Any community can become depressed, listless and out of sorts. Good health is often only a prescription away. Here are some that can improve the overall health and happiness of your community.

Communication Prescriptions

• Publish and distribute a newsletter at least four times a year.
• Include resident events (births, graduations, etc.) in the newsletter
• Develop an Internet web site and include budgets, governing documents, names, phone numbers and other need-to-know items. Link your web site to other community association web sites and resources.
• Distribute questionnaires to residents and publish the results.
• Publish a community calendar well in advance of the events.
• Introduce new residents at board meetings and profile them in the newsletter
• Use signs discreetly within your community
• Design rules and signage in a positive manner

Community Prescriptions

• Develop an active committee structure to support the Board of Directors
• Develop a mission statement for your community
• Send your newsletter to local political leaders
• Encourage local business to advertise in your newsletter
• Encourage voter registration by residents of the community
• Establish a forum for local political leaders to meet with residents of your community
• Take an active position on local community issues
• Hold an annual community garage sale
• Establish a community library with donated books
• Assist residents in locating babysitters from within the community
• Sponsor a neighborhood cleanup day
• Sponsor a community aerobics class

Management Prescriptions

• Limit board meetings to 2 hours and make real decisions.
• Distribute meeting agendas in advance
• Provide for a Homeowner Forum before each board meeting
• Track director and owner attendance at meetings
• Enact only rules and regulations that are practical, clear and enforceable
• Limit the number of consecutive directors terms allowable
• Budget for board education (seminars, books, magazines, videos)
• Revise governing documents using plain language
• Make board meetings minutes easily and quickly available to unit owners

Financial Prescriptions

• Commission a reserve study and update it annually
• Adequately fund reserves to avoid special assessments by commissioning a professional reserve study.
• Encourage owner participation on the budget committee
• Have periodic outside audits of your finances
• Invest reserve funds wisely to maximize yield through insured investments
• Encourage purchase of homeowner insurance from the association insurance company to reduce gaps in coverage
• Distribute timely financial information to owners
• Adequately budget to maintain services
• Develop volume discount programs that benefit residents; For example, cable TV services can be purchased in "bulk rate agreements" with 40-50% discount.

Asset Appreciation Prescriptions

• Ask area real estate agents to assess the strong and weak market points of the association
• Encourage upgrading of homes.

These prescriptions can and will make your community a healthier environment to live and grow in. Take two...no, take them all and see you in a new and brighter morning. For more healthy prescriptions, go to http://www.regenesis.net

Published: June 7, 2000

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