made: that the Metro District name the HOA as an additional insured on the Metro District’s policy.

We’ve been at every Metro District board meeting this year, and this was never discussed or voted on. We’re curious how, when, and why this decision was made.

Fall yard waste. Starting the week of October 26 (next week), Waste Connections will take 10 bags of yard waste and five bundles of branches on regular trash days for the next four weeks.

Winter walkthroughs. Over the winter, neighborhood walkthroughs will focus on overnight parking and weeds growing through shrubs.

Our HOA annual meeting is Tuesday, November 10, at 6:30 PM at the Lone Tree Hub. It’s a great place to ask questions about the budget, reserves, or anything else.

Three board seats are open, so if you’ve ever thought about serving, this is a great year to do it. You’ll find the HOA board member application instructions here.

Watch your mail for the proxy form. You can now simply check a box to count toward quorum without naming anyone. Last year’s annual meeting didn’t reach quorum, so please send yours in.

HOA board meetings are virtual and generally held the second Tuesday of every month at 8 AM. Our next meeting is the annual meeting on Tuesday, November 10, at 6:30 PM at the Lone Tree Hub.

Thanks, Friends! 🏡