Council Briefs

Inflation, Strategies and Applications Drive Budget Up 14 Per Cent

 

The PEGG compiled the following items from the most recent APEGGA Council meeting of the 2008-2009 term, held Dec. 4 in Calgary. The next meeting is Feb. 19 in Edmonton.

APEGGA dues will increase $15 to $280 per member after a budget process that saw three rounds of cuts worth nearly $800,000. Amid concerns that APEGGA should cut even more in a slowing economy, Council decided operational and strategic demands are too important for that.

The bottom line is that Council passed a budget incorporating growth in expenses of about 14 per cent.

However, the increase over 2008 projected expenses is justified, Council heard from its Finance Committee. Increases are needed to cover inflation, as well as Council’s strategic and operational priorities.

Expenses in the 2009 budget total about $16.02 million. Volume growth accounts for nearly 4.5 per cent of the needed new revenue. The 5.7 per cent increase in dues and other charges takes care of the rest.

Says the report of the Finance Committee: “Over the past few years the heated Alberta economy has greatly affected APEGGA. We have added staff and propose to add more, primarily to address registration and compliance needs.”

Registration is the consideration and approval of membership applications, which have skyrocketed over recent years. Compliance is the investigation of non-members who may be using the APEGGA titles illegally or practicing without licences. The Compliance Department’s work is a high priority with Council, which has set full compliance in all three professions as a staff target.

The volume of membership applications continues to be strong, in spite of the economic slowdown. That trend may well continue, particularly if Alberta outperforms other parts of the country and world, Council heard.

The report continues: “To manage our business better, to use our space better and to provide a more professional interface with our members, renovations to the Edmonton office and the member management system have had to be undertaken and will continue in 2009. By 2010 we should be starting to see the efficiencies we hoped for as a result of the new member management system.”

APEGGA has taken an economic hit in its investment and reserve funds. Unstable financial markets and a heavy draw on the reserve to finance capital projects mean that unrestricted assets have fallen out of the target range of 15 to 20 per cent of normal operating expenses. The budget foresees the percentage improving to the upper end of the range in 2010 and 2011.

The overall investment fund, meanwhile, sat at about $6.44 million at Oct. 30, down 10.7 per cent for the year-to-date. Target net return is 6.5 per cent, but that number will be revisited in 2009.

Geoscientist Designation Sent to AGM
For more than a year, APEGGA has been looking at putting the practices of professional geology and geophysics under a single, new designation. The Professional Geoscientist, or P.Geo., designation would

• give practitioners more latitude to define their own practices

• seal a qualifications gap that’s made it difficult for some practitioners to become licensed

• bring the Association in line with all the other geoscience self-regulators in Canada.

Now, the proposal is in the hands of members. Council passed a motion to present a list of changes to APEGGA’s governing legislation to the 2009 Annual General Meeting, April 25 in Calgary.

If the changes are passed by the AGM, some would go on to the Alberta Legislature in the form of amendment proposals to the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act and Regulation. The AGM itself has the power to change bylaws, however.

Many of the changes involve the definition of the exclusive scope of practice. Also, P.Geol. and P.Geoph. definitions need to be maintained, because those with the titles beforehand will not be required to switch to P.Geo.

The proposed legislative changes required an in-depth look from the Acts, Regulations and Bylaws Committee. Said APEGGA President Gordon Williams, P.Geol., “What seemed like a simple process turned out to be a lot more loose hairs and loose ends than first expected.”

The full description of proposed changes going to the AGM appears in the notice on this PEGG’s page 7 (opposite).

APEGGA Works To Improve Voting Percentage
A task force of Council has come up with a list of improvements to the APEGGA voting process, in the wake of last year’s turnout of under 10 per cent in the first-ever electronic election. After seeking input from 46 members in six focus groups, the task force found there were both motivational and mechanical issues that may have contributed to the low turnout.

The motivational issues were passed along to the Council Strategic Planning Committee, but a list of mechanical improvements will take effect in the 2009 election. Among the latter are

• simplifying voting through referral from the main APEGGA website

• more and more focused communication through The PEGG and e-PEGG

• reminders that are mobile device-friendly

• more distribution of hardcopy biographies of candidates.

APEGGA President-Elect Jim Beckett, P.Eng., the task force chair, said improving voter turnout is critical in engaging members with Association affairs. “If we do not have the credibility to speak on behalf of our members, in the long run we could lose our ability to self-govern,” he said.

New Document Addresses Use Of Geophysical Instruments
When is someone who isn’t a geo-physicist allowed to use geophysical equipment — without violating exclusive practice provisions of the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act? And which practices are exclusively the domain of geophysicists?

APEGGA now has a document in place to answer those questions in near-surface work.

Council approved for publication the document titled Use of Geophysical Instruments in Near-Surface Investigations.

Council heard that an involved and long process led to the final document, with plenty of input from within and outside of APEGGA. The tough part was deciding which equipment belonged in which of three columns, under geophysicist required, possibly required and not required.

The document fills a need for guidance in the field, but also within the organization when complaints are launched against members and non-members over their use of geophysical equipment.

Council Seeks More Information On Magazine Idea
A July survey suggests that about 57 per cent of members would like to see their hardcopy PEGG switched from a newspaper to a magazine format. Councillors looked at that data, as well as arguments for and against the change, and decided they need more detail and mock-ups before making a decision.

The publication’s frequency would likely drop to six editions per year from 10, to keep costs in line and reduce The PEGG’s environmental footprint. That means much of the timely material now appearing in hardcopy would move online.

Some councillors said the reduced frequency would diminish the impact of APEGGA communications to members. Others said a magazine could become a cornerstone communications piece for engaging members in their Association and highlighting their professional responsibilities.

Councillors were also split on their reading preference. Some prefer newspapers, others prefer magazines.

Business Plan Charts Priorities For Coming Year
The newest marching orders for staff are in place, in the form of the APEGGA Business Plan 2009. Over recent years, the plan has grown into both a guide for staff and a reporting mechanism linked directly to Council, its strategies and the budget.

“This is one of the strengths of our Association, this clear line of sight,” said President Gordon Williams, P.Geol. “I have not seen any other organization that follows things this closely, meeting to meeting.”

Strategic priorities for 2009 are

• increase mobility

• increase geoscience licensure

• lead on public issues

• better define licensure where needed

• define responsibilities on imported services

Further operational priorities are

• improve member management

• complete Edmonton office renovations

• evaluate an electronic data management system

• work on revising the EGGP Act.