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For years, we’ve been told:

👉 Costs are rising
👉 Inflation is real
👉 Increases are unavoidable

And that’s true – especially in a volatile environment like today. Wars in Europe the Middle East, a lunatic US president etc.

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⚠️ So why does this budget suddenly look so controlled?

• Several major costs are unchanged year over year
• Others move up or down without explanation
• Reserve contributions are increasing significantly
• Yet total fees increase by only 6.39%

👉 That’s a very tidy number in a very untidy world

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🧠 The math raises a bigger question

We are told:

• Reserve contributions are increasing by about 16%
• Reserves represent a large portion of total fees

👉 That alone would suggest a higher overall increase

Yet the total increase is only 6.39%

👉 So what is offsetting the rest?

• Are operating costs decreasing?
• Are assumptions being made?
• Or are some costs being understated?

👉 The budget does not clearly explain this.

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🚨 After everything that has happened

• High legal costs
• Ongoing issues
• Repeated pressure on owners

👉 Owners are being asked to accept a budget with limited explanation

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⚖️ Why this raises governance concerns

This is not happening in isolation.

Paul Wheeler resigned from the board after only a few months and sent a letter to the community raising concerns about how the board was operating.

👉 That is a serious signal.

When someone steps down that quickly and speaks out, it should lead to:

• Greater transparency
• Clear communication
• A reset in how decisions are presented to owners

👉 Instead, we are seeing a budget that still leaves key questions unanswered.

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🔎 And this is where trust comes in

When:

• Concerns have already been raised publicly
• Transparency has been questioned
• And explanations remain limited

👉 It creates a perception that:

Maintaining control of decisions – and limiting challenge – is being prioritized. Put bluntly, they do not want any outsider, not belonging to their circle, that they control elected and expose their “dirty little secrets”.

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❓ Questions every owner should be asking

1. What specifically offsets the reserve increase?
2. Which operating costs decreased, and why?
3. What assumptions were used to keep the increase at 6.39%?
4. Are these assumptions realistic – or temporary?

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🧾 Bottom line

This isn’t about whether costs go up – they do.

👉 It’s about consistency
👉 It’s about transparency
👉 It’s about trust

Because when:

• The message changes
• Concerns have already been raised
• And explanations are still missing

👉 Owners are left to draw their own conclusions.

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After everything that has happened – including a board member resigning and warning the community – it is fair to question whether this budget reflects financial reality, or whether it has been shaped to keep increases within a politically acceptable range and avoid further scrutiny.