Substitute House Bill No. 5274, Special Act No. 24-3, revises the charter of the Secret Lake Association, updating its meeting procedures, executive board regulations, and tax assessment methods. The bill changes the timing of the annual meeting from the first Saturday of June to a date determined by the board in May, with a new quorum requirement of five members. It extends the notice period for meetings from five to ten days and allows for personal delivery of notices. The executive board's powers are clarified, including the management of funds and property without compensation, and the process for levying annual assessments on properties is updated, with different rates for improved and unimproved lots. Unpaid assessments will incur interest and may result in a lien with precedence over other liens except for state and town taxes, and the cap of seven mills on the dollar of the total property value for taxes has been removed.
Additionally, the bill sets the interest rate on unpaid taxes according to general statutes rather than a fixed rate and extends the duration of the lien on property for unpaid taxes until a certificate is recorded in the town land records. It increases the financial thresholds for contracts the executive board can enter into without an association vote, raising the limit for individual contracts to five thousand dollars and the aggregate limit to ten thousand dollars within a year. The bill also states that the directors cannot borrow money without the association's vote and repeals sections 7, 19, and 23 of number 450 of the special acts of 1931. The bill is effective upon passage and was approved on May 30, 2024.