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Topic created by Orienteer7 on Mon Sep 5, 2022 at 9:29 am
Proposal: Change “Charter Renewal Fee Structure”
Current:
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Re-charter fee (flat $20)
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$1.50 per start
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$3.50 per member, $7.00 per family member
Proposed:
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Re-charter fee (flat $20)
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$2.00 per start
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Becomes effective for 2023 charter renewal process
Supporting Arguments:
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In 2022, OUSA Recharter fees totaled $71,050.00. The proposed fee structure would have resulted in $72,070.00.
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Benefits distributed by OUSA are correlated well with starts. Event insurance is a significant component and starts are an equitable way to distribute the burden.
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Clubs that don’t offer local memberships don’t pay this portion of the fee, (except for a handful of OUSA members claiming primary membership to their club). This loophole disincentivizes clubs from having membership programs and gives them leverage to detrimentally take charter fee matters into their own hands. That is not a beneficial or intended consequence for orienteering participation.
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Records and documentation to calculate local club membership are difficult to process because there are complicated facets of membership (family, primary & secondary, group, OUSA, etc.). They are also unlikely to be effectively audited and a complicated charter process isn’t good for insurance coverage situations.
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Historical reason for not adopting these changes (this exact proposal was previously rejected by OUSA board members in November 2019) is because it would shift burden between clubs, where some may be unexpectedly impacted. This is true and that is why the proposal has now been brought directly to membership. Please consider the improvements primarily to equity, but also to efficiency, accuracy, and properly directed incentives that this proposal allows.
Origination: Badger Orienteering Club. Madison, WI, orienteerwisconsin@gmail.com
Alternate Proposal:
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Re-charter fee (flat $20)
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$1.75* per start in 2023; $2.00* per start in 2024
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$2.00* per member, $4.00* per family member in 2023; no member fee in 2024
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Reply by Orienteer7 on Mon Sep 5, 2022 at 9:59 amI posted this OUSA proposal to change the current fee structure so that all DVOA members are aware of the current fee structure. When I served on the board as VP of Admin many eons ago I saw that some clubs did not have memberships (except those required to be recognized as a club ...at the time 5 members were needed) thus avoiding paying the membership fee. This seemed unfair to me when reviewing what each club was paying. I brought it to the boards attention but it was not acted upon. It appears that at least once and probably more times since then it was addressed.It appears from what is written below that this practice within some OUSA clubs has been maintained all these years. When you consider OUSA benefits the main cost is related to providing insurance for local, regional and national events so basing the fee on starts is a more equitable solution. When you consider that DVOA' s membership has been significant then we along with other large clubs have been subsidizing those clubs not having memberships We want to drive membership in clubs as this generally grows the core of volunteers and allows clubs to do more orienteering. I think either new proposal works but I personally don't see the need to do the step process.As this is being addressed to the members of OUSA through the clubs....I would hope the DVOA membership and Board would support one of these new proposals.Mark Frank
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Reply by Guy-O on Wed Sep 7, 2022 at 4:28 amFWIW, my short & sweet(?) comment regarding this proposal among HVO Board members...Not a fan.What I'd rather see is keeping per-member fees of some form, but waiving them for OUSA members.
