Tips for Communicating the HOA Budget to the Community

So you’ve finally finished your HOA budget. Congratulations! Whether you’re on the board or a community member on the committee, you’ve put a lot of work into this project.

You know that you’ve talked to vendors, made spreadsheets, looked at previous budgets, and studied the Reserve Study. You’ve gotten input from the rest of the board and other community members, set priorities, and created a document that follows HOA guidelines.

You’ve made sure you’re in compliance with all state, local, and HOA regulations. You’ve probably had some late nights and a few disagreements. But you made it! What’s next?

Presenting your Budget

If you thought your work was done, you’re not quite right. Yes, the legwork and long meetings are finished, but now you must present the budget to your community. And you need to do it in a way that distills those hours of work into a short, easy-to-digest presentation.

Why Present Your HOA Budget?

HOA board members have a responsibility to their community. They are tasked with making decisions that are in the best interest of all members. This is a big deal, both legally and ethically.

Presenting your budget to community members demonstrates your commitment to honoring that responsibility. Your community will trust their HOA board more when they feel that information is provided in a thorough, timely fashion.

Bottom line: You can’t serve your community if they don’t trust you. You must earn that trust by showing them how the association is spending their dues and fees.

Tips for Presenting Your HOA Budget

Before You Begin

Double and triple-check your budget for accuracy. Have other board members or a professional check for mistakes.

We’re all human and mistakes happen. They are far less likely when you have multiple sets of eyes checking your work. Mathematical and other simple errors can undermine community trust in the budget and the board.

Prepare an Overview

Your community will have members with varying levels of financial knowledge. An outline and overview of your budget presentation will allow everyone to keep up.

If people have questions, they can jot them down. Some may prefer to ask questions privately. Ask everyone to hold their questions until after your presentation.

Write your overview in accessible language. Make sure it’s well-organized and presented in both number and paragraph form. Get input from the rest of the board and have someone proofread the document before you print it. This is no place for typos. Like mathematical mistakes, they make you look unprofessional and undermine trust.

Charts and Graphs

When numbers are concerned, we all do better when we have visual aids. In addition to anything you include in your overview, use charts and graphs during your presentation.

Again, this helps people follow along. Your visual presentation should include a comparison of your new budget with that of the previous year. Leave space for a written explanation of changes.

For example, your new HOA budget may significantly increase the estimated cost of regular maintenance. Use your chart for bullet points about that increase. It may be due to inflation, new services, or a change in vendors.

A simple note right on the chart reminds both you and your audience to address those changes in more depth. There’s no need to have a chart filled with paragraphs of text. It will be hard to read. Keep explanatory notes simple and to the point.

A note about charts, graphs, and other visual aids. Before you begin your presentation, do a trial run with your presentation tools. Your audience must be able to easily see and read anything you present.

You also need to be able to use the materials you’re presenting. Practice in the space you’ll use for your presentation so you don’t run into frustrating snags or poor lighting.

The best way to prepare a professional presentation is with professional tools. Data visualization platforms like Homey help you share your budget effectively. Don’t let a sloppy presentation undermine your hard work and knowledge of budget planning and your final product.

As we’ve noted for other materials, make sure your visual aids are error-free. It’s difficult to proofread your own work. Let the other board members help you.

Community Questions and Comments

Communicate at the beginning of your presentation that there will be time for questions and comments from the community. You might have to remind people to hold questions until you finish. If you explain changes thoroughly, you may well answer their questions within the presentation.

This is the portion of a budget presentation that some HOA board members dread. Some communities have a history of contentious budget meetings. The more prepared you are, the easier it is to keep everyone on track.

Try to anticipate issues and questions that may come up. If there are substantial changes, be able to explain how the decisions were made and why.

The presentation of a new budget should not be the only time the board discusses finances with the community. Regular meetings should always discuss both operating and reserve budgets.

Consider including budget information in regular community emails or newsletters. The more ways members have the ability to access the information, the more people you’ll reach. Making HOA budget updates, decisions, and changes as easily accessible as possible is a good-faith action by the board.

When members feel included in the discussion of financial issues, they’re more likely to be supportive of your new budget. They’re also less likely to be surprised by changes.

No matter how much time you’ve spent preparing this presentation, be open to suggestions. This will be one of the most challenging parts of your meeting. You’ve spent a lot of time on this budget. You’ll feel like you know the issues involved better than anyone else.

You do understand the issues. But sometimes budget planning committees overlook options. A community member may have experience or expertise outside that of the committee. They may have faced a similar challenge at another HOA. Or they may simply think outside the box more nimbly.

If a member makes a suggestion you considered and dismissed, explain why. If there’s a question you can’t answer or a solution you hadn’t considered, be honest. Nobody expects you to be perfect. They do expect you to have an open mind.

You know your community. The members of your HOA are your neighbors. You have both a thorough understanding of the budget and a pretty good understanding of your audience.

Meet people where they are. They’ll appreciate your efforts to make the budget understandable. And they’ll know that you took the time to consider their needs and concerns.

Contact Homey today for the best tools to create your next budget presentation.