2015-2016 FSA Secretary-Treasurer Report

FSA Policies

Following discussion by the Finance and Administration committee, I brought a recommendation to the executive at its March meeting. This recommendation was to increase disclosure by publishing all FSA policies online in a manner that was more easily accessible for members. Over the next few months, policies will be updated and published on the FSA website with no password requirement for viewing.

FSA Election Protocol

First, in an effort to make the process more open, all nominations for elected offices will now be posted publicly at the time they are received. In the past, all nominations were published only once the deadline for receiving these nominations had passed. However, this convention was not based on any particular FSA policy and as a result individuals who asked about nominations prior to the deadline would be informed. It is not clear to me that members were aware this information was available upon request. Moving forward, in order to ensure all members have equal information regarding the process, nominations will be published online as they are received and the link to this location will be part of all communication with members regarding the nomination process.

Second, our procedure for collecting electronic votes has been in violation of the Labour Relations Code, Section 39:

“All voting directed by the board or by the minister under this Code and other votes held by a trade union or employers' organization of their respective members on a question of whether to strike or lock out, or whether to accept or ratify a proposed collective agreement, must be by secret ballot cast in such a manner that the person expressing a choice cannot be identified with the choice expressed.”

Multiple aspects of our email voting procedures violate the confidentiality requirement of this item. While our procedure for collecting paper ballots has been appropriate, relying only on paper ballots would likely result in low and uneven rates of member participation. The resources devoted towards a paper-only election would also be a very unappealing aspect of compliance in this manner. Furthermore, Appendix A of our Constitution and Bylaws requires electronic voting be administered:

“Association voting for annual elections, contract ratification, or possible job action will be administered both by paper ballot and electronically. Members will have the choice to vote electronically or with a paper ballot, but not both. All other votes including by-elections may be administered electronically. “

Strictly speaking, our election of executive members has not violated Section 39, as it relates only to strike or ratification votes. However, electronic voting had not been approved as compliant with Section 39 by the Labour Relations Board. This past fall, the Thompson Rivers University Faculty Association (TRUFA) made a formal application to the BC Labour Relations Board to hold a strike vote online. In a precedent-setting ruling, TRUFA was granted this permission. FPSE’s lawyer Leo McGrady made the application on behalf of TRUFA and even though the ruling was for TRUFA and for that single vote, it is now much easier for any other union to apply and be granted permission.

TRUFA has implemented its online voting using FluidSurveys; a product provided by a Canadian-based software company. Their experience has been positive. FluidSurveys preserves anonymity, prevents multiple votes and stores all data associated with its product on Canadian servers. Based on their experience and feedback following the LRB ruling, I have worked at implementing a similar protocol using the product for FSA electoral purposes. The FSA Finance and Administration committee approved the annual subscription to the product during its May meeting and we will be using this system to manage all online voting in the future. Voting by paper ballot will still be made available in advance polling windows when mandated as necessary by the FSA constitution.

Fiscal Report

It is my pleasure to report that the Association’s financial status remains in excellent condition and the 2015–16 budget was implemented without any significant complications. Revenues observed during the previous fiscal year were 0.9% below budget projections. However, expenditures for the year ended 9.8% below the approved budget. The result is a fiscal surplus of $25,442, which is approximately 3% of total revenues.

Table 1 compares the approved revenues and expenditures with their actual amounts for the 2015–16 fiscal year. Revenue variances resulted from slight decreases in both member dues and investment income from reserves. Given the current economic climate, some volatility is expected in revenues based on reserves. Most actual expenditures during the year were well within approved budget amounts. Executive release expenditure is the most significant below budget, resulting from savings on replacement costs, case management funds and discretionary releases. Savings on this item total $69,882 and is the most significant factor in the Association’s overall fiscal surplus. Other significant sources of surplus resulted from savings on delegate fees, training, seminars, travel and transition meeting expenses. Expenditures exceeding budget forecasts were fairly limited. Website costs were burdened by security maintenance and the up-front expense of creating the FSA Discourse web forum. Costs associated with bargaining were the most significant source of the deficit pertaining to office supplies. In accordance with FSA policy, charitable donations are made at a level equal to 1.5% of the previous year’s total member dues. A breakdown of the FSA charitable donations made during the fiscal year is included in the AGM package.

The final column of Table 1 shows the proposed 2016–17 budget. Most proposed expenditures are established from the previous year’s budget with adjustments based on actual expenditures incurred. The budget for executive releases, the second largest expense after FPSE fees, is 12.6% lower than in the budget for the previous fiscal year. It is anticipated that much of this savings will result from the use of an LTA to cover the release of the incoming faculty contract administrator. While the budget contains only one less course release than the previous year, the distribution of these releases is weighted much more towards discretionary allocation. The up-front expenditure associated with setting up a system of records management (Laserfiche software and labour) is estimated to be $22,064. The breakdown of this expense is included in the AGM package. An ongoing cost of $500 per year following this initial expense is expected. The communications and website budget allocation has been increased in order to cover website cost increases and the subscription required to facilitate online elections. Contributions to FSA social events has increased from 1 to 2% of our previous year’s member dues. This aligns with FSA policy. Last fiscal year was the only deviation from this policy, which was a result of event cancellations in the 2014–15 fiscal year.

