The Stonebridge Ledger: Budget Season Begins
At Stonebridge Ranch, summer is when we begin building the financial plan for the year ahead.
That process starts with a simple question: What will it take to operate, maintain, and plan responsibly for a community of more than 9,000 homes and 500 acres of Association-maintained property?
As of July 8th, our Financial Manager is preparing the June 2026 financial reports. Those reports provide the most current view of spending, service levels, and operating trends, and they become an important starting point for the 2027 budget process.
What Does the Operating Fund Pay For?
The Operating Fund covers the day-to-day services residents see throughout the community, as well as many that happen behind the scenes.
Current operating expense trends include:
- Landscape maintenance: approximately 37%
- Water and wastewater: approximately 11%
- Collections-related expenses: approximately 6%
- Professional services: approximately 3%
- Insurance: approximately 3%
- Repairs and maintenance: approximately 2%
- Other operating expenses: approximately 6%
The remaining expenses support common-area services, contracted operations, administrative functions, and other routine Association needs. The infographic below provides a snapshot of how your assessments are put to work throughout the community:
See full-sized infographic here.
How Does the Budget Come Together?
The annual budget belongs to the Association and is formally adopted by the Board of Directors.
The work begins with RealManage Elevated Onsite, Stonebridge Ranch’s managing agent. Management, led by the General Manager and Financial Manager, reviews current financial performance alongside vendor contracts, service levels, water use, insurance, reserve planning, collections trends, and anticipated projects.
From there, the process moves through three steps:
- Management prepares the draft. The onsite team develops the initial budget based on current operations, projected costs, and the needs of the community.
- The Finance Committee reviews it. The Committee reviews the draft, asks questions, and provides feedback and recommendations.
- The Board adopts the final budget. The Board of Directors reviews the recommendation and formally approves the Association’s annual budget.
One Place for Association Information
The Stonebridge Ranch website and the CiraNet resident portal are designed to make Association information easier to find.
CiraNet is more than a payment portal. Residents can use it to:
- View account information and payment options
- Access governing documents and Association resources
- Find important community information in one place
The goal is simple: make it easier for residents to find the information you need, when you need it.
Why This Matters
A responsible budget is not just about tracking expenses. It is how the Association maintains the community today while planning for future landscape, infrastructure, amenity, and reserve needs.
Residents will begin seeing more regular financial and operational updates like this each week as part of the Association’s ongoing communication initiative. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to log in to the CiraNet resident portal to review the current 2026 budget, recent financial reports, account information, and other important Association documents. The Stonebridge Ranch website and CiraNet portal are both intended to make key Association information easier to access, review, and understand.
