Summary
A 7-page mailing from Association Partners, Inc. (API) dated October 23, 2026, sent on behalf of the Board to all homeowners. It has three parts: (1) a cover letter giving notice of a Zoom meeting on Monday, November 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM at which the Board plans to adopt the 2027 budget and a written Collections Policy; (2) the 2027 Proposed Budget, a revised version of the draft in board-packet-2026-10-01; and (3) a proposed Corporate Resolution concerning common expense/assessment delinquencies (the Collections Policy), with a blank roll-call vote block and Secretary’s certificate.
Per the user (October 2026), the November 23 meeting is a Board meeting held to approve the budget and the Collections Policy; the notice goes to homeowners, who are invited to attend. This is what the letter’s subject line calls a “Notice of Owners Meeting.”
The letter states there is no proposed increase for 2027: the annual assessment stays at $352.65. It also reports that Illinois Senate Bill 3527 was signed by the Governor on July 31, 2026 as Public Act 104-0734, amending the Common Interest Community Association Act effective January 1, 2027. The law requires a formal written collection policy covering unpaid assessments and other sums, requires the policy to be included in the resale disclosure package, and (per the letter) bars an association from pursuing legal action to collect unpaid common expenses after January 1, 2027 unless it has adopted and follows such a policy. The letter calls adoption a “compliance formality” that formalizes existing practice and cites Section 1-45(j) of the Act.
Key Provisions
2027 Proposed Budget (p. 2) — columns: 2025 Adopted, 2025 Year End, 2026 Adopted, 2026 Actuals through July, 2027 Proposed.
| Line | 2025 Adopted | 2026 Adopted | 2026 Actuals (July) | 2027 Proposed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessments (6100-00) | $68,374 | $68,374 | $74,800.73 | $74,173 |
| HO Reserve Assessment (6101-01) | $7,799 | $7,799 | — | $2,000 |
| Cost Share – Area 1 & 2 (54.42%) income (6210-12) | — | $5,801.17 | — | $3,809.40 |
| Total income | $76,173 | $81,974.17 | $83,574.67 | $79,982.40 |
| Management contract (7090-00) | $15,262 | $15,872 | $9,197.93 | $15,873 |
| Mailing, printing, copy (7090-00) | $3,000 | $4,000 | $3,123.60 | $5,000 |
| Tax preparation/audit (7030-02) | $2,000 | $1,000 | — | $2,300 |
| Annual report/taxes paid (7030-03) | — | — | $1,000 | $1,300 |
| Insurance premiums (7150-01) | $6,077 | $6,100 | $5,114.52 | $6,300 |
| Misc. billable fees (7090-03) | — | — | $342.20 | $500 |
| Legal – Corporate (7100-01) | $500 | $500 | $251.18 | $500 |
| Social committee (7180-03) | $3,000 | $3,000 | $1,537.57 | $3,000 |
| Contingency (8710-00) | $2,000 | — | — | — |
| Total administrative | $32,239 | $30,772 | $25,834.52 | $35,073 |
| Fence (7740-04) | $1,000 | $100 | — | $100 |
| Landscape contract (8110-00) | $16,735 | $18,784 | — | $18,784 |
| Landscape – Other (8120) | $8,000 | $8,219.17 | $421.44 | $7,725.40 |
| Lake/Pond/Dam maintenance (8280-00) | $9,000 | $15,900 | — | $15,900 |
| Electric (8810-00) | $1,100 | $400 | $295.94 | $400 |
| Total grounds | $36,135 | $43,403.17 | $717.38 | $42,909.40 |
| Reserve contribution (9021-05) | $7,799 | $7,799 | $7,799 | $2,000 |
| Reserve expenses (all lines) | — | — | $2,200 (reserve study) | — |
- Operating income ($74,173 assessments + $3,809.40 cost share = $77,982.40) equals operating expense ($35,073 + $42,909.40 = $77,982.40). Adding the $2,000 reserve contribution gives total income of $79,982.40. Assessments plus reserve ($76,173) equal $352.65 × 216 units (about $76,172).
