Yep... Your membership fees have gone up.

[Aerochute Kev]

The 2013 Annual Board Meeting was held on the 18th and I cant find any comments on the forum on any of the resolutions passed at that meeting.

 

Of course our organisation, that has squirreled away over $1m of members money, now sees fit to raise membership fees to $210 per year as from 1st Jan 2014. This under the pretext of CPI, and the cost of developing and implementing the SMS.

 

Why the hell are we not using the >$1m to do this?

 

Any one else think this is just another WTF moment?

 

Kev

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Well I do like the idea of the organisation sitting on a mil or so, just for a rainy day, that's just good management , and I take my hat off to those who managed to do this. However the affordable is starting to go out of the 'fun and affordable ' for many of our members. $185 to $210 = + $25

 

Does make the raises bought in by Steve Runciman as treasurer, seem small by comparison...Is this further rise to counteract the loss of rego income, on the aircraft we have lost ?....... Maj...........

 

 

[Aerochute Kev]

"Rainy Day" Maj? I think its pouring right now. If the mess we are in doesn't deserve the urgent input of some of those funds, what constitutes a rainy day? To raise everyone's fees to implement an SMS when you have the money sitting there to get it done does not sound like good management to me, it sounds like a Board amassing a huge amount of money just so when they go they can say "look at the great shape we left RAAus in for the remaining 50 members" When do we stop raising fees, when we have $5m? $10m?

 

Kev

 

 

[fly_tornado]

be interesting to see if this causes another drop in membership, a lot of SFRs are doing it tough thanks to low interest rates...

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Going on last year's figures - the increase should raise about $212,000. The new GM has undertaken to look at higher yield investment for our cash languishing in the bank, which raised only 3% - 3.5% 2007 to 2009 and less than 5% thereafter.

 

 

 

Sue

 

 

[Aerochute Kev]

"Hypothetical"

 

Dear Valued Customer

 

We seem to have developed a problem with our product. It seems our processes were not actually legal and until we can install the necessary processes to remedy the situation it is now illegal for you to use the machine we provide the licence for. The annual licence fee you pay to us will still need to be paid on the due date, regardless of whether the problem is resolved. The process review and implementation we need to ensure we meet the required legal standard may be expensive and as we do not wish to use our substantial cash reserves for this purpose, it is necessary to increase your annual licence fee by 13%.

 

I'm sure such a small increase will have no effect on you whatsoever and look forward to receiving your cheque so we can get started on resolving the issues that will allow you to use your machine again.

 

Yours sincerely

 

General Manager.

 

.....How many customers will this company have left in 12 months?

 

I think we are being held to ransom by a monopoly, our own organisation, it's rougue board no longer willing to be answerable to the members. They have been given ample warning from the members and CASA to start acting correctly and for the benefit of the members and its now time CASA stepped in and shut them down. Time to start again with a true recreational organisation with a real interest in working for the benefit of the members. We need a second organisation to step up to provide real competition. See how long the current thinking lasts then. (HGFA are you there?) Can't happen soon enough for me.

 

Kev

 

 

[pmccarthy]

If you blokes can't afford $25 to maintain this hobby take up lawn bowls. The organisation has been under resourced for far too long, I expected a bigger increase to fix the problems.

 

 

[jetjr]

It isnt a monopoly, whole concept is that RAA is a parallel path

 

Go to GA and see how far $25 goes on an annual inspection.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

We had this discussion in Sept 2010 - the last fee increase http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/urgent-need-your-advice-on-raaus-fee-increases.15570/#post-124256

 

 

 

That increase was brought about by mishandling the 2 year renewal. Contrary to general accounting practice - those who paid for 2 years had their money counted in that year and no provision was carried through to next year resulting in a small loss for that year. So, to the unwary Board member, it appeared RAA had a bumper year followed by a drought. The Board decided to raise fees, because they didn't understand the situation. These were the days when financial reporting to the membership was, if you were lucky, one audited statement per year delivered months after. For 18 months there was no budget, no one at the helm.

 

 

 

There was more discussion around 2010. I believe the Board are better informed now. However, once over this hump, economies of scale and better investment of our spare cash should see us in better shape.

 

 

 

Sue

 

 

[fly_tornado]

If you blokes can't afford $25 to maintain this hobby take up lawn bowls. The organisation has been under resourced for far too long, I expected a bigger increase to fix the problems.

