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From the President

President’s Message

Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen.

Your emails about the practices and ignorance of the law have been staggering.  The marketplace has never been under such an attack.  Your FMO Board and I have heard you loud and clear.  It is our intention to become the best advocates that we can be.  We are putting together a plan to address these situations through every channel at our disposal.

I must also say at this time that FMO as an organization is not the “affected party” and thus our options are somewhat limited.  The objections and resistance has to begin with you and your community.  You must begin with a complaint to the DBPR where the law is being violated.  Once a formal complaint is submitted, we have the opportunity to follow up and apply pressure to the Division. You need to understand what part of the law has been violated and include any documentation to demonstrate that. We also advise that a number of complaints on your issue be submitted from your community.

Refusing to meet with your committee is a violation.  Make sure you formally requested such a meeting. If operational increases are implied you should ask what they are, how much are they and are there any cost reductions in operations.  Surveys should be within the county if possible and we recommend doing your own survey.

Violating the lease is a violation.  Someone wrote that the owner was raising the rents on residents that have lived in the community for some time while letting the new residents with no increase or modest one.  Another resident wrote they received an agreement requiring the community to sign an affidavit that they will not sue for 723 violations. This violates the residents’ right to their day in court.

These are just some of the instances we have been notified of recently.  The market is clearly changing and we need to respond in kind.  Your community and all of our communities need to stand up for their rights.  You all have demonstrated the power you have earlier this year by writing your legislators and opposing a bad bill.  You caused the change to happen.  You also got amendment 2 passed a couple of years ago to our Constitution, that no one thought was possible.  Let’s get to work together. FMO will advise you on the processes and where we need your assistance. Please begin by submitting your complaints.

Help Wanted

FMO is in need of a Treasurer.  This is a Board position and may be performed remotely.  Our Bylaws do require two in person meetings per year and we have an Expense Reimbursement Policy.  We utilize the QuickBooks system and have a very capable staff to perform the daily and monthly duties.

The Treasurer will Chair the Finance Committee and the duties are as follows: 

• -Review biennial budget to be approved by the Board of Directors and presented at State Assembly.
• -Monitor the budget during the biennial period and make periodic written reports to the Board of Directors on the financial condition of the FMO.
• -Ensure that the finances of the FMO are audited at least annually by an independent auditing firm not more than ten (10) months following the end of the fiscal year; assist the office staff in verifying the accuracy and validity of 14 expense accounts on an annual basis; and assist the staff with year-end tax filing to ensure that the Federal and State tax reports are filed within three and one half (3 ½) months after the end of the fiscal year.
• -Provide to the Board of Directors a monthly report of the current membership showing the total number of members, new members, non-renewals and lost members.

Stay safe, Jerry Durham