Tall Pines Homeowners' Association

Berkeley County Government Offices

TPSTC Bylaws

Berkeley County Ordinance 62-193 (a) (b) (c) TPSTC Advisory Committee

County Council May 23, 2022 presented by concerned homeowners

Members of Council: My name is Mary Rooney-Lucas. My address is 405 Bristlecone Drive, Ladson

The Tall Pines HOA has by-laws that it must follow. The By-Laws of a nonprofit are the legally binding rules by which the organization is governed. They set forth the structure of the organization and guide the Board of Directors (the Board) in the conduct of its business. The HOA Board is also responsible for keeping the property, pool and clubhouse maintained and to enforce its Restrictive Covenants. I have heard Councilman Tommy Newell state (more than once) that the HOA Board cannot enforce its Restrictive Covenants. But the bylaws state just the opposite.

The Tall Pines Tax Commission has bylaws. Councilman Tommy Newell supervises the Tax Commission and while he has stated that bylaws do not exist, I easily obtained a set through a FOA request. Copies of the bylaws for the HOA and the Tax Commission were handed out at the March HOA meeting. Two of the newest members of the Tax Commission, appointed by Tommy Newell, are realtors. These realtors have continued to argue that Tall Pines does not have an HOA. Tommy Newell often mentions that Tall Pines does not have an HOA yet he would occasionally attend the monthly HOA meetings. Last year realtors were listing and selling properties in Tall Pines without recognition that Tall Pines is a legally incorporated HOA and is in good standing with the SC Secretary of State. The HOA attorney set the record straight in a letter he prepared for the Board.

The HOA Election   The Tax Commission ambushed the HOA election at the direction of Councilman Tommy Newell. Many of the people who attended, and voted, were not homeowners. The sign in sheet proved that. A roommate of the Treasurer of the Tax Commission was one of the non- homeowners who voted. The Treasurer, Adam Tournear, hollering the entire time, and with Councilman Tommy Newell telephonically nearby, conducted the entire election and made sure that all HOA board members were voted out. While the board may be vacant, the HOA remains. Given these circumstances that I have stated we are asking to have the election nullified, but not until the Tax Commission is educated, and understands its bylaws and ordinance(s).

BYLAWS/COUNTY ORDINANCES   Whether you read county ordinance 91-8-24, which is cross referenced by 02-10-42 and 62-193, or read the Tax Commission Bylaws, you will quickly learn that the Tax Commission has 3 primary duties:    1) Act as an advisory committee between County Council and Tall Pines HOA, 2) Make quarterly disbursements to the Tall Pines HOA using funds collected when the property tax bill is paid, and 3) to monitor the budget needs of the Tall Pines HOA. It is the budget needs of the TPHOA that establishes the amount that is listed on the annual property tax bill.

ANNUAL BUDGET   Not a single homeowner in Tall Pines can locate the annual budget unless you are a member of the Tax Commission. This is because the Tax Commission prepares it, votes on it, and submits it to council. While there appears to be a web page on the county website for posting this information, it has not been kept up-to-date.

UNAUTHORIZED SPENDING   Last year, the Tax Commission voted to spend more than 30,000.00 of the homeowners money to erect fitness stations in the neighborhood. No notice to the homeowners, and no vote from the homeowners. September 21, 2021, the Treasurer of the Tax Commission issued check #2645 in the amount of $6,600.00 for the fractional delivery of material for this unauthorized project. The $6,600.00, and any subsequent monies paid, will need to be refunded in full immediately. Any and all material received will need to be sent back to the supplier, and the contract/agreement will need to be terminated.

VIOLATION OF TAX LAWS   Through a FOI request, it was learned that the Treasurer of the Tax Commission has been writing checks for years to the landscaper, maintenance workers, painters, pest control, etc. but never issued a single 1099 at year end. An IRS Form 3949-A (Information Referral) was submitted to the IRS citing violations of Tax Law.

County Council June 27, 2022 presented by concerned homeowners

Members of Council: My name is Mary Lucas. My address is 405 Bristlecone Drive, Ladson and I am a homeowner in Tall Pines

Members of the Tax Commission continue to violate county ordinance 62-193, their bylaws, as well as spending homeowners' money without a vote. The Board may be vacant, but the HOA remains.

Last year, the Tax Commission voted to spend more than $30,000.00 of the homeowners' money to erect fitness stations in the area of the ball field. No notice to the homeowners, and no vote from the homeowners. In Sept 2021, the Treasurer issued check #2645 in the amount of $6,600.00, as a down payment, and at the bottom of that check it read "10 Station Fit Trail System"

This past April, members of the Tax Commission gained entry to the HOA Office and removed files. Both Councilman Tommy Newell and Chairperson Jim Royce were aware of this but never shared the information with the homeowners. The act of unlawful removal of property without the owner's consent is a crime. Damage was done and repairs had to be made.

