POA Election 2019
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Fore Note: Because the powers that be in Tellico Village will not allow the community to incorporate into a city, villagers are governed by a property owners association. POA members are elected by property owners. Every property owner get's to vote regardless where they live. Including Monroe County, there are around 8,500 property owners. Tellico Village will never reach it's true potential as long as fails to incorporate it remains a subdivision. POA elections are underway now. The governance of Tellico Village is the responsibility of the Property Owner Association Board of Directors. Initially, the majority of the Board members were part of the developer company, Cooper Communities Incorporated, as they held a significant block of votes. The early Board’s main mission was to launch Tellico Village by selling lots and building the community infrastructure and amenities such as the Yacht Club and Toqua Golf Course. As the developer votes decreased over time, Board membership shifted to become a representation of the property owners. Property owners who are elected and serve on the Board volunteer their time to help shape the future of the Village and oversee the maintenance of its properties and financial strength. The election process for the Board of Directors is presented in the By-Laws of the Board. Elections are held each year for three-year terms. There are seven members of the Board. Two seats open each year for two years and then three seats open in the third year, such as in this 2019 election. The voting process takes place each November and is managed by an outside service to keep results confidential until the voting period concludes. Voting can be done digitally or by paper ballot, if desired. The results are announced at the end of November and the winners are introduced at the December Board meeting to begin their three-year term. Most of the members of the POA Board of Directors bring significant experience through activities such as advisory and ad hoc committees and/or from attending many of the meetings that are held concerning important topics to the Village. Those experiences are very helpful in understanding the complexity of the operations in the Village. The POA Board serves the Village similar to a municipal government with a mayor, in our case a general manager, who reports to the Board. Over the years, the POA Board has developed a list of responsibilities for their members. Rather than give an exhaustive list, some of the major tasks are given to show the range of responsibilities that are required. Board members must:
It is also important to note that the Board of Directors does not have day-to-day management responsibility of POA personnel, as that is handled by the General Manager. It is also important that property owners understand that the POA Board serves all the property owners of Tellico Village, resident and non-resident. We are fortunate to have had more than 50 individuals having served on the POA Board of Directors since the Village’s creation. Each has contributed in his or her own way for the betterment of life here in Tellico Village. They are one major reason that we can say “It’s better at Tellico Village.” how and when Digital Elections in Tellico Village In 2008, the POA Board of Directors was looking for a new way to conduct POA Board elections. At the September 2008 meeting of the POA Board of Directors, the Board voted to change the By-Laws, paving the way for the POA to conduct elections digitally. 2008 marked the first Board election to employ a digital format via the Internet. The Process The process is straightforward and offers multiple options for Tellico Village property owners to participate and cast their vote. This year, the polls will open at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, November 3rd. By following the instructions in the letter, property owners should use their specific username and password to log onto the website to vote for the candidates of their choice. The polls will be open from November 3rd until noon on November 21st. The results of the election will be announced at a scheduled meeting on Friday, November 22nd. “What if I don’t want to vote electronically?” The POA staff and the Election Committee realize that some property owners would rather use a paper ballot to cast their vote for the Board candidates. If that is the case, instructions were included in the election packet that describes how you can request a paper ballot. Any property owner needing a paper ballot should call 1-866-799-1799 and leave a voice message with the information needed to request a paper ballot. Each day, a POA staff member will retrieve the information from the voice mailbox and place a paper ballot packet in the mail. When receiving the requested paper ballot, the property owner can complete the ballot in accordance with the enclosed instructions and place it in the mail using the enclosed self-addressed envelope. That envelope will go to Votenet, the contractor conducting this year’s election for the POA. Votenet staff members will enter the votes from valid paper ballots received. All of those votes will be counted with the digital votes cast by other property owners via the Internet. Only a handful of paper ballots have been requested and processed since digital voting began. “What happens at the end of the voting period?” The polls close at noon on Thursday, November 21st. At that point, Votenet will determine if they have any paper ballots they could not process. If there are any ‘questionable’ ballots, those will be mailed overnight to the POA and held until the next day. On Friday, November 22nd, the POA Board of Directors Election Committee will direct a POA staff member to log onto the administrative portion of the Votenet website to access the results of the 2019 Tellico Village POA Board election. Everyone in attendance at that meeting will simultaneously see the results of the election. Immediately following the revealing of the results, a Tell-E-Gram will be launched to spread the results. The Villagers who win a seat on the Board will be certified at the December 18th Board meeting and take their seats on the Board. Election FAQS All Tellico Village property owners will be asked to vote for candidates for the three open seats on the POA Board of Directors. “What is the Board’s responsibility?” The seven-member POA Board has the fiduciary responsibility to serve ALL property owners, not just those who reside in the Village. This statement contains two important facts. The first is that the elected Board has the responsibility to make financial decisions for the Village. In order to conduct the normal course of business, it would be impossible to solicit opinions from all property owners in a timely fashion, even for some of our larger expenditures like road and golf course maintenance. For example, in a property owners solicitation to modify the Covenants and Restrictions (C&Rs, which are the controlling documents for the Village) in 2008, it took 10 months, many mailings, with costs totaling $80,000, along with dozens of personal phone calls to obtain enough votes on the issue which eventually passed. Decisions made by the Board have been researched extensively in order to put the Board in the best position to make decisions to improve Tellico Village for our property owners. The second point in the statement above is that there are few, if any, decisions by the Board that only affect the resident property owners. The Board decisions usually result in an allocation of assessment funds which are collected from all property owners. The POA Board utilizes a five-year rolling capital plan which makes the operation of the Village more efficient. This has been the practice of the POA Board for many years. This procedure allows the Board and other property owners to see what is upcoming in the next five years, but there is no formal commitment by the Board for their support until the budget process for the upcoming year. “What happens to my vote once it is cast?” All electronic ballots are cast with Votenet.com. They are located in Washington, D.C. None of the electronic or paper ballots cast are accessible by POA employees during the process. Even the paper ballots are received by Votenet and tabulated by their staff. “I need help!” Property owners who would like assistance in casting an electronic ballot may get assistance at the POA admin offices Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. during the voting period. Additional opportunities for assistance are available at the The Public Library at Tellico Village during normal business hours. Property owners seeking assistance will need to bring their instruction letter with them to vote. For more information, call Election Administrator Jessica Johnson at 865-458-7081. How many votes does Cooper Communities Inc. get in this year’s election? This is a question we get every election cycle. As many Villagers know, CCI has two votes per lot as part of their developer rights in the Covenants and Restrictions and one vote per property for some of their other properties. This year, CCI has 60 votes they can cast. For more information about the election calendar and Board responsibilities, visit the Board of Directors page on the POA website by following this link: http://www.tellicovillagepoa.org/tvpoa/board-of-directors.To cast your vote digitally, please click here. |
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11/4/19