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   In accordance with PWHA by-laws, the yearly membership 
meeting scheduled for the election of officers to the PWHA Board 
and for the 2002 Fiscal Year budget review will be held on the 
26 October, at 7 pm in the Quarterfield Elementary media center.  

For those members who are not familiar with the PWHA by-laws, each 
year in October the PWHA is required to hold a general membership 
meeting for the election of officers to the PWHA board and for the 
review and approval of the next year’s budget. A ten percent 
attendance of PWHA homeowners is required for a quorum to conduct 
this business. If there is no quorum present at the October 
meeting, a second meeting will be scheduled for sometime in 
November. The homeowners will be notified via mail and a public 
notice will also be published in the local paper as per the 
by-laws. Whoever shows up from the membership at the November 
meeting will constitute a quorum in accordance with the PWHA 
by-laws and will be able to conduct the election to the board 
and review the budget. 
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   Keith Schrack and I attended a seminar on budgeting and financial 
reporting requirements for Special Community Benefit Districts 
(SCBD) given by Anne Arundel County on August 28th. Teresa 
Sutherland, the County Auditor, Susan Powers from the County 
Auditors office, Carolyn Kirby, the SCBD adviser, and a representative 
from the county legal department were in attendance. The seminar 
was held to clarify the rules governing SCBD budgeting, 
expenditure of SCBD funds, and financial reporting requirements. 
The two areas that directly effected PWHA operations concerned:
     A. How close our budget reflected expenditures; and 
     B. The PWHA community newsletter. 
	For the most part the budgeting process has not changed; 
we still put the budget together, based on the categories/purposes 
established by county code. For the Parke West Special Community 
District they are as follows:
 
     A. The acquisition and maintenance of equipment and materials 
required to maintain and improve community property, including but 
not limited to parks, playground areas, parking lots, and community-
owned roads. 
     B. The acquisition and maintenance of recreational 
equipment for use on or improvements to community property; 
     C. The provision of special security protection to prevent 
rowdyism, vandalism, and trespassing on property within the 
community; 
     D. The provision of insect and pest control; and 
     E. To pay the administrative expenses necessary to accomplish 
these purposes, including but not limited to liability insurance on 
community property, audit and bonding expenses, utility expenses, 
postage and printing.

   Every year the SCBD budget is presented by the PWHA Treasurer, 
approved by the PWHA Board of Directors and is sent to the members 
of the PWHA for their comments. Then it is sent on to the County 
Council for their final approval. In the past, however, if 
there was a shortfall in one of the categories, i.e. we budgeted 
$700 for postage for a fiscal year, but spent $720, we would just 
cut back on one of the other categories, printing or administration. 
We would then report this change in projected expenditures 
to the membership via the newsletter and to the county in their 
financial report at the end of the year. County administrators 
stated in July and again at this seminar that we must get prior 
approval from the County Budget Office before we can make any 
changes to budget categories. To avoid the problem of getting caught 
by unexpected cost increases, the county representatives 
recommended that we over-budget, which in the past is something we 
have tried avoid. The rules governing major changes to the bottom 
line of a budget have not changed. They still must be sent to the 
PWHA members for their comments and approval is required by 
the County Council.

   The second problem area covered by this seminar concerned 
community newsletter advertisements. Newsletters can be paid for 
by SCBD funds if they contain information on the operation 
of the SCBD. This we comply with. The problem area was with the 
paid advertisements. If SCBD funds are used to publish the community 
newsletter, then any money generated from paid advertisements 
in that newsletter must be considered as part of the SCBD funds 
and budgeted accordingly. We have solved this problem by doing 
away with paid advertisements.  
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