BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
• 5% Increase in the General Assessment
• Reserve Expenses Fairly Ordinary
• Personnel Challenges Persist – But
Testing New Strategies
• Continued Investment in Technology
Investing in employee retention has become a theme, with
strategies such as reworking shifts to limit the number of
days employees come out to the island, retention bonuses
and hiring bonuses. On the recommendation of the
director of Land Management, Doug Walter, KICA will
try international H2B labor in 2020 – something that
has been regularly utilized on Kiawah by other entities,
but not by KICA. Doug has experience managing this
type of labor force and the association has engaged the
same agency as Kiawah Partners and the resort. This
change will result in a 3.6% reduction in labor costs
for a labor heavy department, despite the addition of
coverage in the recent Ocean Park conveyances.
Wage pressure continues to be a real challenge. In
2012, 60% of employees commuted from Johns and
Wadmalaw islands. That number is down to 40%, with
the majority of employees driving long distances from
North Charleston, Goose Creek and Summerville.
Another big part of personnel costs is insurance and
benefits. 2020’s renewal quote from Blue Choice was
19.9% over the 2019 budgeted amount. That was a
large increase, and part of a trend in recent years. After
some hard work from HR director, Sarah Bond, and
Finance and Administration director, Jane Ovenden,
KICA will see no increase in insurance costs. Overall,
KICA budgeted for a 4.1% increase in 2020 personnel
costs, including benefits and international staffing.
KICA’s board of directors has emphasized the importance
of investing in technology over the past few years. An
examination of pain points made it clear that many
of KICA’s limitations were coming from the same
foundation: KICA’s member database.
There aren’t a lot of associations out there like KICA in
terms of services and size; out of the box solutions didn’t
meet its varied needs. In 2018, Jane Ovenden began
researching CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
companies, starting with the gold standards: Salesforce
and Oracle. After approximately 8 months of talks,
the team was excited to recommend Salesforce to the
board. The company’s product is cloud-based, a key
concern during hurricane season. The robust program
fosters collaboration between departments and will
limit the double, and sometimes triple, entry that staff
are doing now. It will enable the Communications team
to be more efficient and includes self-servicing options
for members. The platform will enhance the member
experience in ways that aren’t possible with the current
system. The Salesforce project is budgeted at $430,000
(including implementation partner consulting).
Certified Salesforce implementation partner Torrent
Consulting will help build a solution that will meet
KICA’s needs, as well as a roadmap through the process.
This service, which includes tailoring the software to
fit KICA’s unique needs, will be $120,000. The board
will receive a report after the Torrent discovery portion
of the work is complete before the association makes a
continued commitment.
Special projects are generally included in the operating
budget. Noteworthy items include:
• $100,000 committed to completing pedestrian
safety updates on Duneside Road.
• $55,000 for the final phase of the gate access
software implementation.
• $100,000 for issuance of radio-frequency
identification (RFID) decals to island contractors
and employees. In 2021, member barcodes will be
transitioned to RFIDs.
• $125,000 for updates to The Sandcastle. These
funds will be directed by the board of directors once
they’ve evaluated the different options.
To fund the 2020 budget, there will be a 5% increase
in general assessments. Segment assessments for the
Preserve and Ocean Park remain at 50% of the maximum
annual assessment, which amounts to a 5% increase
over 2019. There will be no increase for 2020 in the
reserve assessment. KICA’s member survey indicated
that 77% of members felt assessments were about right
or low, a fact taken into account when attempting
to keep assessments within the current range. Board
member and treasurer Dave Morley commented, “We
are funding some strategically important things while
maintaining a balanced operating budget. I think that’s
a positive for the community.”
Visit kica.us/finances for complete financial info.
KIAWAH ISLAND DIGEST | 3