NaCCRA Forum: Resident Engagement

I am a resident of The Residences at Vantage Point in Columbia, MD (a CCRC). Members of the Finance Task Force include management, corporate board members and several residents; this task force is in addition to the Resident's Associaton Finance Committee. The Task Force focuses on the annual increase in our monthly fees. Members have been advised not to disclose increase information until approved by the Corporate Board (so I have been told).

Residents members of the Corporate Board are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Many of us here feel that this is inappropriate as most of the money required to operate our not-for-profit community comes from our fees. We have suggested that Corporate Board meetings be open for resident attendance and that resident board members be permitted discuss board deliberations not protected by law (medical and personnel matters). This suggestion has fallen on deaf ears. A group of residents here have been working with MaCCRA and NaCCRA, and our representatives in the MD General Assembly to legislate some transparency in the operation of the Corporate Board. The attached Bill has been passed overwhelmingly by the MD House of Delegates and the MD Senate, and is expected to be signed by our Governor soon. This has been a difficult and time-consuming effort involving many residents -- not exactly a retirement activity. To see the bill and amendments, go to https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/ and search for HB068.

Some NDAs are not blanket in nature. SOME information is designated as confidential, and SOME is urged to be communicated to residents.

I am chair of the Resident Finance Committee at Vi at Highlands Ranch, a for-profit corporation. We have no NDA for committee members - any committees. Vi Living has a corporate policy of transparency in working with residents and that has created a collaborative relationship of trust between management and residents. We trust them to share financial and other information; they trust us not to disclose anything inappropriate. That relationship works to the benefit of all.

The Resident's Association's Finance Committee (El Castillo campus (CCRC owned by El Castillo Retirement Residences, Santa Fe, NM) does not have, nor does it require, a NDA for finance committee members--at least at present, although the FC Chair tries to restrict information to non-committee members. As I understand the purpose of RA Financial Committees, it is to digest the essential financial information (and financial stability of) the owning corporation, and to provide that information to the residents of the CCRC..

I don't understand the rationale of the parent corporation for requiring a NDA, since the underlying annual Audited Financial Statements and IRS 990 forms are public records (if the CCRC is a nonprofit) available on the NM DOJ Charity Registration website.

The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho, NM is a class A CCRC. Our Resident Council is forming a local level Financial Committee. Our managing organization is Pacific Retirement Service. We are being told that residents on the new Financial Committee will be required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Is an NDA usually required for members of local CCRC committees?