Key Takeaways
• Owners were not allowed to ask questions.
Preventing member questions at a budget meeting violates Florida law and has now occurred three meetings in a row.
• Attendance was predictably low.
The meeting was held during the holidays, with no reminders, no bulletin postings, and no president in attendance.
• The budget explanation does not match the numbers.
Salaries — the only shared HOA/Condo expense — did not change, despite claims of an HOA calculation error.
• Major increases lack transparency.
Repairs & Maintenance jumped nearly 75%, categories were consolidated, and no explanation was provided.
• Transparency protects everyone.
Reduced visibility into spending should concern all owners.
What Happened at the Budget Adoption Meeting
The budget adoption meeting was held on December 29th.
Board attendance:
- In person: Julius Barbat, Doris Salazar
- By phone: Jose Massuh, Christian Bagshaw
- Not in attendance: Board President Olena Biletska
Only six owners were present.
Not a single board member spoke during the meeting, other than to vote yes on the budget.
The meeting was conducted by the association manager, Karina Perez. Owners were not allowed to ask questions, with the explanation that members had “30 days to submit inquiries” and questions would not be permitted at the meeting.
To be clear:
Florida law requires that members be allowed to speak on agenda items at board meetings. Preventing owner questions is not legal — and this is the third consecutive meeting where this has occurred.
Why Attendance Was Low
It appears little effort was made to encourage owner participation:
- The meeting was scheduled during the holiday period between Christmas and New Year’s
- No reminder emails were sent
- In contrast, parties and social events receive multiple reminders
- Multiple email reminders and signs for the gym proxy
- The meeting was not posted on building bulletin boards
- Even the board president did not attend
Low attendance should not be surprising under these circumstances.
Budget Changes: The Explanation Doesn’t Add Up
The board stated in the cover letter that the budget increased between the first and second versions due to an “error” in HOA expense calculations.
However:
- The only shared expense between the HOA and Condo budgets is salaries
- Salaries did not change at all between versions
- Salaries remained $1,175,861 in both budgets
So the explanation does not align with the numbers.
Where the Increase Really Occurred
The most significant change between the November and December budgets was in Repairs and Maintenance, which increased by 74.44%, rising to $698,268.
This increase has nothing to do with the HOA error described in the cover letter.
In addition:
- Several line items were combined into a larger, more general contingency-style category
- This reduces visibility and makes spending harder to track
- No explanation was provided for a nearly 75% increase
- No questions were allowed at the meeting
Where will this money be spent? Owners were not told.
Why Transparency Matters
When investigations uncover financial abuse in condo or HOA associations, a common theme always emerges:
Florida law is clear: Under Florida Statute 718.112(2)(c), owners must be given a reasonable opportunity to speak on agenda items at board meetings. Repeatedly blocking owner questions is a violation of that requirement and undermines transparency and trust.
lack of transparency and limited owner oversight
Blocking questions, consolidating budget categories, and providing explanations that don’t match the numbers should concern every owner.