- Compared with the October 1 draft in board-packet-2026-10-01: assessments $77,357 → $74,173; reserve $8,000 → $2,000; the draft’s $3,809.40 “Landscape – Cost Share” expense is now blank (8110-05); total grounds $47,343.40 → $42,909.40; total administrative $33,823 → $35,073 (wiki comparison; draft line detail not re-derived).
- 2026 actuals through July show late fees $3,259.72, legal chargebacks $5,227.64 (matched by $5,227.64 legal fees – homeowner), returned check $40, fines $75, and other income $2,400.
Proposed Collections Resolution (pp. 3–7) — adopted “pursuant to subsection (j) of Section 1-45” of the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act; procedures to be followed by the Association, its managing agent, accounting personnel and Association counsel:
| ¶ | Provision |
|---|---|
| 1 | Annual assessments due January 1; delinquent after 30 days; if unpaid in a timely manner the Association may impose a $25 late fee |
| 2 | Returned check / rejected electronic payment fee $50 |
| 3 | Accounts more than 90 days delinquent are turned over to Association counsel |
| 4 | Payment plan on turnover: pay all amounts in equal installments within 6 months; 25% down payment; owner must stay current on accruing assessments; default → counsel proceeds immediately; no second payment plan if the account is brought current and later becomes delinquent again |
| 5 | Payments applied first to the oldest balance regardless of owner’s notation (except possession/leasing proceeds under Eviction Act §9-111.1) |
| 6 | Counsel runs a tract search and bankruptcy check, then a 30-day demand notice under Eviction Act §9-104.1(b); if unpaid, files an action for possession and a money judgment (assessments, attorney’s fees, costs); on a possession judgment counsel enforces after the stay and notifies the Board before placing the order with the DuPage County Sheriff; if a mortgage foreclosure is pending, counsel makes a specific recommendation to the Board first |
| 7 | Mortgage foreclosure: counsel monitors and reports monthly; other than recording a lien, no further collection activity without counsel’s recommendation |
| 8 | Bankruptcy: protect lien rights; Chapter 13 proof of claim for the full pre-petition amount; petition for relief from stay once an owner is 90 days behind on post-petition assessments (Board may deviate) |
| 9 | Garnishment (wage and non-wage) after a personal judgment, on counsel’s recommendation |
| 10 | Counsel guides the Board and may recommend lien foreclosure or breach-of-contract action instead of eviction, weighing the amount, mortgage foreclosures, property taxes paid, likelihood of collection and other factors |
| 11 | Applies to accounts turned over to counsel after the date of Board adoption; does not apply to accounts already turned over |
The resolution is an unsigned form: the adoption date, location, roll-call vote and Secretary’s certificate are blank.
Topics Covered
assessment-collection-policy, hoa-annual-finances, reserve-study-findings, meeting-procedures, illinois-law-compliance-review, vendor-contracts
Notable Details
- Zoom credentials (meeting ID and passcode) appear in the letter and are intentionally not recorded in the wiki.
- Letter vs. existing practice. The letter says the policy formalizes “the same collection practices the Association has followed for years,” but the resolution has no 18% annual interest (Declaration §7.03; Board policy July 2022), no $25 per month fee, no March 31 forgiveness window, and a 90-day turnover instead of API’s 60-day referral authority (API Management Agreement §5.5). These are carried as Open Questions in assessment-collection-policy.
- Resolution vs. approved questionnaire. The questionnaire approved October 1, 2026 (minutes-2026-10-01) left payment-plan length, payment application and fee waivers “per Board approval.” The resolution fixes a 6-month plan and oldest-first application and says nothing on fee waivers (the questionnaire said late fees and fines waivable per Board approval; attorney fees not waivable).
- Notice period. The letter is dated October 23 and the meeting is November 23 (31 days); the actual mailing date is not stated.
- Revised reserve study. The $2,000 reserve line matches the Reserve Advisors recommendation in reserve-study-2026-revised, and the budget carries no reserve expenditure although the study schedules the split-rail replacement for 2027 and the Board approved a $6,390 Classic Fence split-rail replacement on October 1 (minutes-2026-10-01). Fence is budgeted at $100.
- Management fee is carried at $15,873 although API’s contract term ends October 31, 2026 (self-renewing) with a 3.5% escalation clause.
- This is a proposed budget and proposed resolution; neither is adopted until the November 23, 2026 meeting.