Adam Ligon wrote:
Let's see......
Expenses's have gone up both for sites and the bus. Attendance is down. The old bus needs 1500-2K a year to keep going. Our income has gone down from events and other clubs events.
Is it really that hard to see?
Not taking sides here, because I see both sides of the issue, just adding insight from both sides (because I've struggled with both).
Adam, if your business had the problems you stated above, would you think "Gee, now's a good time to go out and buy a new truck?" If so, I won't be investing. Expenses are up, revenue is down, only the federal government can afford to spend *more* money in that situation - but in their case money DOES grow on trees.
Aaron- I am sympathetic with your desire for the membership to have a say in major capital projects. It's not just autocross money that pays for the bus. Membership dues go into the same account. Lately, a lot of those members are track drivers only. I don't think they thought they would be financing the autocross program. On the other hand, we (the officers) determined that the bus was a major money pit, and lately, expenses have been nearly doubling annually. It doesn't take much math to determine that a newer, more reliable vehicle with lower maintenence costs will pay for itself within a few years.
I think that some folks are concerned with the order of operations here. Ideally it would have been.
1) We need a new bus.
2) Lets's raise money for a new bus.
3) Buy a new bus.
4) Sell the old bus.
Unfortunately, the world isn't that simple. We got a *screaming* deal on the new bus. We bought it without the input that several members would have liked the opportunity to express - but the decision to allow that purchase was voted on by the entire Staff, from the Webmaster to the President, so it was a good cross section of the club.
It happens that someone is already interested in buying the old bus (something I honestly didn't believe was possible). This puts us in an unanticipated pinch, so now we've arrived in this situation.
I don't think the dispute is over the *need* for a new AX bus, but the process of deciding when/what/where.
Since we've already made this bed, lets figure out the best way to sleep in it most comfortabally.
For future capital purchases, someone might want to propose that we allow time for member comment (much like the SCCA but over a shorter span) and then vote on it at a meeting. If that's what you (or others) would like, then the issue will need to be raised at a meeting, not on a message board.
Adam has touched on a few other issues that the club is facing, but I'd like to assure everyone that the staff is aware of these issues and is already taking steps that will help decrease expenses (and increase revenues). We'll be rolling these things out in the not to distant future. The first (expect the official proposal early next week) will be the opportunit to pre-pay for the season. This has some benefit for stabilizing the finances, and it also will provide an early '05 influx of cash to help offset early new-bus expenses.
Scott
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