By Michael Morton
The latest tangle over a proposed increase in maintenance fees at Rochdale Village has been no exception.After a public hearing Friday about the fee, known as the carrying charge, several shareholders questioned the management at the housing development, which accommodates 25,000 residents among its 20 buildings. “It's been a board of directors that's not responsive,” said one woman, who asked that her name not be used because of her position at the village. “It's too much of a political game.”The board of directors, composed of 15 shareholding volunteers, wants to raise maintenance fees by 8.9 percent. But Friday several shareholders said the hike was too large and too sudden, coming after two years of smaller increases and 11 years of no changes before that. Any jump, they said, would hurt residents on a fixed income.”They feel the co-ops can't afford it all at once,” said resident Mary Hawkins.But William Greenspan, the board's attorney, refuted the shareholders' description. He said during the 11 years of stable fees, the co-op had run a surplus, meaning it could not impose an increase under state rules. He said skyrocketing rates for fuel and insurance meant a hike was now necessary.Rochdale Village was built under the state Mitchell-Lama program for affordable middle-income housing, and any fee increase must be approved by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. The agency is currently reviewing the proposal. The co-op had a 9.85 percent increase in 1991, then no change until 2003, when a 3.6 percent raise was put in place for that year and the following one. Board members are elected to three-year terms, and the Rochdale insider said candidates are sponsored by different associations within the co-op and seek prestige, leading to infighting within the governing group. Resident Cynthia Johnson said politics led to a lack of planning ahead and the current proposal for a sudden, large hike.”Every year that was their campaign: no new increases,” she said.The Rochdale insider said the state removed its auditor years ago and questioned where the board got its numbers. She said the board is looking for its own auditor after shareholders demanded one be hired.Hawkins said the board had approved an $80 million refinancing of the mortgage several years ago for repairs, but noted that sidewalks remained cracked, elevator service spotty and the coop's power plant troubled. “Where is the money going?” she asked. With the refinancing, Greenspan said more than half had gone to pay off the old mortgage and the rest was still being put into repairs.”Every dollar is accounted for,” he said. He also pointed out that “the co-op cannot afford to not have this increase and the state knows it.”A spokesman for the Division of Housing and Community Renewal said the state still did audits of its buildings, but only when it needed to do so.”We've been pleased with Rochdale,” he said.Reach reporter Michael Morton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
