Friday, February 22, 2013

WLCC 2013 Winter Meeting Summary



February, 2013
To:        Wolf Laurel Country Club membership                           
From:    Warren Johnson, President, via the Board of Directors
Re:        Results of winter 2013 meeting (Operations)

     The Board of Directors recently completed our annual winter meeting.  After a day and a half of intensive discussions covering all phases of our operation, we reached conclusions on the following:  (1) Dues will remain the same for 2013 ($2860.00 for golf and $1430.00 for social).  Non-equity members pay 15% more, (2) The capital assessment fee of $200.00 will remain the same, except that we will collect the $50.00 per month in the months of June, July, August, and September instead of July, August, September, and October as we have done during the last few years, (3) The food minimum will remain the same ($500.00 per season) except this year it will apply only to food.

      Much discussion centered on dues.  We didn’t raise dues, but instead declared an upfront $48,029.80 loss, thus raising the likelihood of an assessment in 2013.  That number is our proposed 7% dues increase that was represented in a balanced budget that was defeated.  So any assessment in 2013 will depend on our strict supervision of the budget on a month to month basis, coupled with the member’s use of the Club.  In our drafting of the 2013 budget, the Board and staff managers worked hard to minimize expenses and be realistic in the projections for the coming year.  The budget was reviewed in great detail with the main focus being on the overriding notion that we did not want to cut services that our membership have come to expect.  So after much discussion, the Board determined that declaring an initial loss in the amount stated above, was preferable to increasing dues, inasmuch as a dues increase goes on the recurring base and cannot be lowered, while an assessment is a yearly event and depends on budgeting and Club use. There was concern that the membership is weary of dues increases, and this action puts the burden on our monitoring the budget, and, as stated above, also on members using the Club facilities. It should be understood that a final assessment at the end of the year could be more than a $48,029.80 loss, but that is where we start the budget year. It’s inevitable that costs will continue to rise, but we are determined to closely monitor every expense that we incur with an eye to being on budget at season’s end.

     Another topic of intense debate was the cost of membership.  Prior to our meeting the cost of a new membership was $14,000.00 ($7,000.00 initiation and $7,000.00 equity) for golf.  We lowered that amount to $8,000.00 ($6000.00 initiation and $2,000.00 equity) for golf and $4,000.00 ($3,000.00 initiation and $1,000.00 equity) for social. We took this action because the life blood of any club is dues.  The more members pay dues, the less the assessment.  New non-equity golf and social memberships were discontinued. In addition, all new member fees will be directed toward the capital fund.  We intend to end the practice of mixing operation and capital money. So after February 15, 2013 the membership entrance fee for NEW members is what is stated above.  All EXISTING members continue with their equity position as before.  NO CHANGE THERE.

     None of this was done without spirited discussion.  At the end of the day, however, we came to the above conclusions regarding dues and fees. It’s a new direction and we look forward to your continued support.

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