On the June 14 agenda for the Tax Commission meeting, a meeting which was postponed, and under the section of OLD BUSINESS, it stated "Files in Office Secured with file cabinet repairs by Berkeley Locksmith." The Tax Commission needs to absorb the cost for these repairs, and not the homeowners.

The Tax Commission has been posting their upcoming meetings and agenda on the Berkeley County Agenda/Minutes website. Once the meeting date has passed, the line item is immediately removed from the county website, rather than placing it in the archives section of the page as done by the rest of the committees and commissions. There were two meeting for June posted on the county website - June 14, which was postponed, and June 23. Both of these need to be placed in the archives section for the public to access.

The Tax Commission streams their meetings to the Tall Pines Community Facebook page. This is a private page. Many homeowners have stated they are not able to access the Facebook page due to a vetting process. And there are many homeowners who simply want nothing to do with Facebook.

The Tax Commission, which is a part of the Berkeley County government, belongs streaming to a public page for all to see, the same way all the other commissions and committees do.

The Board may be vacant, but the HOA remains.

County Council July 25, 2022 presented by concerned homeowners

Good Evening Members of Council: My name is Mary Lucas. My address is 405 Bristlecone Drive, Ladson

What I am about to read is not the material that I had placed on my agenda for this month's council meeting, but when walking out of last month's meeting we saw Councilman Tommy Newell lean towards Supervisor Cribb and say "I will get with you after the meeting to tell my side of the story. I am tired of these lies."

I am the President and Owner of a SC Corporation that has been in existence for more than 3 decades. As both a SC state contractor and a federal contractor, we provide software solutions to law enforcement agencies, whether local, state, federal, military, and now the DOD - that is, the Department of Defense

I do not lie.

During the May Meeting, I read the following.. The Tax Commission ambushed the HOA election at the direction of Councilman Tommy Newell. Many of the people who attended, and voted, were not homeowners. The sign in sheet proved that. A roommate of the Treasurer of the Tax Commission was one of the non-homeowners who voted. The Tax Commission Treasurer, Adam Tournear, hollering the entire time, and with Councilman Tommy Newell telephonically nearby, conducted the entire election and made sure that all HOA board members were voted out. There are witnesses here who heard Adam Torneaur mention Tommy Newell's name several times as the live election took place. According to Adam Tourneear's final words, Tommy Newell was delighted.    This is not a lie.

During the June meeting, I read:   This past April, members of the Tax Commission gained entry to the HOA Office and removed files. Both Councilman Tommy Newell and Chairperson Jim Royce were aware of this but never shared the information with the homeowners. The act of unlawful removal of property without the owner's consent is a crime. Damage was done and repairs had to be made.    This is not a lie.

Here is the invoice for the repairs that had to be made, (wave bill in air). As I mentioned in the June meeting, member(s) of the Tax Commission are responsible for the damages, therefore the county needs to pay for the repairs, and not the homeowners. The county needs to reimburse the HOA 175.00 - see TPSTD check 2670 dated 5/17/2022.

Thank you for this opportunity

County Council August 22, 2022

Good Evening Members of Council: My name is Mary Lucas. My address is 405 Bristlecone Drive, Ladson

ISSUES WITH THE BERKELEY COUNTY WEBSITE   When searching the web for Tall Pines Special Tax District, the Bylaws and the Restrictive Covenants for Tall Pines would display. Those items were removed a month after the Tax Commission ambushed the HOA election in March. Documents belonging to Berkeley County Government now appear, such as the Airport, Code Enforcement, Permits, along with grossly outdated Tax Commission matters

When searching for the Tall Pines Tax Commission, a page about the Board of Tourism and Things to Do in Berkeley County appears. The content here should display the Tax Commission's bylaws and the details of Chapter 52, Division 6, Section 62-193. The reader will then learn that the Tax Commission is an Advisory Commission with no role whatsoever in maintaining the Tall Pines property.

ADDRESS FOR THE TAX COMMISSION   The Tax Commission states their address is 181 Tall Pines Rd, Ladson, SC 29456. Not true. 181 Tall Pines Rd is the address for the Tall Pines Club House, the pool, the playground, and the HOA Office. The Tax Commission is part of Berkeley County Government. Their address should be a location that is managed by Berkeley County. Heads up: The Tax Commission's next meeting will be September 13, 2022 from 7PM-9PM.

I have mentioned before that the Tax Commission belongs streaming their meetings to a public website for all to see, not to the Tall Pines private page on Facebook. The Tax Commission needs to have their meetings at a Berkeley County Managed Facility.

