Associations are generally formed to perform many tasks on behalf of the owners within the common interest community. In order to perform these tasks, there must be sufficient monies. Thus, a funding mechanism is provided through the levying of assessments. The declaration for a community generally contains a provision addressing how the yearly assessment is calculated and what should be included in the assessment budget. The declaration may also contain a formula to be used in increasing the assessment from year to year.  A surprisingly large number of declarations were written with a provision which ties the allowable increase in annual assessments to the Consumer Price Index. Associations with declarations which contain these restrictions may increase assessments only within the confines of the formula contained in the declaration provision based on the Consumer Price Index. Associations with declarations which contain these restrictions may increase assessments only within the confines of the formula contained in the declaration provision based on the Consumer Price Index as stated in the provision.

Some of these may be straight forward, yet others look as if it would take an economist and a mathematician working together to figure out the proper calculation.

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