VOL. 1... EDITION 2 ... February 2015 j VMESSENGER SHINE A LIGHT ON THE NEWS MESSENGER CLUB OPEN CANDIDATES FORUM Thursday Feb. 19. 3,30 pm. Meeting Room C in the clubhouse All Candidates for the up and coming election in March have been invited to an open forum . Candidates for Vice president are invited to a debate on the issues conceming residents. Peyton McArthur senior aide to Paulette Burdick, County Commissioner will be in attendance. This is an open invitation to all candidates and residents to participate. Thursday February 19th. 3.30pm. Room C in the clubhouse. The forum planned for the February meeting of The Messenger Club promises to be a ‘good deal for everyone who chooses to participate. Candidates for the Vice Presidents position have been invited to participate in a debate. Residents and delegates are invited to an open forum where they have an unprecedented ‘opportunity to get acquainted with all the candidates . It promises to be a good deal all around and an interesting afternoon of information sharing and networking. Where all candidates have the opportunity to present their platforms and respond to questions Candidates who wish to participate are requested to call to confirm their participation by TUESDAY FEB 17, 561-214-4955 Before deciding on any of the candidates | would urge any and all to attend , listen to them and vote with confidence once you are acquainted with their qualifications, their experience and informed about their plans for your future. It's a good deal for the candidates . a good deal for the residents and a good deal for the future of Century Village. All candidates for the executive board are invited to speak, state their platform and respond to questions from the delegates and unit holders. It looks like it's going to be a barn bumer so you better come early if you want a good seat. TRANSPORTATION CAN BE ARRANGED TO AND FROM THE MEETING AT YOUR REQUEST PLEASE CALL THE ABOVE NUMBER 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE FOR ASSISTANCE DELEGATES DISSED ..... By Ed Grossman Because the last Budget and Finance Meeting shed litle or no light on the new proposed budget, it made it more confusing. called our auditors, Gokiman, Juda & Eskew, PA., and spoke directly to Kim Juda, the firm's managing partner as well as the in-charge partner for UCO. Aso on the line was Carol Eskew, another senior partner. | tld them that the first proposed budget was voted down. We spoke about several items regarding changes in UCO's traditional bookkeeping methods without the approval of the delegates (Board of Directors) as was done in the past, the propriety of Howard's change in tax treatment of the $680,000 and the nature of the new budget, amongst other things. Both partners were very cordial and concemed. Ms. Juda said she would be giad to help the village. In fact, she said they ‘would be willing to meet us at the Village. | told them that over 50 residents signed a letter requesting that George Lowenstein, Dorothy Tetro and myself help correct the budget. We would come to their office before Friday's delegate vote on the revised budget. Without hesitation, both checked thelr diaries and a meeting was set for cont. pg 2 SaADDING TO THE SAD SAGA OF JOY VESTAL Joy Vestal's "EDITORIAL POLICY, placed in print on page A3 in the February issue of the UCO Reporter states: “The UCO Reporter promises to continue its long held beliefs that this Publication will print articles to inform our residents of the important issues conceming our Village. " That, we alll know, is a blatant lie. ‘She publishes only articles that relate to the governing regime, and as ‘sanctioned by Israel. There are many, many people who have had their articles rejected because the ‘subject matter did not conform to the {sraeV/Vestal slant toward common matters. “We promise to seek the truth and to print both sides of an issue, to open dialogue to inform our readers, not to create controversy. " That, we all know, is also a humungous lie. Vestal prints only ‘one side of any matter brought forth to her, and we know Israel has his hands in rejecting anything that may make him look not so intelligent. “We promise to listen to your concems and to treat all our residents with courtesy and respect. ” This, | think we all know, is the biggest lie of all. Many, many, people can tell you how badly they have been treated by Vestal and the wickedness that comes out of her mouth. “Your opinion is valuable to us and will be considered in our decision for publication." Yes, another bare-faced lie. Residents’ opinions are in no way valuable to Vestal. She discards them unless your opinions pat certain people on the back or are about matters that Israel want to promote. 