But the invoice suggested the contractor had been paid merely for a visual hazard assessment.
The amount was surprisingly high.
He added it to his spreadsheet.
Then he examined several more invoices included in the association's annual financial summary.
He noticed repeated payments under the same category.
Some were billed only days apart.
Others appeared to correspond with complaints against specific homeowners.
He could not prove wrongdoing from the available records.
There might have been legitimate explanations.
But the pattern gave him enough reason to request a fuller accounting.
He sent a letter to the association treasurer.
The response surprised him.
The treasurer was a middle-aged woman who worked as an accountant and had joined the board only eight months earlier.
She thanked him for the information.
Then she asked to meet.
They sat at a small coffee shop outside the neighborhood.
The treasurer arrived carrying a notebook.
She looked exhausted before the conversation even began.
“I need you to understand something,” she said. “I don't control every payment the president authorizes.”
The father nodded.
“I understand.”
“The management company processes approved expenses, and the board receives summaries.”
“Who approves the expenses?”
“That depends on the category.”
“And these safety assessments?”
The treasurer hesitated.
“That's what I've been trying to clarify.”
The father watched her carefully.
She continued.
“The president says they fall under delegated emergency maintenance authority.”
“Does the association have that authority documented?”
“We have provisions for genuine emergencies.”
“Does a child's basketball qualify?”
The treasurer closed her eyes.
“No.”
The father slid copies of several notices across the table.
“Then why are residents being charged?”
The treasurer examined the documents.
Her expression changed.
“I haven't seen these.”
“They're official notices.”
“I know what they are.”
She looked increasingly uncomfortable.
“But they weren't included in the financial summaries I received.”
The father waited.
The treasurer opened her notebook.
“I've been asking for itemized vendor records. The president keeps telling me the property manager has everything.”
“Have you contacted the manager directly?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“She says the president instructed her to route questions through the executive office.”
The father frowned.
“Is there an executive office?”
The treasurer gave a humorless smile.
“Apparently that's what the president calls herself.”
They sat silently.
Then the father asked a question.
“Would the rest of the board be willing to review this?”
The treasurer looked at him.
“I think some would.”
“What about the vice president?”
“He's been concerned about the enforcement complaints.”
“Then maybe we should speak with him.”
The treasurer nodded.
“I can arrange that.”