Monthly Archives: December 2014

Annual Budget Meeting 2014 – Update

On Sunday 14 December 2014, the Board of Directors met to review the operating budget for 2015. The following is a reproduction of the follow-up letter sent on 26 December 2014 to all shareholders.

[ PDF version ]

Dear Shareowners,

Yearly recap

As 2014 comes to a close, the year can best be summed up as a year of positive transition. The garage roof replacement project is nearly complete. Progress continues to be made on the interior garage repairs. After receiving your input, the Board has selected three landscape designers to call back for a second round of presentations. And also based on your input, management is receiving bids for garage operators. The work is necessary to perform; it will improve the lives of our residents; and add value to our shares.

2015 budget and cash needs

The finances of the corporation continue to be strong. Part of what makes our finances strong is setting annual balanced budgets and having a plan for funding capital repairs and improvements. The 2015 budget has both. One exciting event will occur in 2015 in that one of the loans taken out to pay for the replacement windows will be fully paid. A bit further off is another event you may be interested in: the building’s mortgage will be fully paid off in less than eight and a half years.

The Board met on Sunday December 14th and approved a balanced budget for 2015. Sadly, most of our costs are not within the control of the corporation. In setting our budget for 2015, 
estimates were used. All budgets utilize estimates as some information will not be known until 
sometime in the future. For example, the amount of property tax increase, if any, will not be
known until sometime in the May/June 2015 timeframe. The budget used a 3% increase estimate and, as you can see from the below table, a 3% increase is not an unreasonable amount given our past history.

Nagle Apartments Corp. 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Property tax $213,336 $228,830 $243,533 $257,747 $260,517
Percent increase   7.26% 6.43% 5.84% 1.07%
Average increase for all years         4.42%
Budget increase assumption         3 00%

Source: Nagle Apartments Corp., Audited financial statements.

Other estimates were used. Here are some of those:

  • The amount of Union Contract salary increases
  • The amount of property insurance increases as a result of hurricane Sandy
  • The final amount of the garage repairs (we are currently within budget)
  • What level of income the corporation will receive from the garage

As a result, the Board decided three actions

The Board voted to increase maintenance by $0.193 per month per share (from $6.355 to $6.548); the Board also voted to increase the capital assessment from 7% of maintenance to 8% of maintenance or by $0.079 (from $0.445 to $0.524) per month per share. The combined 
maintenance and assessment increases total 4.00% overall (from $6.800 to $7.072 per month per share). These amounts calculate to an increase of $38.08 a month for a 5th and 6th floor two-bedroom unit (other units will have less of an impact).

The Board is investigating the need for new gym equipment and also voted to increase the gym fees by $5 per month to help fund that initiative.

Finally, the Board made a commitment to review the amount of maintenance charges in the 
May/June 2015 timeframe to see if it can be adjusted downward should some of the estimates go our way.

The Board of Directors, the staff and Management want to wish each of you a fantastic holiday season and a safe, healthy and prosperous 2015!

Holiday Safety Precautions

The following is a reproduction of a memo from Blue Woods Management Group, delivered to shareholders on 17 December 2014.

(View/download the scanned memo [PDF, 71KB])

To: All Residents

From: Blue Woods Management Group

During the holiday season we would like to remind all residents to be extremely careful with decorations, Christmas trees, lights and candles. The number of injuries and fires during the holiday season throughout the city has increased over the years. Please make sure Christmas trees are watered frequently and that holiday lights are safe to use without any signs of bare wires.

Do not place Christmas trees near any radiators or other sources of heat. Artificial trees should come with a label that states the tree is fire resistant. That label does not mean that the tree cannot catch fire, so precautions still need to be taken.

Candles should be extinguished when you leave your apartment. They should be placed on a stable surface where they cannot be knocked over by a child or a pet. Holiday lights of any kind should indicate that they have been tested by a nationally certified testing laboratory, such as “UL.” Check all extension cords to make sure they are rated for the intended use. Do not use cords with any cuts or signs of fraying. Never place an extension cord under a carpet as that is a fire hazard.

NYC Department of Sanitation will be doing their curbside Christmas tree recycling pick up from Monday January 5, 2015, to Friday January 16, 2015. Trees can be placed on the curb where the garbage is normally put out anytime during this period. The trees should not be wrapped and all lights, ornaments or other decorations removed. The city mulches the trees and uses the mulch in parks and playgrounds. Please take precautions when removing the tree from the building to try and limit the amount of needles that are dropped as they can be very difficult to clean up, especially from the elevator saddles. It is recommended to wrap the tree when removing it and then unwrap it on the street.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We wish you a safe and Happy Holiday Season.