HOW TO DEAL WITH SECURITY PROBLEMS LIKE THIS:
❝Guests are smoking marijuana and cigarettes, so we have to deal with smelling this on our balcony
this morning.
The front desk told us there was no daytime security on the weekend; therefore,
there was nothing she could do. Board members, potential board members, committee members,
what are your suggestions for this problem? I want to know before I vote.
❞
First, let's examine how to deal with having guests that violate our rules or
conduct themselves inappropriately. Normally, this type of problem should be handled by “security”
or by “property management”. But as we can see, no security staffing or onsite property management
is available during the day, on weekends.
Since weekends are our busiest times at DBR, it seems illogical not to have staffing.
So who is to blame? Whoever is responsible for the coordination and oversight of security.
Now this could be Tomoka Property Management, if they had been contracted with us
to provide us with property management on weekends. But Tomoka has not been contracted
to provide us with onsite property management or security on weekends,
despite our budget being increased to $155,000 per year for their “property management”.
So that leaves us with the Board being responsible for either not gaining 24/7 security
from property management or from a security services provider.
So how do we “fix” this kind of problem? I believe that we need to start running DBR
as a business, which would provide clear cut assignments of all responsibilities,
including security. This should be shown in an Organizational Chart, which should be posted
online for all owners to see and refer to,
along with the contact information for the responsible parties.
How do we solve the problem at hand?
We need to establish who is responsible for Security, so they can ensure that we have
onsite property management and/or security 24/7, as any other resort would have.
When our board president was asked about similar security problems, he posted on Facebook
that the security we have is all that we can pay for based on our budget.
Yet the Budget Comparison for 2023 shows a Budget of $65,000, while we actually spent
$177,622 for "Security Services". And the budget for 2024, which was just approved by the board,
shows an increase in the budget to $125,000 from the $65,000 2023 budget.
Here are some things we should consider:
- How did we come up with a budget of $65,000 in 2023 for Security Services, but then
overspend that budget by more than $100,000? Also, by paying $177,622 last year for
security, that breaks down to paying $3,416 per week to not have 24/7 security.
Not only that, even if it did pay for 24/7 security (which would equal 168 total
hours worked per week) we would have paid $20.33 per hour. This doesn't seem to make sense!
So I propose that we organize and empower a new *Owners Financial Committee to do
an internal audit of our books for 2023 and look specifically into a number
of categories of expenses (including Security Services), to compare the
bills/invoices to how much was paid.
- The 2024 budget just approved unanimously by the board shows $125,000 budgeted
for Security Services. Yet we paid $177,622 for Security Services in 2023 that
didn't provide us with 24/7 security. So how can $125,000 provide us with better/more
security in 2024? I propose that we also organize and empower a new *Owners Security
Committee to review the costs and hours for security services we are being provided
and consider other options (to include installation of cameras and monitors,
using off duty police, and enabling onsite property management to be responsible)
that may be available, to provide us with 24/7 and more cost effective security.
- With the budget for Tomoka's Property Management being increased to $155,000
per year (which equals $12,917 per month!) and with so many problems with dealing
with Tomoka being reported by owners, we really need to consider what we are being
provided in exchange for $12,917 per month. We know that we are paying separately
for Security Services, so those costs aren't included. I propose that we establish
a new *Property Management Committee to review Tomoka's contract and the work being
done for $155,000 per year, and consider all options to improve the quality, quantity,
and cost effectiveness for property management (including security that can be done
or monitored by onsite staff or management).
- To provide the most comprehensive plan to overcome our security problems, we also
need to look at the root causes for most of these problems. Having the property
in distress, forcing owners to have lower paying guests, has certainly caused us
to have security problems. Gaining less in rental income also limits how we can pay
for all needed services, including security. I propose that once a new Owners❜
Financial Committee is formed, that this committee meets and considers all options
(including creating new revenue streams) to help increase rental incomes, to help
us pay for the investments needed REDEEM and RESTORE DBR.
* To REFORM DBR, I propose that we establish new empowered committees (including the three
named above), to make recommendations to the Board, that the Board has to consider.
There is no way that an unpaid board of 5 members can effectively run DBR on their own.
DBR is in dire straits and desperately needs new leadership, new committees,
new ideas and innovation, new staffing, and improved property management so that it can
be turned back into a well run and well maintained RESORT property.
If elected to the board I pledge to be a leader that will provide transparency and
accountability, vastly improve communications, establish new empowered committees,
and set up new operating systems and standards, so we start running DBR like a business!
Richard "Dick" Burke
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