DUE INCREASE
URGENT NOTICE
La Cresta POA Board Majority Proposes 20% Assessment Dues Increase
BOARD MAJORITY
President Roy Paulson, VP David Boyd, Secretary/Treasurer Paul Gaarenstroom
PLAN TO RAISE YOUR DUES
WITHOUT CAUSE or JUSTIFICATION
VOICE YOUR CONCERNS TO LCPOA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
The Board Majority held a “Special Meeting” on Friday, February 20, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. when many members would be at work and unable to attend. This meeting was limited to Zoom attendance only, effectively preventing in-person member participation. This timing and format impaired member involvement and had the practical effect of disenfranchising working members from meaningful participation in the decision-making process, with respect to the proposed vote to increase your LCPOA Dues.
The Board abruptly postponed the vote raises serious concerns regarding the Board majority’s transparency, decision-making process, and willingness to allow meaningful member participation.
These actions have left many members with unanswered questions about the true justification for any dues increase and the process being used to impose it.
Notice to Members:
The Board intends to schedule the vote on the dues increase soon! Please attend the
Thursday, March 5, 2026, OS meeting, at 6 PM
LCPOA "Special Meeting" Agenda 02/20/2026
Facts Members Must Know
Dear La Cresta Property Owners,
Your participation as a member of this community is important. This brief survey seeks member feedback regarding the proposed 20% increase in annual assessments advanced by the current Board majority President Roy Paulson, Vice President David Boyd, and Secretary/Treasurer Paul Gaarenstroom.
The following summarizes financial information and governance concerns discussed during the February 5, 2026, LCPOA Open Session meeting.
Current Financial Overview
Reported at LCPOA Open Session – February 5, 2026
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Annual Assessment Collections: Approximately $1,025,000.00
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Reserve Funds: Approximately $2,400,000.00
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Total Reported Funds: Approximately $3,425,000.00
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2025 operation surplus : $396,000.00
Lack of Transparency & Financial Disclosure Concerns
No financial statements for the current fiscal year have been posted or made available to the membership, despite emailed requests.
The absence of current financial disclosures raises significant concerns regarding compliance with corporate transparency requirements and Davis–Stirling disclosure obligations. Members cannot reasonably evaluate the LCPOA's financial condition, or the real necessity of a dues increase without timely access to the Association’s financial records.
1. Legal Expenditures and Transparency
Association funds have reportedly been expended on legal matters arising from governance disputes and alleged deviations from the LCPOA Articles of Incorporation and CC&Rs.
Additional legal expenses have reportedly resulted from disputes concerning member access to financial records, where members have requested documentation that management allegedly has declined to produce.
2. Reserve Funding Justification
The Board has indicated that reserve funding levels should exceed 50%. However, the Association’s principal long-term obligation is road maintenance that historically has been funded through the annual general operating budget.
Members may reasonably request further explanation before any dues increase absent supportive engineering studies, reserve analysis or documented capital replacement schedules.
3. Competitive Bidding Practice
Concerns have been raised that certain construction and maintenance projects were awarded without documented competitive bidding from multiple qualified vendors. Competitive bidding is widely recognized as a best business practice to ensure reasonable pricing and proper stewardship of our funds.
4. Discretionary Project Spending
Over $100,000 has reportedly been allocated for survey and signage related to equestrian crossing that are rarely used due to the danger associated with high speed traveled on Avenida La Cresta.
Directors and members have questioned whether these expenditures provide a proportional benefit to the broader membership, given that equestrian activities represent a limited scope of property owners and may also intersect with private benefit of commercial equestrian interests of current Board President Roy Paulson, admittedly operating his commercial business in violation of Riverside County ordinance within La Cresta.
5. Road Maintenance Obligations concerning Cul-de-Sacs
At the November 6, 2025, meeting, the Board majority reportedly adopted a Resolution prohibiting further discussion by directors and members concerning the maintenance of cul-de-sacs, despite objections raised by attending members.
The practical effect of this action was to restrict open discussion on a matter directly related to the Association’s infrastructure obligations and financial responsibilities.
This position appears inconsistent with prior County-recognized authority under which the Association accepted responsibility for maintaining 128 "private" roads to include naming 81 cul-de-sacs.
