The Palm Beach Post ran a reader letter on August 7, 2026 responding to Larry E. Schner's August 5 guest column on homeowners' association assessments and transparency. The Post ran it in its Opinion section, headed "HOA column spot on," and marked it as the views of its author.
The writer, a director and officer of an over-55 HOA for more than 20 years, agrees that dues keep climbing because costs do, and names a fuel surcharge from the vendors who service the community as the newest one. "Schner is also correct about transparency," the letter says. It goes on to describe a board that puts information to residents in meetings and email blasts and is challenged on it anyway, and residents who answer "I know the rules" when asked where they got theirs. The writer's own board checks the facts, and sometimes consults the HOA attorney, before a decision is made.