BFT Budget (As exciting as it sounds)
General Membership meeting, August 17, 5pm, Kennedy Middle School
At the General Membership meeting on August 17, we’re going to discuss and (hopefully) approve the BFT budget for 2016-2017. The fiscal year begins September 1. This is a time for discussion and questions. I want to offer an overview.
The behind the scenes preparation of the budget has been much more detailed than usual. You will see far more category lines than usual, so that expenses are more specific. For example, where we used to have a line for “Conventions,” we now have the FEA, NEA, and AFT conventions spliced out. Where we used to have a line for “Member Incentives,” we’ll now have our individual events planned and budgeted.
We will highlight some items cut out of the budget – some creature comforts of the office, things members won’t even notice. (Examples: water cooler, postage meter, we’ve tightened up on FPL as well.)
You will see a line item for member logo items (shirts, pens, etc.) There has been concern through the years for costs of those items.
We will talk about our process for developing the budget. In the past we’ve had general categories and filled in projections based on past years. Each month e-board would track the percentage of those categories being used over the course of the year. For this budget, we’ve actually created month to month projections of each bill. (Yes, small print on a big spreadsheet; Dan’s a total nerd about this stuff.) E-board will be tracking projections versus actual bills each month to keep us on track.
Finally, there will be talk of a dues increase. This is a reluctant conversation; however, our state and national affiliates have raised dues to keep up with legal fees to defend members. In a state like Florida where the DOE expects districts to report almost every incident, our legal fees are through the roof. We do this to protect our members and we have a great (and successful) Legal department in Tallahassee. How much are we talking about? About $1.50 a month, potentially, if approved with the budget.
Come on out August 17 and join the conversation. This will be a members only event. Yes, there will be food. Haven't cut food out of the budget. :)
