"Pay Yourself First"
Tuesday, March 14th, 2006
As many of you may recall from reading the 'minutes' or from attending the last Union meeting, the Executive Board brought a funding proposal forward to the membership that would help bolster the building fund and better situate us for the future. Along with the funding proposal was a discussion centered on a piece of property that is available for purchase on 31st Street and 5th Avenue North, for the tidy sum of $500,000.
Within the last couple of years, we as a bargaining unit changed the way in which we calculate a 'portion' of the remittance of dues which funds all of our Local's expenses. Monthly, a portion of the monies derived from each member's dues payment arrives in one hand and goes out the other! Most notable - IAFF 'per caps' and FPF 'per caps'. A moment ago I made mention of a "change" in the way we calculate dues. Each time we see an increase in per caps from the IAFF or from FPF we automatically increase the amount of your dues deduction - accordingly to keep up with the demands that are made of us. In the past, we as a voting body had to meet and decide just how much we wanted to increase our dues by, just to keep up with outside demands. That is no longer the case but what doesn't increase automatically is a funding method to combat stagnation and spur growth and positive economic opportunities in our organization. The one line-item that needs the most attention at the present time is the Building Fund.
All of us (that's ALL of us) currently give $1.00 each payday towards the Building Fund and while it's possibly enough to simply maintain what we've got a present, it's not enough for growth.
With that said, the information that you need to be aware of right now, is as follows:
- The property immediately to the west (5260 1st Avenue North - corner lot) of your Union Hall, has been placed on the market.
- Upon placing the property up for sale, the owner was immediately hit with multiple offers. The Executive Board members were quickly contacted and agreed in principal to place a bid on the property at the current asking price - $199,900.00. The bid to purchase this property is contingent on membership approval. The owner had accepted our bid as it stands, meaning - other offers (even greater offers) will not be heard.
- We owe no money on our current property!
- During last month's Union meeting, the Executive Board recommended a dues increase to augment the Building Fund only in the amount of $5.00 per pay day, per person, or about 35 cents per day per person. I say only to illustrate the fact that your monies will be easy to track as they will be applied to the Building Fund only! That's $3570 per month for the Building Fund! (corrected figures)
- Local 747 President, Winnie Newton and Secretary Treasurer, Bill Mott, are currently making the rounds to some of the stations - gauging feedback. In my last cell phone conversation with Bill, as I'm typing, there is almost universal acceptance to that which the Executive Board is proposing, on BOTH COUNTS!
- Our current property resides on 1.5 lots and dimensionally is 75' wide by 100' deep.
- The proposed property resides on 2.0 lots and dimensionally is 100' wide by 100' deep.
- Our credit rating is excellent and we have secured a lender.
- We are prepared to offer as much as $50,000 as a down payment to keep the mortgage manageable - also allowing us to pay it down more quickly.
- If in the future we chose to build a new structure on our property, with setback constraints taken into account, we could construct a new multi-purpose Union hall with a maximum footprint of 147.5 feet by 55 feet.
- Both properties are Zoned RO-1 (Residential-Office).
- The Building Fund currently stands at $11,000.00.
- What once provided a nice sum of money for the Local's charities and other endeavors - "Solicitation Funding" has all but dried up. Gone are the days where we realized $20,000 a year in revenue. The tally sheets for 2004 and 2005 are in. Not alone in this - Local 747's share amongst the other Local's that operate under the Pinellas County Council of Fire Fighters is way down. For 2004 we received monies totaling just over $7500.00. As of last year, our take was on the order of $2200.00.
- Local 747's leadership is heading to the IAFF Legislative Conference in Washington, DC (March 19-22). With that in mind, it's time to start the ball rolling. Ballots will be in the mail by Thursday or Friday of this week!
All of us continue to prosper and make strides under Local 747's current leadership. Gulfport, South Pasadena, Lealman and St. Petersburg FD's all operate under different contracts but we share common strengths that are brought about by electing and maintaining strong leadership. That being the case, it's time that we take a small leap of faith -- and in taking that leap, we invest in ourselves -- we pay ourselves first!
