Town Crier Articles

We are 4 months into our new management company’s tenure, and big changes are coming in their accounting systems and technology. Who better to explain these administrative innovations then the President of Chesapeake Bay Management (CBM), Dana Neff.

 

 

Dana: The online portal is a real communication tool both for our company and for owners. Once an owner logs into their screen, they will have access to their account balances, payment history and will be able to track any requests that they have made to management “real time.” For example, if an application for the Architectural Review Committee is submitted, it’s status will be readily visible to the owner.  Email and other inquiries will be logged as well.               

 

We hope that the community will find it a useful tool, and Vantaca, our new software vendor, has interfaces that improve our flexibility in customizing association financial accounts and other information.

 

 

Dana: Owners have received a letter with their coupon books explaining the May 1 activation of the system. They will receive an email message, sent to their primary email of record, containing their portal username and temporary password. Once they receive this information, log-in and start to use the system is my recommendation!

 

 

Dana: The transition of owner account information has been difficult. In some cases the owner mailing addresses for non-resident owners were not current. Lots of updating has been needed. The new NTRA assessment methodology by neighborhood also caused us to proceed cautiously to ensure that we were matching the right assessment with each property. Then there was a delay over whether new account numbers will be required by Vantaca in their new software. It turns out that there will be new account numbers, but we have found an interface so that existing account numbers can be recognized for some period. 

 

For those who may wish to switch to electronic payments, the new portal system also provides an easy link for owners who wish to set up a recurring payment or even pay just one time via credit card. There is no change for owners who have already done this electronically with CBM. 

 

 

Dana: It has been a real challenge - and one I hope to never do again! But I learned that we have phenomenal staff members who put extra effort and time into ensuring that the system will have user friendly and meaningful information for owners. They dedicated themselves to training our staff and getting it up and running smoothly. 

 

 

Dana: I love working with accounts and like to “keep my pencil sharp.”  The timing of this contract was a challenge for our Accounting Department and I offered to help. There are differences from Town Management in our fund balance accounting practices that are still being worked through.

 

I was “over the moon” to have Chesapeake Bay awarded the management contract for New Town Residential. I have watched the community’s development since it was farmland, visit its businesses, and I feel a real attachment to New Town. Certainly, the complexity of New Town’s neighborhoods and governing documents created a real learning curve for us, but we are getting ahead of the curve now. We are thrilled to be associated with the New Town community.