Members may wish to review the applicable Resolution and related records to better understand the scope of the Association’s road maintenance obligations and the basis for limiting member discussion of cul de sacs.
6. LCPOA “Double Standard”: Higher Dues for Reduced Services?
Many members have expressed confusion regarding the apparent inconsistency between prior campaign representations of Board Majority actions.
During the 2025 election campaign, Roy Paulson and David Boyd publicly asserted that including maintenance of community cul-de-sacs would result in an increase of member dues and this political position was used to justify declining to maintain cul de sacs despite the Association’s established maintenance responsibilities specifically defined in our governing documents.
The Board majority’s current proposal to increase dues raises several concerns:
7. Governance Structure and Committee Participation
Concerns Regarding Committee Appointments and Exclusionary practices that discriminate & violate fair and equal opportunity to all members.
Members have raised concerns that certain Board-controlled committee appointments have resulted in the targeted exclusion of qualified volunteers, board candidates that are moreso based upon political alignment rather than merit. Examples cited include:
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Michael Ghafouri: Shortly after being appointed Treasurer, Director Ghafouri was removed after questioning invoices in an effort to ensure financial transparency to fulfill his fiduciary responsibilities. His inquiries were consistent with responsible oversight given his experience operating multi-million-dollar international corporations, reflecting a qualified background in financial accountability and management.
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Mr. Ghafouri was later removed as liaison to the Governing Documents GD Committee following false allegations authored by then GD Committee Chair David Boyd (today Vice President) when his false and malicious allegations have raised concerns that personal bias may have influenced the decision, potentially subordinating his fiduciary obligations.
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Steve Brown: Mr. Brown served as Chair of the Governing Documents Committee from 2023–2025. Following the most recent Board election, the Board majority reportedly removed all the previously appointed committee volunteers, while maintaining the GD committee structure and reassigned new committee members that are politically aligned with the current Board majority.
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Steve Brown and MDM Auger: Applications to serve on the Communications Committee were reportedly rejected based on expressed personal bias, raising concerns that political affiliation and candidacy was placed above the fiduciary duty to ensure fair and equal volunteer participation without discriminatory practices.
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MDM Auger: An application to serve on the Proxy Committee in an election-integrity oversight capacity was rejected by the Board majority, despite MDM Auger’s professional training and many years of experience as a Poll Worker and Inspector of Elections, raising concerns regarding the Board’s commitment to independent election oversight.
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Tsun-I Wang: An application to serve on the Architectural Committee was denied by the Board majority, notwithstanding Mr. Wang’s formal architectural education and willingness to serve.
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Members have expressed concern that restricting fair & equal selection processes of volunteer participation without discrimination may reduce independent oversight and limit diverse perspectives in Association governance.
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Summary
This survey seeks to gather member input regarding the proposed 20% assessment increase and the governance practices associated with that proposal.
Members are encouraged to review the available financial information, governing documents, and related materials before forming conclusions.
Member participation is essential to maintaining transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship within the La Cresta community.
LCPOA Poor State of Affairs
Dear La Cresta property owners:
The current La Cresta Property Owners Association Board Majority which includes the newly elected board members last Fall are putting our membership at risk once again. Another lawsuit was filed recently against the LCPOA and former director (Richard "Rick" DeAndero) that chose not to run during the last election.
As I mentioned during my campaign for the BOD last Fall, if my two opponents were elected to the board majority there will be more lawsuits and they will raise your dues. Exactly what is happening! As you may of noticed last week a notice was sent out via Powerstone that the board was to meet 2/20/2026 and vote on a dues increase. This increase would be about 20%. This dues increase was only justified by some random numbers being thrown out at the February open session meeting without due diligence and proper accounting and documentation sent to the membership to justify any increase.
Members of the LCPOA, please voice your opinion and send an email to Powerstone and your BOD demanding full documented justification for such an increase. At this time there is no emergency, no major repairs and no justification for such an increase. The LCPOA citizens aware Group will keep you informed of future developments.
Steve Brown
Concerned La Cresta Property owner -
2024 Director Candidate
Survey : We want to hear your voice
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