Salaries to remain secret
Brandermill to keep compensation from board
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer Over the years, Market Square in Brandermill has seen a decline in retail traffic. It's received a recent facelift, which included much of the parking lot being repaved. An architectural firm is proposing further improvements to enhance the viability of the shopping center.

The Brandermill Community Association (BCA) Board of Directors voted last week to keep the compensation of its staff secret - even from the board that is charged with approving the community's $2.4 million budget. President Joel Bradner knows the salary of Community Manager Jane Pritz but not of the other 20-some employees. None of the other six board members know any of the salaries even though staffing accounts for $1.05 million - 44 percent of the proposed budget.

The issue surfaced when Director Bob Friedel motioned that salary information be released to board members for its budget deliberations. Ultimately, his motion was defeated on a 4-1 vote. Director John McLenagan seconded the motion "for discussions purposes" but left the meeting before the vote was taken.

First Vice President Andrea Epps said she thought both the board and all Brandermill residents should have access to salaries, but she voted against the motion because she said, "The issue should be voted on at a later time."

Bradner, Treasurer Joyce Rowe and Second Vice President Dick Guthrie opposed releasing the salaries, and Director Jason Livingston was absent.

"I don't know why we need to know individual salaries," said Rowe. "We are under what is paid to large association employees."

"I would like to err on the side of protecting the privacy of employees," added Bradner.

According to Pritz, the Community Association Institute gathers financial data by region and budget size from homeowners' associations that agree to provide compensation information. The actual communities and the amenities they offer are not identified. Pritz used that data to conduct a comparison by job title for associations in the $2-$4 million annual budget range.

Board members cited an article that appeared in the Chesterfield Observer 13 years ago as justification for withholding salary information "because the employees were embarrassed by the story." According to a BCA-paid salary review in 1995, DJP Associates reported the average employee made 6 percent above the local marketplace, and nine employees were above the maximum pay recommended for their positions. The employees were identified by position and not by name. BCA employees were angry about the publication of salary information, and there was discussion among them about suing this newspaper.

Friedel maintained the Property Owners Act (POA) is silent on whether board members can receive salary information. He blamed Bradner and the BCA attorney for withholding the data.

Prior to a change in the POA, any member in good standing could receive the salary information of association employees. In 2001, spearheaded by the efforts of former BCA Community Manager Mike Divita, the General Assembly changed the POA to allow community associations to only report salary information in the aggregate to members unless authorized by its own board. Friedel's motion represents the first time since 2001 the BCA board has taken any vote on releasing salary information. During the member comment period resident Charlie Davis also requested that salary information be made available to association members.

Universal pools

A plan for BCA members to vote on whether all residents should be members of the three community pools might not happen if the board approves a new master plan that includes the universal pool concept. Pritz said the current board or new board next April may decide on the master plan, "but there could still be a referendum on the pools."

Last summer, about 600 families in Brandermill voluntarily joined the three community pools paying $400-plus per family for the season. If the universal pool plan goes into effect, each household would pay about $75 to be a pool member. Some residents in the community believe the current board favors universal pool membership but doesn't want a community vote because only 15 percent of the residents are pool members.

Repairs

"When the Harbour Pointe pool was purchased [in 2001]," explained Pritz, "there was water and termite damage there already."

The BCA opted to make most improvements at the other two pools first since the Harbour Point pool opened later. As a result, repairs are now estimated to cost $15,000.

"Someone hasn't been minding the store," complained resident Davis.

Master plan

The board heard a master plan presentation by designforum, the landscape architect firm that was awarded a $57,000 bid to update Brandermill for future residential competition from newer planned communities.

"We want to update the community," Doug Cole from designforum told the board.

After community input, a vote by the board is expected next March. Rowe said the funding for those improvements will come from the BCA reserve fund, its operating budget and "new funding." Currently, the BCA is without debt after borrowing funds for improvements, including the purchase of the pools.

Waterfront

A number of residents with homes along the Swift Creek Reservoir want to know how the board's policy on the buffer area around the reservoir will affect them.

"It's been more than a year," complained resident Bob Malek, "and there's still no resolution."

Davis doubted whether the BCA has the authority to implement the plan since the buffer area is governed by the Chesapeake Bay Act.

"It's probably not legal," he said, adding that "the environmental committee has its own agenda."

NRC criticism

Speaking for the Neighborhood Representative Council (NRC), Secretary Frances Hillman asked the BCA board to work together, be more open and come to meetings prepared. The NRC, which has been at odds with the BCA, is made up of residents from some of the neighborhoods in Brandermill and is not an elected body.