I can argue that @ $500 a year the RAA flying tax is good value, after all if you can afford $150K for a plane what is $5k over 10 years when compare the cost of a single 100 hourly on a GA plane?

 

The quicker the RAA moves from dad's army to a professional organisation the better.

 

 

[M61A1]

I can argue that @ $500 a year the RAA flying tax is good value, after all if you can afford $150K for a plane what is $5k over 10 years when compare the cost of a single 100 hourly on a GA plane?The quicker the RAA moves from dad's army to a professional organisation the better.

How is that value? I understand that insurance premiums rise, but realistically, all this organization has to do is tick a box if your aircraft complies with CASA's regs, and/or check that your BFR is current, and send you a piece of plastic.

The magazine is rather pointless, at this point in time. With it's current content, I wouldn't buy it off the shelf.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

The whole basis of operations at the moment is paper based. We keep enormous compactus of the stuff and even then end up with the wrong paper in the wrong file..... Furthermore there is no disaster tolerance. If it all goes up in smoke one day as a result of a building fire everyone of us will have to recreate the paper for our aircraft and licenses. CASA has identified that in the audit outcomes that saw us grounded and at some stage they WILL make us address that issue.

 

Now its clear to blind Freddy that the way to solve this problem is to move away from paper as a long term storage mechanism as the corporate world has been doing for the last 20 years!! It allows us to store the resultant data files in multiple locations which of course solves the Disaster tolerance issue as well

 

Putting the infrastructure and the appropriate backups and off site storage in place means a complete overhaul of the IT systems in the office. Today we have windows based workstations and an Apple based server. I cant speak for all but as an IT professional that alone is nuts!! Apple costs a premium and delivers a solution that is suboptimal for windows based clients.... either go all apple or all windows a mix of both brings price premium and inefficiency.......

 

Anyway the point is that a chunk of change from the $1m will be required shortly to establish the new infrastructure and processes and to pay for the migration of our paper records.

 

I only speak for myself when I say I want that process to be started soon and to be treated with priority. The underlying issues that causes CASA to react and shut us down for a registration perspective have been tactically patched, like sticking a patch over a hole in an inner tube where the inner tube is rotten and a new hole only a rotation or two away.. It to me is one of the reasons Techmen have a short lifespan. Obviously SMS is also priority.

 

So those 2 things may well eat significantly into our reserves, as does the fact that we ran at a loss last year and unless something changes will do so again this year. The increase to me just goes part way to ensuring that we don't continue to leak from our reserves for "business as usual" activities.

 

I'm up for the increase and was to be honest expecting it to be more. This increase is just the next chapter in the impacts of the poor management decisions over the last 5+years.

 

The previous chapter which not many reacted to, was the loss of continuing insurance cover for one of our policies because the insurer no longer believed we were a good risk. That change resulted in a circa 50% increase in premium.......when we could finally fins an insurance company that would insure us....

 

Andy

 

 

[fly_tornado]

How is that value? I understand that insurance premiums rise, but realistically, all this organization has to do is tick a box if your aircraft complies with CASA's regs, and/or check that your BFR is current, and send you a piece of plastic.The magazine is rather pointless, at this point in time. With it's current content, I wouldn't buy it off the shelf.

I didn't say it was value, I just said you can argue that its value. The magazine needs to go but you have to give the people something for $215 a year.

 

 

[facthunter]

Could hardly say it was unexpected. No one likes to pay more but it's about the cost of one circuit in a plane. You get significant insurance on the aircraft inclusive. If you are an expert here, give the magazine the benefit of your brilliance and check what it costs to be a member of a golf club. Those who have got off their tails to try and sort out the problems have contributed a lot more in kind and money. There have been external cost increases.. CASA should probably contribute more too. The most important priority is to get the show on the road properly. Nev

 

 

[Deskpilot]

If you blokes can't afford $25 to maintain this hobby take up lawn bowls. The organisation has been under resourced for far too long, I expected a bigger increase to fix the problems.

Only just caught up with this thread and am disgusted with this comment. So bloody snobbish and a total put down to members who struggle to pay their electricity and gas bills but still want to fly. Think yourself lucky to be in a position to own an up-market plane and be able to pay for the pleasure of flying it. Perhaps you should reconsider what you say about your fellow recreational aviators or piss off and join the G.A. elite.

