The Covenants section XI covers "Financial Matters and Assessments" and describes the different kinds of Assessments. 

The most familiar, which the Covenants call "Common Assessments", is defined as "the Lot's share of the Common Expenses". People refer to this as "Dues". 

Annual operating expenses go up every year. See the Budgets pages, and in particular the annual budget presentations  to see the past history

We have to balance the desire to keep the dues low against the need to ensure we have adequate reserves for future large expenses. 

If we have unexpected operating expenses, we have to reduce our contribution to reserves for that year. 

Since 2022 we've had these kinds of unexpected expenses several times, which has diminished our reserves

1. The cost of insurance jumped by more than 100% after the Marshall Fire

2. Our irrigation system required emergency repairs in 2024

Since 2025 the budget, and the presentation has put emphasis on building back our reserves