What happens in Volente Hills…

The coming WTCMUD1 election features two candidates from the Volente Hills neighborhood: myself and Kimberly Massaro. Volente Hills is a small neighborhoold that sits at the far west side of the MUD, separated from the rest of the MUD by Anderson Mill Road.

My opponent seems to think Volente Hills is very special and deserves pride-of-position in pork-barrel MUD governance. In a recent campaign announcement, she stated:

"Our neighborhood contributes the highest tax revenue within the MUD, and I believe we deserve stronger representation on the board."

Let’s check the math on this claim. Volente Hills has 122 homes with an aggregate value of $67,294,683 (an average of $551,595). The MUD as a whole has 1,891 homes (counting by residential water connections) with an average value of $442,244 plus a few commercial properties, bringing the district's total taxable value to $889,866,032.

Volente Hills provides 7.56% of the MUD’s total property tax revenue while comprising 6.45% of its homes. Ah ha! Prima facie evidence of a conspiracy to deprive Volente Hills of its rightful haul from the MUD’s treasury!

Furthermore, our 5-person MUD board already has one director from Volente Hills. If we indulge a high school notion of representation where every subdivision acts like a clique, Volente Hills is already vastly over-represented. A neighborhood comprising just 6.45% of the district's homes would already wield 1/5 of the board's voting power. Mathematically, demanding "stronger representation" on top of that isn't seeking a fair shake; it's just a push for oligarchy. (N.B. I wish the sitting director from Volente Hills were on this ballot so we could vote her out, but her street address has nothing to do with why.)

Kim presently sits on the Volente Hills HOA Board. I have to praise the HOA for its glorious invisibility. I barely noticed they existed (except for the bill every January) while the mailbox lights stayed on and the entrance gardens received their water. It was perfect.

But last week, my illusion was shattered when an official HOA newsletter landed in my inbox (the first in years), featuring a plump bit of electioneering for Kim's campaign. Using mandatory dues, collected under threat of foreclosure, for a board member's political advocacy crosses a line. When I pointed this out, the newsletter on Facebook was stealth-edited, but the HOA has remained dead silent on the substance of the issue.

Speaking of news, the HOA has saved a bundle by handing off deed enforcement to the MUD and its chosen contractor. Yet, despite offloading this massive responsibility and expense, the HOA raised everyone’s dues for the first time in many years. They made sure to announce the dues increase, but I bet you didn’t hear a word about the money saved by shoving their old job onto the MUD.

We need MUD directors who offer transparent leadership for the entire district, not just one director who seems to believe one neighborhood is special. Vote 3!