I have not lived in Courtside Villas long. Like most of my neighbors, I don’t attend the HOA meetings.

I have wondered however, when I look at the annual budget why we pay almost twice as much to the management company as in my previous neighborhood. We have no pool, no club house, no lawns, we are separate patio homes with virtually no landscaping in common.

Asking my neighbors if there have been bids for other management firms during the years and they all said no. That seemed odd, but when I read in last week’s paper about the close relationship between the board and the manager, (Mrs. Zabella’s husband being on the board) I had a clue.

Has our Board of Directors become complacent and neglectful of their responsibilities to us? Are they hiring their friends as our vendors? I hope not.

My neighbors have told me at the last HOA meeting a vote was passed to take bids on our management contract. It will be interesting to learn the results at the next meeting Jan. 7. We will finally be paying attention and watching to see how Mrs. Zabella’s husband and the rest of the board manage our money. I certainly hope they take this opportunity to prove they are competent.