 

 

[M61A1]

I didn't say it was value, I just said you can argue that its value. The magazine needs to go but you have to give the people something for $215 a year.

I was suggesting that just because a figure is slightly cheaper than GA, doesn't really make an argument of any substance.

 

 

[facthunter]

I wouldn't go that far Doug . We are all mates here and entitled to an opinion. Money doesn't go as far as it did a few years ago. Our fees aren't really high. I'd like them for free but that ain't gonna happen. You have to pay staff who at the moment would be quite overworked and not overpaid, and the board only get expenses.. Nev

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Only just caught up with this thread and am disgusted with this comment. So bloody snobbish and a total put down to members who struggle to pay their electricity and gas bills but still want to fly. Think yourself lucky to be in a position to own an up-market plane and be able to pay for the pleasure of flying it. Perhaps you should reconsider what you say about your fellow recreational aviators or piss off and join the G.A. elite.

I agreed with him.....like it or not its a relatively minor increase when I believed the increase coming would be greater than it is. The point was made bluntly, and perhaps not as sensitive as it could be but realistically if $25 makes the difference between flying and not flying then with the frequency of increases in prices in RAAus as opposed to everything else in life I suggest it may well be electricity prices, or insurance costs, or....... that put you out of the air not an RAAus increase

 

Andy

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

If you blokes can't afford $25 to maintain this hobby take up lawn bowls. The organisation has been under resourced for far too long, I expected a bigger increase to fix the problems.

 

I paid my lawn bowls subs last week. $170. I don't get any insurance but I do get a magazine that I never read.

 

The increase is fair IMO

 

Phil.

 

 

[facthunter]

Try a golf club for cost. I don'[t complain because we can land on them at a pinch. Nev

 

 

[frank marriott]

EGM = Additional costs. Opinion divided on whether well spent or not, but either way was additional unplanned expense.

 

 

[kgwilson]

Putting the infrastructure and the appropriate backups and off site storage in place means a complete overhaul of the IT systems in the office. Today we have windows based workstations and an Apple based server. I cant speak for all but as an IT professional that alone is nuts!! Apple costs a premium and delivers a solution that is suboptimal for windows based clients.... either go all apple or all windows a mix of both brings price premium and inefficiency.......

Anyway the point is that a chunk of change from the $1m will be required shortly to establish the new infrastructure and processes and to pay for the migration of our paper records.

 

I only speak for myself when I say I want that process to be started soon and to be treated with priority.

 

Andy

What we need is a professional approach to the digitising of our records. Having a bunch of PCs & some sort of a server with a simple database is an approach that a small 10 to 20 person business might have. A good RDBMS running on a SQL or Unix based platform with a GUI front end is where I would go. A relational database has tables and any one data item in one table can cross reference to any other data item in all or any other table in accordance with the defined model.

 

There is a lot of work to define this but we already know the information that is required in the tables.

 

What work is happening to get this going? Are we using the right expertise or are we using someone who knows a lot about PCs & networking?

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I had to choose between my bike and my plane; I could not afford to register both. The plane cost 1/10th as much as the bike would have. Even after the increase in membership fee, this pensioner is far ahead.

 

 

[Aerochute Kev]

We have a management that has dragged our organisation to the brink of collapse. Changed a few board members, sacked a few staff, and we get the occasional platitudes on a website, with no real substance,and no real information as to what has actually changed in the last 7 months to fix the problems. The Board sits on over $1m of members funds which could have been accessed to fix the situation quickly and efficiently, but hasn't, and then has the nerve to tell its member it has to pay more to fix the problems.

 

They have wasted resources and funds like there is no tomorrow, continue to dither around whilst the organisation collapses and we believe them when they say we need to pay more before it can be fixed? I for one would like to see some real results before they ask for more money. I won't be stopping flying for the sake of $25 but do resent paying more to be wasted on the same cr*p we have put up with for years. Use some of the reserves to get things sorted and provide real proof to the members that management is actually making things better before asking for more cash, or shut it down and start again.

 

Kev

 

 

[ben87r]

Just the medical for GA (c1)costs more..... Don't get much for it other then a lifestyle lecture!