January 2006 ISSUE
council briefs
budget calls for first dues increase in three years
The following news items were gathered from the Dec. 8 APEGGA Council meeting in Edmonton. The next meeting is Feb. 16 in Calgary.
A budget that links a spending increase to Council’s business and strategic plans met unanimous approval. Annual dues will go up 4.4 per cent or $10 per member — the first increase in three years.
The Finance Committee presented what it called a “progressive budget,” which supports business and strategic planning documents through such initiatives as increased Compliance and Board of Examiners funding.
Expenses are forecast to rise 12.4 per cent to $11.027 million. The increase is due to a predicted 2.5 per cent increase in the cost of products and services, five per cent in salaries, 5.7 per cent in strategic and other Council priorities, and two per cent in other budget changes.
“The final result is a balance between providing new services to meet our planning priorities and providing some limits to the overall increase in expenses,” says the budget report to Council.
Business plan priorities cost $539,000 of the 2006 operating budget. These priorities are
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consult with members regularly
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personalize professionalism
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understand and address member needs
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address offshore regulation
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enhance society’s understanding
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assess labour market
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address aboriginal issues
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reduce processing time for registration
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enhance Compliance Program
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upgrade IT systems.
Revenue growth will in part meet the expenses increase, “reflecting the buoyant Alberta economy” and anticipated membership growth. The committee foresees no dues increase in 2007.
A small 2006 deficit of $44,000 is predicted, which APEGGA can easily cover with reserves. Total revenue for the year is estimated at $10.983 million, with more than $7.8 million of that coming from dues, up from an estimated $7.25 million in 2005.
Council is putting more dollars into catching people illegally practicing the professions or holding themselves out to be professionals. The Compliance budget goes up $136,000 and calls for the hiring of three consultants and an additional support staff member.
The Board of Examiners, which approves membership applications, will see another $15,000 in funding to support additional volunteers, part of which will go towards applications from internationally educated graduates.
To help guide Association policy, APEGGA will conduct an opinion survey of members, employers and the public, at a budgeted cost of $40,000. The Association is also making a small investment of $15,000 to consider how to attract aboriginals to the professional fold.
Forums on the outsourcing of work to offshore professionals will cost APEGGA $10,000, the budget estimates. Professional mobility — the policy of making it easier for professionals to work in multiple jurisdictions — receives a $55,000 boost for the major International Mobility Forum, to be held in conjunction with the APEGGA Annual Conference in Edmonton.
Pension Plan Recovers
The APEGGA staff pension plan is on “solid ground,” Council heard,
before passing a motion to keep the staff contribution at five per cent of annual
salary and the APEGGA contribution at $378,000.
A report of the Staff Benefits Committee made the recommendations, after reviewing performance with the help of an actuarial evaluation. “Steps taken from 2002 to 2005 have returned the plan to solid ground,” said the committee report.
An increase in staff and APEGGA contributions over recent years helped improve the plan’s financial situation. Staff contributions had been at two per cent since 1988, but increased one per cent per year in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
APEGGA didn’t contribute at all between 1988 and 2001. However, the Association began topping up the fund in 2002.
Back Dues Can’t be Charged
Revised legislation is not an option to recoup back dues when a member decides
to rejoin APEGGA, Council heard. “I do not feel that such a legislative
change would be well received by the government, as it is inconsistent with the
principles of professional legislation currently reflected in the Engineering,
Geological and Geophysical Professions Act and other professional legislation
in Alberta,” says a legal opinion presented to Council.
Since such a change would have little chance of success, Council rescinded its instruction that the Act, Regulations and Bylaws Committee pro-pose amendments.
Right now, former members who voluntarily resigned must pay only the current year’s annual dues. The charge is greater for those whose membership was cancelled for either non-payment of dues or for failure to comply with Continuing Professional Development reporting requirements. For them, it is the current year’s dues plus another 50 per cent, with the extra charge classed as an administrative reinstatement fee.
Those who resigned or had their membership cancelled seven or more years ago must re-apply and have their qualifications reviewed by the Board of Examiners.
Aboriginals and APEGGA
APEGGA can’t solve the underlying societal and cultural problems that keep
aboriginals away from the three professions. But it can make a modest investment
of $15,000 towards presenting engineering and geoscience as a good career choice
for aboriginals, Council has decided.
In 2006 APEGGA will
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expand the Outreach Program into a limited number of schools with aboriginal populations
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advise the membership of the new program and encourage aboriginal and non-aboriginal members to get involved
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finalize pilot programs with partners to kick off the program
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initiate an aboriginal mentoring pool
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encourage the APEGGA Education Foundation to seek donations from industry for aboriginal scholarships
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publish articles on aboriginal issues in The PEGG.
Software Guideline Received
The debate rages on about whether software development is the same as software
engineering. But APEGGA will soon have a policy to help members deal with at
least part of the problem.
Council has formally received the new Guideline of Professional Responsibilities in Developing Software to review. Members have commented through The PEGG, the e-PEGG and the APEGGA website, and improvements have been incorporated, Council heard.
“This is a contentious, political issue with no foreseeable resolution,” says a Practice Standards Committee report to Council. “Meanwhile, the public interest is not being protected against software failure.”
Executive Director and Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng., gave high praise to the document. “This is almost the definitive reference on this matter and we should be very proud of the quality of work. This is really outstanding.”
The guideline reviews the professional responsibilities of professional members of APEGGA to ensure they protect the public interest by
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recognizing professional and ethical responsibilities with software development and use, especially safety and security considerations
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accepting professional responsibilities in product delivery (i.e. final review and stamping)
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delineating responsibilities for multi-disciplinary projects (i.e. hardware and software interfaces such as piping and instrumentation diagrams)
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recognizing professional responsibilities of members in the different software development roles and during the various stages of software development.
Pandemic Preparations
APEGGA has developed a plan to deal with the coming flu pandemic, and so should
members and their companies, Council heard.
Executive Director and Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng., noted that staff shortages will affect how services everywhere are provided and that everyone should prepare.
President-Elect Dave Chalcroft, P.Eng., heard a presentation from the Alberta Government on the subject. Expected to hit within three years, the pandemic will leave up to 35 per cent of the population significantly ill. “And we’re not talking just a few days at home, like we’re used to,” said Mr. Chalcroft. “We’re talking two to three weeks.”
The pandemic could kill from 11,000 to 58,000 people in Canada. Hospital outpatients afflicted with the flu will number from two to five million.
Make-Good Payment Sent To Education Foundation
Council agreed to transfer $184,465 to the APEGGA Education Foundation to make
up for a shortfall caused by a misinterpretation of past Council directives.
The motion has APEGGA starting with a clean slate, and future pay-ments will
require action from Council.
The former and misinterpreted directive called on APEGGA to turn over rebates from life insurance sponsored by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers. Not all the money actually made it to the foundation, and the one-time payment is the difference between what was promised and what has actually been transferred since 1998.