LEGAL AND FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE TAX COMMISSION   Thank you to the Committee of Finance for recognizing the need for a legal and financial audit of the Tax Commission. And thank you members of council, for your unanimous vote on August 8!

As the audit moves forward, I wanted to mention the following (which were mentioned at prior council meetings):

      1. Berkeley County owes the homeowners $6,600.00 for the unlawful spending by the Tax Commission of HOA money for the exercise station project

      2. The Tax Commission owes the homeowners $1,066.98 for the purchase of 7 cameras, 6 for the 3 entrances, and 1 pan/voice for the playground. All cameras were installed and were in use. In January, the tax commission voted 3 - 1 to reimburse the HOA for the cameras. But in February, Chairperson Jim Royce of the Tax Commission, acted independently of the others on the Tax Commission, stammered 'the HOA would not be reimbursed.'    A classic example of misfeasance.

        At the Feb Tax Commission meeting, HOA President Micky Tezza requested payment for the cameras as well as additional money for upcoming projects. Chairperson Royce refused. President Tezza began to point out the Tax Commission's By-Laws, which explained their duties. One of those duties is to make quarterly disbursements to the HOA using money collected from the annual property tax bill. At that point, Council Newell chimed in (not really sure why) stating that the bylaws were old and that the matter would need to be 'addressed by legal' referring to Berkeley County's lawyer. The discussion continued between Chairperson Royce and the HOA President with Chairperson Royce becoming enraged, and shouting from the front of the room (at the HOA President), 'You Need to get yourself a F----ing lawyer.' And all of this was being streamed to the Tall Pines Private Page on Facebook. Imagine if this was streaming to the Berkeley County Public Page. What an absolute embarrassment to County Council.

      3. Berkeley County owes the homeowners $175.00 for the filing cabinet repairs needed due to the damage caused by the Tax Commission when they gained entry, and unlawfully removed HOA property from the HOA office in April of this year. Jim Royce stated that no one really knows who made entry into the office because numerous individuals have keys. Everyone knows: It was Adam Tournear's husband (and done so at Adam's instruction because Adam had to work that day). Adam Tournear is the treasurer of the Tax Commission.

As for the Tax Commission deliberately holding out on funds that were due the HOA, and for the HOA to be damaged financially - this is a classic case of malfeasance.

4 minutes was up - but there was more to say. That information has been sent to the auditing team.

Thank you so much for recognizing the need for the audit!

County Council September 26, 2022

Good Evening Members of Council: My name is Mary Lucas. My address is 405 Bristlecone Drive, Ladson

I recently stumbled upon a quote that stopped me in my tracks: "The most dangerous phrase in our language is "we've always done it this way." The quote is attributed to Grace Hopper (born in 1906 and lived for 86 years), who was an American computer scientist and a United States Navy Rear Admiral.

Although I had been the Chairperson of the Tall Pines HOA Civic Committee for just a few months, I was asked to be the Treasurer in May 2021, and I accepted. The person that I replaced had been the Treasurer for years and her employment had increasing demands causing the decision for her to step down.

After learning that the records keeping was being done manually, I quickly computerized the income, the expenses, and the payroll. This also included automating the quarterly and annual tax filings as well as the distribution of W2's at year end. Before me, the HOA had been paying a 3rd party bookkeeping service to keep up with the tax filings.

It was during this process I learned that the Tax Commission had a bank account of its own used for writing checks to pay the invoices pertaining to the day to day operation of Tall Pines.

Odd, I thought .............. I had read their bylaws before I accepted the position as Treasurer; I found nothing that stated they are to pay the monthly bills, rather they are to make quarterly disbursements of funds to the HOA. When I questioned this, I was told "we've always done it this way."

REPORTING TO THE IRS AND STATE AGENCIES   All organizations, for profit, or non-profit, the filing of the all quarterly/annual reports is mandatory. Whether there is income, or not. Whether there is payroll, or not. The Federal, State and Unemployment Reports are to be filed.

If the reports are not timely received, there are fines for non-filers, and there are assessments and penalties added as well. The ultimate penalty is dissolution. That did happen to Tall Pines HOA back in 1992.

Moving on.... Although the Tax Commission's ambush of the HOA election temporarily vacated the board, I personally have continued to file the necessary reports, signing as a homeowner and not as the Treasurer. This ensures that Tall Pines Homeowners Association continues to remain in good standing with both the State and the IRS. The State and the IRS do not care who processes the filings, they simply need to be filed.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR TALL PINES   Tall Pines HOA official website is tallpinesladson.com where you will find information on Tall Pines Bylaws and its Restrictive Covenants, as well as the Bylaws and the details pertaining to County Ordinance 62-193 for the Berkeley County Tall Pines Special Tax District Tax Commission, which is an Advisory Board.

Thank you for this opportunity