From the Finance Committee - March 2000

A recent Long Range Planning Committee workshop highlighted concerns some of you have about user fees for activities such as adult education and outreach. Questions were raised as to why we have such fees, and is timely because the budget subcommittee is in the process of developing a budget recommendation for fiscal year 2000-2001, which begins July 1. Our budget directly reflects what we, as a congregation, want for the coming year. And it leads to how much we are willing to spend to achieve our goals, in the form of member dues.

User fees don't come lightly or without thought. They are needed to cover the incremental expenses associated with a particular program or event. Those expenses might include salaries and related costs for personnel to design, implement or be part of a new program; the costs to acquire or print materials necessary to program; the added cost of keeping our building open an extra couple of hours; or, as is typical, some combination of these. That's not to say that some user fees could not be absorbed into our budget. We could try this approach, but the increased costs, if not offset somewhere else, require each of us to increase our dues.

Remember, we have a Fair Share dues policy, which suggests that you use 2% of gross income as a guideline for determining your dues pledge. And, if you've been following this column, you know that dues income alone does not cover our expenses. This year our operating budget, exclusive of our religious school, is $589,000. Membership dues at $494,000 will cover less than 84% of this total. The balance is offset by fundraising (3.8%), investment income (3.4%), contributions (3.3%) , and a number of other sources, including user fees (5.7%).

A final note. Our user fees are usually divided between members and nonmembers, with nonmembers paying a premium. This is true for most of our programs and events, and is typical of organizations like ours. We hope you agree that it is always appropriate to charge nonmembers for attending or participating in temple events and programs, even if these programs are free to members. After all, our temple is supported spiritually, socially and financially by each of us, as dues-paying members. Exceptions can be made (and have been) to those with special circumstances.

What are your thoughts? Let us know. Contact Gary Singer at gsinger@earthlink.net; or by regular mail to the attention of the Finance Committee c/o Congregation Albert.

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