Every unit owner — whether you live at Sherwood Arms or own a unit as an investment — has a direct financial stake in how Association funds are managed and reported. The following questions remain unanswered.
The $112,000 special assessment was collected in full, concluding with the October 2026 payment, according to the Association's October 14 notice to owners. The assessment funded the roofing project, which is now complete — see the Roofing page.
For more than a decade, unit owners of this Association benefited from disciplined financial management that built the reserve fund from near-insolvency to a healthy balance — without raising common fees beyond the cost of living. Those reserves exist specifically to fund major capital projects like roof replacement without burdening owners with special assessments.
The Association's financial statements show the reserve account at $271,990 as of January 31, 2025 (total assets $323,859), and $278,269 by April 30, 2025 per Webster Bank records. The most recent figure owners have received — the balance sheet the Board distributed at its July 9, 2026 meeting — shows the reserve at $192,020.70 as of June 30, 2026, with $144,000 drawn for the roofing project and the year showing a net loss of $9,849.51. The reserve fund that took more than a decade to build was reduced by roughly $86,000 in a little over a year. The $192,021 is the cash balance in the reserve money-market account; the Association’s net reserve fund balance — the book value of reserves after the $144,000 roofing charge and the $24,147 repair to Unit 1A2 were applied against it — stood lower still, at $164,624 as of the same date, per the balance sheet’s “Reserves Total” line.
These reserves existed specifically to fund major capital projects like a roof without burdening owners with special assessments. Yet owners were also assessed $112,000 for the roofing project — raising the question of why both a $144,000 reserve draw and a $112,000 special assessment were required for a project the Town permits valued at approximately $202,800. Unit owners are entitled to ongoing financial reporting under Bylaws §7.2 and CGS §47-260; beyond the statements distributed at the single July 2026 meeting, owners have received no regular accounting.
Financial figures sourced from the Elite Property Management balance sheet dated January 31, 2025, the Webster Bank statement dated April 30, 2025, and the Board's balance sheet and income statement dated June 30, 2026 (distributed at the July 9, 2026 Board meeting) — all Association documents.
In December 2025, unit owners received notice of a $112,000 special assessment for roof replacement, payable in ten monthly installments beginning January 1, 2026. That assessment, the roofing project it funds, and the way the Board has conducted Association business since taking office in June 2025 raise a number of questions. As of this writing, the following remain unanswered — and in that time no open meeting has been held at which owners could ask them.
† Declaration §19.6 — Ratification of Non-Budgeted Common Expense Assessments: “If the Executive Board votes to levy a Common Expense assessment not included in the current budget… in an amount greater than fifteen percent (15%) of the current annual operating budget, the Executive Board shall submit such Common Expense to the Unit Owners for ratification in the same manner as a budget under Section 19.5.”
CGS §47-261e (special assessments): “… if the proposed special assessment… does not exceed fifteen per cent of the association’s last adopted periodic budget… the proposed special assessment is effective without approval of the unit owners. Otherwise, the board shall set a date… for either a meeting of the unit owners or a vote by ballot… to consider approval or rejection…”
The Association previously provided cable television service to all units through a group contract dating back to 1995, reflected as a Common Expense in the annual budget. The 2024-2025 budget allocated $21,000 for cable service. The Board canceled this contract. The 2025-2026 budget shows $0 for cable — a savings of $21,000 to the Association annually.
Resident unit owners who previously received cable service through the group contract must now obtain individual service at rates significantly higher than the prior group rate. The $21,000 in annual savings from the cable cancellation was absorbed into the Association's operating budget. Common fees were not reduced to reflect the removal of this service.
The Association's own attorney recommended that owners be given an opportunity to provide feedback through the Notice and Comment process before this decision was implemented. No Notice and Comment process was conducted. Owners were simply notified after the decision was made.
While the Board has the legal authority to cancel this contract, the financial impact on resident owners is real and ongoing — and it occurred without the transparency that both the Association's attorney and the governing documents recommend.
The exterior vinyl siding of the buildings was installed as a capital improvement funded by the unit owners. It is an asset the community paid for and has a continuing interest in keeping up.
For more than a year, the north-facing walls have shown dark staining that has not been cleaned or otherwise attended to. What was once routine seasonal maintenance has simply not been performed, and the result is now a conspicuous eyesore — visible to every owner, resident, and visitor who passes the buildings, and to anyone considering the purchase of a unit.
The staining is a visible, ongoing condition that has gone unaddressed. What it illustrates is the larger point: it is the most plainly apparent sign of a property that is not being actively maintained, and it requires no review of statutes or records to see. A Board attentive to the owners' investment, operating through open meetings and disclosed planning, would be expected to address — or at minimum, to have a visible plan for addressing — a paid-for asset that is visibly unkept in plain sight.
You are paying a $112,000 special assessment that, under Declaration §19.6, owners contend was required to go through its own ratification process — its own notice and meeting — which was not done. You have also absorbed the cost of a canceled cable contract with no fee reduction. These are direct, ongoing financial impacts.
An association with unaudited finances, a reserve fund drawn down substantially in a single year, and an assessment that owners contend was not put through its required §19.6 ratification process creates complications for resale. Lenders scrutinize HOA governance when buyers seek financing. Reserve fund adequacy directly affects your unit's marketability and value.
Without transparent financial reporting, no owner can verify that Association funds are being managed appropriately. The Association's own governing documents and Connecticut law require this transparency. It has not been provided since June 2025.
Under Bylaws §7.2 and CGS §47-260, any unit owner may submit a written request for Association records. The Association must provide available examination dates within five business days of a written request identifying the specific records. The following records must be maintained and made available:
Balance sheet, income statement, detailed trial balance, and transaction register — required monthly under the management contract.
Annual balance sheet and statement of receipts and disbursements, required under Bylaws §7.3 and kept for at least ten years.
Current balance of all reserves for capital expenditures, replacement, and emergency repairs — a record the Association is required to maintain at all times.
Any contract executed on behalf of the Association, including the management agreement, roofing contract, and any other service agreements.
Minutes of all Executive Board meetings must be made available within 15 days of any meeting, under Declaration §25.1.