The PEGG
January 2002

COUNCIL BRIEFS

Secondary Liability Insurance Nudges Up Dues
Professional members will pay $10 more in annual dues in 2002 to cover premiums for a secondary liability insurance program, Council decided Nov. 29 in approving the APEGGA budget. The new national program means professional members now pay $195 per year, up from $185 in 2001.

Although revenue increases 18 per cent to about $7.76 million in the 2002 budget, no part of the increase in professional dues goes towards operating the association. However, increases in other dues and charges, including a doubling of members-intraining dues to $90 a year
from $45, are designed to cover administrative expenses.

Foreign licensee dues will increase to $280 a year from $185, reflecting actual processing costs. Professional practice exam fees increase to $75 from $60 to recover costs. And APEGGA’s charge for professional practice kits increases to $125 from $115.

Even with the increases, APEGGA still subsidizes M.I.T. dues and the costs of professional practice kits.The Professional Engineers Ontario charges less for M.I.T. dues, at $50 a year. But other associations charge the same or more. The Saskatchewan association, for example, charges $150 a year to an M.I.T.

First-year M.I.T.s who attend a ring ceremony continue to have dues waived for that year. And university engineering student members, eligible for membership from second to fourth years, pay no dues under the APEGGA Student Advantage Program.

APEGGA anticipates membership growth of five per cent or 1,687 members in 2002. The number of permit holders should increase by 206 or seven per cent, budget documents estimate. That means the overall membership and permits-to-practice could top 40,000 in 2002.

Membership dues will make up 72 per cent of revenue.

Calgary Conference Centre Envisioned

APEGGA’s Calgary offices will soon take on a more professional look and profile, with Council’s approval of a new conference centre.

APEGGA estimates a $225,000 capital investment will create a centre similar to the D.A.
Lindberg Conference Centre in Edmonton, after the Calgary office lease expires in March 2003.

APEGGA will decide then whether to expand in the existing building or move. At
least 3,500 more square feet is needed for the conference centre, plus more space for
staff, Council heard.

The new centre makes sense because, although the head APEGGA office is in Edmonton, more members live in the Calgary area. The centre would improve videoconferencing and allow internal meetings and seminars to take place with staff close at hand. Outside users would rent the centre because of its videoconferencing equipment – a demand that should increase because business travel is dropping in the aftermath of Sept. 11.

The Calgary centre would generate $24,600 a year in revenue, APEGGA estimates.

The estimated net annual cost comes in at $55,400.

Too Large a Reserve Could Attract Higher Taxes
New Canada Customs and Revenue Agency legislation could penalize non-profit associations for keeping too much money in reserve, Council learned. Associations with a predictable, low-risk flow of revenue — such as membership dues – need to be particularly careful if they
don’t want the federal government to tax them at business rates.

Past policy was that the Association’s financial reserve not drop below the equivalent of six months’ operating costs. But staff told Council that analysts think APEGGA should hold on to less money. The new policy is that APEGGA have an amount equal to no less than 25 per cent and no more than 35 per cent of normal operating costs. With that in mind, Council
transferred money from the reserve to the capital budget, dropping the reserve to about
$2.22 million or 34 per cent of normal operating costs.