2 The UCO Reporter is a Century Village newspaper that belongs to 7,854 Unit ‘Owners. But, when you clearly have a dictatorship with followers who are hypnotized by constant lies, then you have nothing but a rag for a newspaper. ‘When Israel is booted out of his office, and that day surely will come, then Vestal will come sucking up to all the new officers, especially the new president, only it will be too late. She'll be gone, and it will be a time for celebration. Then, and only then, will the “EDITORIAL POLICY” mean something. EDUARDO DELEGATES DISSED 7:00 pm on Wednesday, February 4, 2015. I was shocked to get a phone message from their office saying that when they told David Israel of this meeting, he forbade them to see oF talk to us. | then called and asked to ‘speak to Ms. Juda. | was put on hold, waited a few minutes and was then told that she would not get on the phone. | asked that an e-mail be sent to me explaining that David Israel refused to give his permission. ‘The office said that they would send an e- mail in a few minutes. | never received the e-mail. I wonder why? | know that there would be no charge for their time! Unit owners: Read your by-laws, Bi-Lateral agreement, and your audited financial statement. Their financial statement is addressed to the Board of Directors. We are the Board of Directors. Read the Florida Corporate Statues. This action by the auditors and David Israel signal a clear indication that something is amiss. Edward R Grossman CPA.‘The Budget and where do we go from here ... by Neil J Moore 3 ‘The budget proposal passed at February's delegate assembly may look good on it's face due to the reduction in fees charged to unit owners, Closer examination of the facts surrounding the handling of finances reveals some disturbing issues ‘The Century Village Messenger Club derive salisfaction that their efforts in exposing the flaws in the proposed budget led to the treasurer rearranging the figures to realize a decrease in monthly fees charged to unit owners . The first Budget proposal asked for an increase of approx $1 6.00 per month. This was Quickly revised on the defeat of the WIFI proposal ‘The proposal voted down at the January delegates assembly included an increase of approximately $2.00+ per month to be ‘assessed for the coming year . ‘The subsequent proposal passed at the February meeting proposed a decrease of around $5.00 per month per unit Some say that the acceptance of the budget proposal by the delegates was a defeat for the Messenger Club who opposed it . We don't see it that way. The revised budget reflecting a decrease in fees instead of an increase is avictory for all. Getting approval for the budget proposal ‘may seem like a win for the treasurer who is undoubtedly greatly relieved that it was accepted . However the issues ignored in the rush to accept a proposal that saved everyone a bit of cash leaves residents exposed to liabilities that ‘outweigh the reduced rates ‘The revised budget was largely a result of the efforts of ‘The Century Village Messenger Club who despite withering criticism went to great lengths to inform everyone of the pitfalls contained in the proposals. The unilateral change in accounting practices adopted by the Budget and Finance ‘committee without approval of the delegate assembly is an issue that should not be ignored. Co-mingling of reserve funds is a perilous practice that can and does lead to unrestricted spending. With no way to verify or approve expenditures residents are left with lingering doubts and unresolved questions regarding the disposition of their hard eamed cash. ‘The needless exposure of residents to tax liabilities on approximately $680,00.00 is perhaps the ‘most troubling of all. This should be retumed to residents thus avoiding the tax liability and giving residents a further reduction in fees. Alternatively , as proposed by the committee, what's left of the 680K after Uncle Sam gets his share will be tossed into a pooled fund to be disbursed at their pleasure ‘Then there's the evasive and obstructionist denial of access to financial records . For the latest evasion see Ed Grossman's article :* Delegates Dissed”. Couple that with the refusal to accept the offer of assistance in formulating a budget proposal by former treasurers and presidents of UCO, we are left with the uneasy feeling that the committee is not acting in a transparent manner . ‘Our efforts to defeat the WIFI proposal ‘contributed to the reduction in fees charged to residents. This pie in the sky project was heartily denounced by The Messenger Club and soundly defeated by the delegates, who are listening to our message. Experience has shown that these projects with their accompanying financial projections do not live up to the hype or the projections , they usually ‘end up with enormous cost over runs that require participants to satisfy them with infusions of cash. The botched paving job in the vilage is a glaring example of that. We feared that the benefits of WIFI so loudly proclaimed to be leading Century Village into the 21st ‘century would quickly become a disappointment and an unnecessary expense, our efforts to reject the WIFI proposal were seen as a success for The Century Village Messenger Club and the residents when it was voted down . Despite the obvious disapproval of the majority this proposal is currently being resurrected under a new name by the minority who are determines to have it their way . ‘There are other concems that are presently being tackled by the Messenger Club . The recent elimination of term limits , the rewriting of the bylaws and the up and coming elections are high on the agenda. We are encouraged by our success and are confident that our efforts are making a differenceyer an THE DIOGENES REPORT Esther Sutofsky Diogenes was a man who sought the truth, searched high and low for an honest man, holding his light up high. While | am certainly not of the same rank as Diogenes, I, too, seek the truth, or at least seek to ask hard questions, posers that demand that the responder think, and think carefully and deeply before answering. What | seek is the truth as best can be found. Will | make some errors? Indubitably so, for no one is perfect (though | did try to convince my kids and my students that | was!). But that is all part of the search process. In fact, if any of you readers out there have something to add, or a question to pose, then please, by all means, send it in. The topics can range from the Village to the world, from the sublime, well not to the ridiculous, but to the less serious certainly. This is an uncensored paper and | am proud to be asked to participate and contribute to it. | receive no salary nor any compensation other than a sense of a job well done, done to the best of my ability. The question | ask of you today is — what do we do with our Politicians, our supposed leaders, who accept gifts, monetary or otherwise, who make excuses for themselves and whose views change with the seasons or even with the day!? Tough question and to be discussed in next edition. 4 Folks when a motion does come up let's all vote for Term Limits. NO FOURTH TERM..... Shorty. The attack of the Creepers! Has anybody noticed bushes and creepers that are growing out of our Roadways. his is caused by the cracks and fissures that are occuring in the roads and these, the greenery, are growing. They are becoming a haven or a place for weeds to grow and they are. It has reached the point where we need a lawnmower man to come on a regular basis to keep them under control. Gary Olman. O.Brienhas penn invited numerous tim Messenger club meeting where he can discusss,Pogroms? So what is happening at the UCO Reporter? Are they cleaning house of all Malcontents? Is there a Pogrom started over there? Is this a discriminatory situation? Has the Mob at the UCO Reporter taken over? Is this a genocidal attack? Or is it just plain old Vanilla Cronyism? The powers that be, the 2 editors, the decision makers, as to who is published and who is not published have fired, yes | said fired, a Volunteer of impeccable credentials. The victim was Marilyn Pomerantz. So when I see injustices, cronyism, misuse of power, I must speak up. So | am. Suffice it to say that the firing of a no cost Volunteer that puts thousands of hours into UCO work is open to question. And a very good reason must be published for all to know. heck out the latest videos posted on our blog. |... Bad Behavior in The Village_. A Mockumentary .. You don't want to miss Wi-Fi redux So | see the great WiFi war, which was closed down by the Delegate's Assembly's NO vote. Is back again with a new name, Broadband. | told you that would happen and it did. Listen, we the delegate assembly voted to NOT have Village Wide WiFi. That should of ended it. But no, the Great and all Knowledgeable one, David Israel, is back again with a new offering. If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it is a Duck. ‘So WiFi, Broadband, smoadband are all the same. They are different configurations of Village wide WiFi, which we tumed down. So that reprints of Boca Wests’ ideas about Village wide WiFi don"t seem to make sense since we don't want a Village wide WiFi: Beside the argument by Israel is that Comcast's WiFi is to be preferred. The hated Comcast (his, words, not mine) which is what we are proposing except not Village Wide. Rather we are proposing Village Wide Wifi one association at a time at about a cost of less than $5 per unit per month. What is wrong with that?(Re No eays (7M Pec eew «ust 78 Ute aens ose. pwn ARE A “oy There is nothing as intoxicating as a sip of authority Nal Join us on the internet myvillageblogger. blogspot.com Espresso Mail YOUR NEIGHBOR AT THE GOLDEN SHOPPES 17780 OKEECHOBEE BLVD, SUITE 4 561-318-6008 FULL SERVICE ESPRESSO BAR AND COFFEE SHOP PROFESSIONAL PACKING AND SHIPPING INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING MAILBOX RENTALS NOTARY PUBLIC COPYING, PRINTING, AND FAXING GIFTS AND CARDS, KEY DUPLICATION AUTOMOBILE SHIPPING [AND Morell! WHAT CANONS? WHAT ETHICS? 6 The Canons of professional ethics was recently cited as the reason for denying a residents request to examine the financial records of UCO. Not being a professional myself, | thought | would look up the said canons in an attempt to gain some understanding of what they are and what they mean I soon discovered that there is such a thing; there are canons for lawyers, doctors, accountants and a host of other professionals. They outline the basic principles of fair play for individuals or organizations doing business. Compliance is another matter. Some groups require professionals to sign documents enshrined in their constitution or bylaws or swear an oath to ensure that they follow the ethics outlined in the canons and set forth remedies for those who contravene. | could not find any such document in the UCO constitution or bylaws in this matter. Perhaps there is such a document. Could any of our dear readers enlighten me on this? To arbitrarily cite canons of ethics as an excuse to deny queries when those citing them are not formally bound by them is in my opinion a contravention of the underlying principles . They were formulated to ensure that fair play takes precedence over personal considerations. Perhaps it is time for UCO to adopt a canon of ethics governing the actions of the executive. What do you think ? Neil J Moore The messenger vol.1 issue #2 Published by Justice for residence inc. #102 Wellington. A. West Palm Beach Florida.33417 email . justiceforresidenceinc@gmail.com Editor, Neil J Moore