SCA Membership Low, Funds Short as Election Approaches

“We’re negative and you guys want to keep spending money we don’t have,” said Carlos Martinez, leaning forward across the white folding table.

The gavel pounded on September 9 as the Sharpstown Civic Association board debated President Matthew Cowan’s resolution to contribute $5,000 to next year’s Liberty Fest. The resolution turned into a flashpoint for a bigger-picture controversy.

Low membership revenue is forcing the SCA to a choice: cut expenses, or dig deep into its “rainy day fund.” This year, the SCA is on track—for the second year in a row—to spend over $60,000 more than it will take in.

The SCA ended 2023 with a fund balance of over $230,000 in case of emergencies or low-revenue years like this one. But at the meeting, treasurer Helen Zhou projected that the SCA would end this year with $164,000 in the bank, down $77,000 from last year.

Why? Unlike a traditional HOA, the SCA relies on voluntary membership dues and “safety and security contributions” to pay for its programs, including S.E.A.L. Security patrols, summer mosquito spraying, and deed restriction enforcement. But “voluntary” often translates to “unpaid.”

After the SCA board pushed for a controversial, unsuccessful switch to a Chapter 209 HOA with mandatory dues in 2022, membership dropped to just 1,317 in 2023—the lowest point in the last ten years. In a neighborhood of roughly 6,800 homes, only 19% of homeowners and residents paid dues.

Back in the November-December 2016 SCAN, board member Jerry Alexander had lamented that only 20-24% of Sharpstown residents had been paying their membership dues in recent years. That picture looks rosy compared to current numbers.

As of September 9, 2024, only 1,171 homeowners and residents (just 17%) were dues-paying members. That’s not necessarily worse than this time last year. Last October’s SCAN listed membership as of that month at 1,275. So for early September, 1,171 is probably comparable. But it’s a deep valley compared to 2016, when the past decade’s membership peaked at 1,708, or 25%.

Today's low membership is one reason why the SCA is getting low on cash. But at the meeting, board members differed about how to solve the problem.

Martinez was part of a sizable, vocal minority that wanted to start cutting expenses that they perceived as unnecessary, like Liberty Fest. Even though the SCA helped to start Liberty Fest, the Southwest Management District already foots most of the ~$155,000 bill. "They are a taxing authority," said SCA director Mark Harrison. "I don't think our five thousand will make a difference."

Vice President Elizabeth Schooler suggested a different approach: "Seventy-seven-thousand...is approximately three-hundred-ten members, so we need to work on getting more members."

The membership committee has been sending special mailings to convince lapsed members to come back. After the last mailing, forty-three paid dues. But persuading three hundred more members may be easier said than done.

Both sides also agreed that the SCA needs to stop paying ~$20,000 per year to mow esplanades that they believe should be the City of Houston’s responsibility. City Council District J formed the Supplemental Maintenance Team this year to fill gaps in the city’s mowing and landscape maintenance, but the SCA has already been filling some of those gaps for years.

But mowing costs make less than a third of the $77k deficit. Where might the rest of the budget cuts come from? Last year, the SCA spent $185,000 on “Safety and Security” (mostly S.E.A.L. patrols)—but $203,000 of its revenue came from Safety and Security contributions. The next biggest expenses included payroll for employees (~$77,000), legal fees (~$25,000), the SCAN (~$24,000), and mosquito spraying (~$21,000).*

The $5,000 for Liberty Fest could still be on the chopping block too. After several minutes of debate, Secretary Anne Wilburn suggested amending the motion to "enter a proposed five thousand for Liberty Fest...into budget considerations." The amended motion passed 6-4-2:

• In favor: Matthew Cowan, Elizabeth Schooler, Anne Wilburn, Donna Fain, Charmaine LeBlanc, Matt Wine
• Opposed: Helen Zhou, Carlos Martinez, Kathy Holston, Mark Harrison
• Abstained: Byrom Wehner, Sharon Galloway

But the SCA must still face an impending budget shortfall—and low member engagement. It’s not just that SCA members aren’t paying their dues. They’re also not participating in board elections. In 2023, only 46 SCA members cast ballots to elect the directors and officers of the board. Sure, none of the races were contested—a sign of satisfaction, or apathy?—but even in 2022's "hotly" contested election (fueled by disagreements over the HOA push), no officer candidate received more than 142 votes.

This election season, SCA members will have the chance to nominate themselves or others from the floor at the October general meeting before voting at the November general meeting. Several candidates have already been proposed by the nominating committee and approved by the board, but any dues-paying member is eligible to run.

Here's the list so far:

Directors (all incumbents):

• Elizabeth Schooler
• Helen Zhou
• Kathy Holston
• Charmaine LeBlanc
• Carlos Martinez
• Matt Wine

Officers:

• President: Matthew Cowan (incumbent)
• Vice President: Elizabeth Schooler (incumbent)
• Treasurer: Helen Zhou (incumbent)
• Secretary: Charmaine LeBlanc

Are you a dues-paying SCA member? Why or why not? How do you think the SCA should handle the budget issue? What would you like to see the board do differently in the future? Subscribe for free to comment below.

*The $73k that the SCA spent on the “Annual Fireworks Event”—Liberty Fest— in 2023 was reimbursed (except for $5k) by a donation from the Southwest Management District.