Yearly Archives: 2010

Annual Budget Meeting 2010 – Update

The following is a reproduction of a letter sent on 17 December 2010 to all shareholders.

Dear Shareholders,

On Saturday, December 4, 2010, the Board met to review the operating budget for 2011. The corporation continues to be under cost pressure from a variety of sources, including real estate taxes, water/sewer rates, utility costs and building maintenance costs. Most of these are out of our collective control.

Changes for 2011

At the meeting, the Board voted to:

  1. Raise monthly maintenance charges $0.15 per share or 2.48% (there was no increase last year);
  2. Raise laundry charges $0.25 per load wash and dry;
  3. Upon sale, require a $250 utility deposit from the seller, the balance of which will be refunded to the seller after the unit’s utility charges have been fully posted to their account (usually after two months);
  4. Consistent with the last several years, the Board voted not to assess the co-op/condo and Star credits and abatements. Those of you who had previously signed up for these will continue to receive them January–June.

Other News

The Board and management are working with Rand Engineering to bid out needed and necessary roof replacement work (for the roofs of the residential buildings). We hope to begin in the first half of 2011. This is likely to be very comprehensive work with a twenty-year warranty and includes bringing several items up to code.

As a result of the engineering study done to prepare us for the roof repairs, it was discovered that the building roof s lack the necessary strength to support a “green roof” and lack the strength to support a continuous human presence (like a patio). However, the Board is reviewing other options to use the space to better the environment. A leading contender at the moment is a solar electric configuration.

Happy Holidays,

—Your Board of Directors and Management

Unplug Your Cell Phone Charger to Save Energy

By Kristin Withak

You may think keeping chargers for things like cell phones, iPods, hand-held devices, laptops and the like waste such a tiny amount of electricity that it’s not worth remembering to unplug them. Or, maybe you didn’t even know that when you unplug your cell phone (etc.) from its charger, the charger is still drawing power. It’s true! Only 5 percent of the power drawn by a cell phone charger is used to charge the phone. The other 95 percent is wasted when it is left plugged into the wall.

You may be thinking your single charger uses such a small amount of energy, but with the US having an estimated 190 million devices with rechargeable batteries, combined stand-by usage of all those cell phone chargers, each drawing a measly watt, could add up to 190 megawatts per day. That’s enough to power approximately 100,000 homes.

Keeping chargers for items that require their battery to be recharged plugged in when not attached to the item (or even after it has fully charged the battery) consumes about 6 percent of the nation’s electric bill. This is a bad habit that can slowly add up to a lot of wasted energy, and yet can be so easy to break the habit by just remembering to unplug your devices and plugs once the battery is fully charged. Spread the word! Think about how much energy can be saved if everyone did just this one little thing.

In the same vein (and this may be shocking), unused appliances plugged into the electrical outlet continue to draw electricity while the products are turned off, and in the average home nearly 75 percent of all electricity used to power electronics is consumed by products that are switched off. VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances all use energy while not in use. The best way to help cut costs and electric use is to get a power cord that can be switched off when appliances are not in use. You’ll save the energy equivalent of a 100-watt light bulb that is always on.

Rough equivalent: 100W light bulb @ 8,760 hrs/year
Electricity: $.10/kWh
Total energy cost: $87.60
Cost of power strip: $4.00
Total energy savings: $83.60
Total CO2 savings: 1,217 lbs

Reminder: Annual Shareholders Meeting Wed 23 June

The Annual Meeting of Shareholders is scheduled for Wednesday 23 June 2010 at 6 p.m. in the courtyard (or in the basement Community Room if it rains). Dinner will be provided.

The purpose of the meeting is:

  1. To elect officers and directors to serve for a term as stipulated in the By-Laws of the Corporation;
  2. To consider and act upon all actions taken by the Board of Directors and Officers of the Corporation since the last meeting of shareholders;
  3. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting.

For more details, please read the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which you received in the mail earlier this month.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, please fill out the Proxy form appointing a trusted shareholder who will be attending to vote on your behalf. Your appointed proxy should bring the filled-out form with her/him to the meeting.

See you at the meeting!

In Case You Missed It! – Residential Energy Tax Credit

Dear Shareholders,

Just in case you have missed the e-mail notifications and missed the wording on the annual tax letter, the 2009 annual tax letter from our Accountants contained some very good news! Shareholders are able to claim $71.9053 per share on their federal taxes for the Residential Energy Tax Credit. This is in addition to the normal annual mortgage interest deduction and the real estate tax deduction.

If you have not already filed your 2009 federal tax forms, please include this amount on Form 5695 for up to a maximum tax credit of $1,500. Use IRS Form 5695 to calculate your specific amount you can claim (the amount transfers to IRS Form 1040 line #52). Be sure to direct your accountant to include this amount on your return.

If you have already filed you 2009 tax forms and did not include this amount, you may wish to consider amending your return. It is recommended that you please talk to your accountant about how to do this (or use Form 1040x or similar) as this could increase your refund or decrease your amount due.

This tax credit is only for holders of corporation shares as of 12/31/2009. Please see attached letter where the wording is highlighted.

Sincerely,

Your Board of Directors

Personal Income Tax Return Data for 2009

The following is a reproduction of a memo sent on 15 January 2010 to all shareholders by our co-op’s certified public accountants: Prisand, Mellina, Unterlack & Co., LLP.

(Download the scanned memo [PDF, 430KB].)

TO: Shareholders of NAGLE APARTMENTS CORP.

RE: PERSONAL INCOME TAX RETURN DATA FOR 2009

Dear Shareholders,

Under the provisions of Section 216 of the Internal Revenue Code, a tenant stockholder of a Cooperative apartment is entitled to deduct from personal gross income a proportionate share of interest and real estate tax paid or incurred by the Cooperative Corporation. Note that these deductions are generally available if the taxpayer itemizes tax deductions.

For the year 2009 your Per Share individual income tax deductions are as follows:

MORTGAGE INTEREST $14.0088 per share

REAL ESTATE TAX $16.3263 per share

For the year 2009, if you were granted any real estate tax abatements, reflected in a maintenance credit or received by check, your real estate tax deduction as stated above should be reduced by the amount of the abatements you received.

In order to compute your total deductions for 2009, multiply the number of shares owned by you, as indicated on your stock certificate, by the amounts per share stated above. If you became a stockholder, or sold your stock in the Corporation during 2009, you are permitted to deduct a fractional part of the figures, based on the proportionate part of the year you owned the stock.

Contributed capital in 2009 was $18.1559 per share for mortgage amortization. This is not a deduction, but an increase in the basis of your investment.

Residential energy tax credits in 2009 were $71.9053 per share for installation of windows.

Should you have any questions regarding the application of the aforementioned information to your individual income tax returns, please consult your personal tax advisor.

PRISAND, MELLINA, UNTERLACK & CO., LLP
Certified Public Accountants