"Deborah: I would like to find a donation for the draperies. A playhouse. Closed. Marion: a school…Hold onto them. Deborah: Gold drapes on the stage. $636. Marion: Deborah has $1,000 in her purview she may have per month. The President has $1,000."
[Editor’s note: We don’t understand why the president would have $1,000 per month to use at her discretion because any financial decisions must be made and approved by the Board. Deborah’s authorization is appropriate because as the Property Manager she is running the place and may need to pay bills on time for small emergencies and small items, and she should not have to wait for every board meeting. No board member should be making decisions on his or her own, which Marion’s comment clearly suggests. It also creates a situation where everyone will run to Marion with their requests up to $1,000 as opposed to making requests to the Board. This sets a very bad precedent, and we would like to know when, where, and how this policy was authorized.
For example, with this policy, you may have the tennis club approach Marion quietly to get something, such as the fans, which are less than $1,000. Perhaps the pickleball club will seek something for their purposes. Any of the clubs would be incentivized to speak with Marion privately about an expenditure to the exclusion of others, to the exclusion of other Board members, and without the knowledge of the community. One can extrapolate how dangerous this is. This also creates a situation where other people who may want to run for the Board are disadvantaged because of the various self-interests of individuals or groups who are taking advantage of this apparent quirk.
Another reason this is a bad policy is that under the current scenario, Deborah could go to Marion and say, I need another thousand bucks for something, and Marion could ok it without anyone knowing about it, and suddenly Deborah’s limit has become de facto $2,000.
Regardless of whether or not this is a new or old policy, it needs to immediately be stopped.]"