The Oct. 18, 2023, Independent included an editorial by Sun City West resident Kit Carter who stated the recall of the three board members is not necessary. Carter states the community will be better served if it proceeds with the regular elections held each March where three new board members are elected for the nine-member board.

The following facts support the importance of the current recall. The terms of all three board members who are being recalled do not expire at the end of this fiscal year. If not recalled, they will remain on the board until July 1, 2025. Tm Hurley, the current president of the board, and Dick Rhoades, the current treasurer of the board and chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, are being recalled for failing to oversee the management of the association as the bylaws require them to do.

Over the past several years, salaries and benefits of association employees have spiraled. There are at least six, and as many as eight, employees making more than or near $100,000 in salary and benefits for an association that operates and maintains recreation centers and golf courses. The recall effort has discovered that Sun City West has spent an average of $5.7 million dollars more per year in operating costs than Sun City, which has one more golf course, four more recreation centers, and one more bowling center than Sun City West.

Sun City West owns a private library, which Sun City does not have.
Annual dues for two Sun City residents living in the same residence are $525 total while two Sun City West residents living in the same house pay $1,080 in annual dues. An annual unlimited golf pass costs $1,550 while the same pass costs $3,600 in Sun City West. These facts alone should trigger a comparative cost analysis, which has never been done in Sun City West.

As chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, Dick Rhoades has stated that the policy for investments has been followed in investing our reserve funds. Our investment policy states that preservation of capital is the foremost consideration, yet the investments made did not comply with this mandate, and as a result, the association is millions of dollars underwater from its investment of reserve fund monies.

Board member Jack Leary, the third member being recalled, is chairman of the Charter Clubs Committee. Clubs are the lifeblood of the association. Although Mr. Leary has said he is not anti-club, clubs have closed under his watch. Most recently, the porcelain paint club closed because the membership was at 20 members, which falls short of the arbitrary number of 75 set as a minimum for a charter club. Options were not explored to keep this club viable. Perhaps the club could have been combined with another club, but that was not done. Mr. Leary has publicly stated his administering the Charter Club Committee is not a democracy, and he is currently trying to railroad changes to the rules governing how clubs operate without adequate explanation of the changes.

The board has failed to hold this general manager accountable for failing to produce a strategic or master plan. Without such guidance the association has made piecemeal decisions about the development of association property which may not be to the longterm benefit of the association. For example, a $50,000 engineering study has been proposed to develop a site for the building of the pickleball courts when this site may more appropriately house a building for club activities.

Mr. Carter makes a number of conclusory statements about how the Board will be paralyzed and unable to function if these members are recalled. Because these three board members’ terms do not end until July 1, 2025, the impact of their decisions, or failure to make decisions, will be felt at least until that time. Retaining these three members will ensure business as usual for the foreseeable future.

The great dissatisfaction in the community demands that action be taken now. Corte Bella, a neighboring planned community, recently recalled five of its seven board members without a disruption to its operation. The board members subject to recall are not being recalled in an effort to fire the general manager, but because they have failed to fulfill their duties as stewards of the community.