ABCFP - Revenue Increase

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September 16, 2010 - Voting in the 2010 Revenue Increase Ballot is now closed. Thanks to those who voted. Results will be e-mailed to members in the next couple of days.

September 3, 2010 - We’ve been receiving a lot of questions about Group I and Group II fees and whether council is unilaterally raising annual dues as a result of the levy.

The current ballot is to increase Group II fees – annual membership fees for registered and enrolled members.If the fee ballot is defeated, council has endorsed a special levy for the 2011 fiscal year only.This is a Group 1 fee. There is no raising of annual dues as a result of this decision. The levy information is there because council did not want to surprise members after the vote by implementing a special levy.

The evaluation of the situation beyond 2011 will be up to future councils. In other words, if the current fee ballot is defeated, next year’s council will once again have to make a decision about whether another fee ballot is required, or whether another Group 1 levy is necessary, or whether to try to do something entirely different.

August 3, 2010 - Online voting is now available for the 2010 ABCFP Revenue Increase. To be eligible to vote, you must be a registered member (RPF or RFT) with active or LOA (leave of absence) status and be in good standing on the date of record.
Online Voting

June 11, 2010 - The ABCFP is seeking a revenue increase from its members so that it can continue to provide member services and meet its mandate. The increase will only affect active registered and enrolled members. Associate and retired member fees will remain the same.

Below is information on the revenue increase and the vote that will take place in the late summer. Please send any questions or comments to revenue2010@abcfp.ca.

QUICK LINKS
Why Is a Fee Increase Necessary?
ABCFP Actions to Avoid a Fee Increase
You Choose
Ballot Details
Letter to Members from ABCFP President and CEO
FAQs and BCFP Magazine Insert
Questions?

Why Is a Fee Increase Necessary?
The last fee increase members voted in favour of was 17 years ago in 1993. This fee increase was implemented over two years in 1994 ($30) and 1995 ($30). Since that time, there have been three small inflationary fee increases in 1997, 2002 and 2008. Obviously a lot has changed in 17 years and the ABCFP can no longer fulfill our mandate or maintain member services without a substantial increase in our revenues.

The major changes the ABCFP is dealing with include an increase in the focus on professional reliance by the Ministry of Forests and Range. The increased focus on professional reliance means that the ABCFP is spending more on: compliance and enforcement (to ensure only ABCFP members are practising forestry, that members are practising properly, and to deal with the large number of complaints coming in from the public); ensuring member competency (including practice reviews); and a large increase in the number of guidance papers published.

Other changes that the ABCFP must respond to include the government’s move towards managing the land as a whole as opposed to individual resources (the Resource Management Coordination Project) as well as climate change and the move to stand-as-a-whole cruise-based billing.

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ABCFP Actions to Avoid a Fee Increase
ABCFP council and staff are well aware of the current economic situation and know that members are suffering through some of the worst market conditions in recent memory. Before even considering asking members for a revenue increase, the association undertook a number of actions to increase non-fee revenue and cut costs.

How the ABCFP increased non-fee revenue:

Created more online and in-person workshops
Sought grant funding
Advertising (decreasing the price of Job Centre postings in order to attract higher volume of advertisers)

How the ABCFP decreased expenses:

Staff realignment resulting in two full-time positions being reduced to part time
Smaller, cheaper office
Staff salaries frozen for two years
Web conferencing used in place of many face-to-face meetings
Use of technology to reduce the amount of printed materials (such as the annual report)
Reduction in the amount of important but non-essential work (such as advertising and some volunteer training)

While the cost cutting and increased revenue streams have helped, the ABCFP still needs an additional $800,000 a year in order to continue to deliver our mandate. This works out to $165 per member per year (or about 45 cents a day). You will have the opportunity to vote on the fee increase in August.

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You Choose
In August, you will be asked to support a fee increase. If you do support the increase, you can then choose whether the increase should happen in one year or split it over two years. If the fee increase is not supported by a simple majority of members, the ABCFP will implement a special levy of $165 per member.

Annual Fee Increase – Pros and Cons
A $165 fee increase is implemented.

Pro	Con
Members may have this increase paid for by their employers on an ongoing basis. The increase may be tax deductable for self-employed members and members whose employers don’t pay for annual fees.	Depending on how members vote to implement the fee increase (in one year or spread over two years) the ABCFP will have a reduced ability to carry out its mandate until the full increase is realized.

Fee Increase Choices
If you vote in favour of a fee increase, you can choose whether you want the increase to come into effect for 2011 or split it over 2011 and 2012.

Choice 1 – Annual Fee Increase in One Year
The full $165 fee increase is implemented in fiscal 2011.

Pro	Con
Members may have this increase paid for by their employers on an ongoing basis. The increase may be tax deductable for self-employed members and members whose employers don’t pay for annual fees. The ABCFP receives the funds it needs to carry out its mandate immediately.	Members may find it difficult to absorb a large fee increase in one year.

Choice 2 – Annual Fee Increase Spread Over Two Years
The $165 fee increase will be spread out over two years. The first year (2011) will have an $85 increase and 2012 will have a further $80 increase.

Pro	Con
Because the fee increase is spread over two years, members are better able to plan for it. Members may have this increase paid for by their employers on an ongoing basis. The increase may be tax deductable for self-employed members and members whose employers don’t pay for annual fees.	The ABCFP will continue to have a reduced ability to deliver its mandate until the full increase is realized.

Special Levy
If the fee increase is not supported by a simple majority of members, the ABCFP council will consider all options including instituting a $165 special levy for the 2011 fiscal year. Special levies may follow in subsequent years with the amount at the discretion of council.

Pro	Con
The ABCFP receives the funds it needs to carry out its mandate immediately.	The amount of the levy can vary from year to year making it difficult for members to plan. Special levies may not be paid by an employer and may not be tax deductable, as they are distinct from annual membership dues.

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Ballot Details
The electronic ballot will open on August 3, 2010 and the paper ballot will be mailed (only to members who request one or don’t have an e-mail address on file) on the same day. Members will have until September 15, 2010 at 4:30 pm to cast their votes.

The ballot will ask you to vote in favour of one of the following options:

I support a fee increase of $165.
I do not support a fee increase and understand that a special levy of $165 for each member will be assessed.

If you selected I support a fee increase of $165, please indicate your preference for a one or two year plan. I prefer:

$165 to be applied in the 2011 fiscal year.
$85 to be applied in the 2011 fiscal year and $80 to be applied in the 2012 fiscal year.

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Letter to Members from ABCFP President and CEO
Read, in finer detail, what the ABCFP's issues are and why we have asked for your support of a substantial fee increase.
President and CEO Letter (July 26, 2010)

FAQs and BCFP Magazine Insert
Discover answers to frequently asked questions and read up on additional information sent with the July/August issue of BC Forest Professional magazine.
Revenue Increase FAQ
BCFP Magazine Insert - The Cost of Being a Forest Professional

Questions?
Do you have a question that hasn’t been answered in the FAQs? Please send all your questions and comments to revenue2010@abcfp.ca and we’ll answer them for you as soon as possible. Watch future issues of The Increment for questions from members.

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Additional Resources
Voting
Fees
e-Newsletter Archive
BC Forest Professional magazine

Some of the above documents are in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. You can download Acrobat Reader here.