In summary, the proposed budget for 2016–17, as compared to the previous year’s budget, incorporates a 1.2% decrease in projected revenues and a 1.8% decrease in projected expenditures. This implies a projected deficit of $49,850 (5.9% of projected revenues). This deficit is $5,953 smaller than in the previous year’s budget. As has been the case in previous budgets, the projected deficit is formulated more like a contingency than an expected shortfall on funds. This proposed deficit differs from many of those in previous budgets as a significant portion of it is represented by a one-time cost associated with what should be a long-lived and productive tool for the Association. The up-front cost of setting up a records management system ($22,064) represents 44% of the proposed budget deficit.

According to the FSA Financial Position Report from our accountant, Hanna Barton & Company Ltd, the “net worth” of the Association at the end of March 31, 2015 was $663,145 (listed as the “unrestricted net assets”), up from $600,834 in 2014 and $542,357 in 2013.

I would like to express my tremendous appreciation towards our FSA staff, Harman and Tanja, for their excellent assistance in the management of the FSA budget and preparation of this report. I would also like to express my gratitude towards the FSA staff, fellow FSA executives, and members for all the support, trust and help I have received during my first year serving as Secretary-Treasurer.

Michael Maschek FSA Secretary Treasurer

UFV - FACULTY & STAFF ASSOCIATION

PROPOSED BUDGET Table 1

APRIL 1, 2016 TO MARCH 31, 2017

2015 -2016 2015 -2016 2016 - 2017APPROVED ACTUAL PROPOSED

BUDGET AMOUNTS BUDGET

REVENUESMembers' Dues 830,000 825,541 825,000 Reserve Revenues 20,000 16,812 15,000

Projected Revenue (2015 - 2016) 850,000

Actual Revenue (2015-2016) 842,353

Proposed Budget Revenue (2016-2017) 840,000

EXPENDITURESAnnual General Meeting 3,000 2,506 3,000 Charitable Donations 12,468 12,468 12,383 Note: 1

Committee Expenses 5,000 4,901 5,000

Communications/Website 7,500 8,838 9,500

Delegate Fees,Training & Sem. 12,000 5,243 12,000

Executive Releases 323,177 253,355 282,307

Executive Transition Meeting & Retreat 5,200 245 5,000 FPSE Fees 365,200 365,341 365,341

Fraser Valley Labour Council 3,000 2,998 3,000 FSA Staff (CUPE) 119,646 120,252 111,444

Laserfiche Office Software - - 22,064

Legal, Audit & Mgmt Fees 8,800 7,600 8,800

Membership Recognition 12,000 7,329 12,000

Office Equipment & Repair 2,500 1,187 3,500 Note: 3

Office supp/phone/fax 11,000 12,018 11,000

Social Events Contributions 8,312 8,722 16,511 Note: 2

Travel Expenses 7,000 3,908 7,000

Projected Expenditures (2015-2016) 905,803

Actual Expenditures (2015-2016) 816,911

Proposed Budget Expenditures (2016-2017) 889,850

Projected Deficit (2015-2016) (55,803)

Actual Surplus (2015-2016) 25,442

Proposed Budget Deficit (2016-2017) (49,850)

Note: 1 - 1.5% of previous year's duesNote: 2 - 2.0% of previous year's duesNote: 3 - office computer/printer upgrades

EXECUTIVE RELEASES

Proposed Structure - 2016/2017

Benefits @

Rate Cost 20.5% Total

Position 2016-2017 No. $ $ $ $

President limited term appointment 56,555 11,594 68,148.45

Faculty VP 2 releases, or equivalent 2 6,244 12,487 2,560 15,047.15

Communications Chair 2 releases, or equivalent 2 6,244 12,487 2,560 15,047.15

Secretary-Treasurer 2 releases, or equivalent 2 6,244 12,487 2,560 15,047.15

Chief Negotiator 1 release, or equivalent 1 6,244 6,244 1,280 7,523.57

Agreements Chair no release 0 6,244 - - -

120,813.47

Salary-based Total

$

Staff Contract Administrator 65,000.00

Faculty Contract Administrator 68,148.45

Staff VP 15,000.00

Non-Regular Rep 5,142.50

Shop stewards (12 stewards @ $350) 4,200.00

Discretionary 6 releases 45,141.44

202,632.39

Total 323,445.86

less: paid by ufv (15,047.15)

less: top of scale faculty (26,091.42)

282,307.30

UFV - FACULTY & STAFF ASSOCIATION

CHARITABLE DONATIONS

2015/2016

2015/2016

Made this yr ($)

Abbotsford Community Services - Food Bank 1,500.00

Abbotsford Community Services - general donation 1,500.00

Abbotsford Restorative Justice & Advocacy Assoc. 200.00

Agassiz-Harrison Community Services - Food Bank 500.00

BC Childrens Hospital 400.00

Chilliwack Community Services - Food Bank 2,000.00

Fraser Valley Regional Library 1,000.00

Hope Community Services - Food Bank 500.00

Mission Community Services - Food Bank 1,500.00

Right to Play International 300.00

UFV - Angel Tree Program 500.00

UFV Student Union: Student Emergency Fund 1,308.00

United Way of the Fraser Valley 1,260.00

Total Donations 12,468.00$

Approved Budget 12,468.00$

Unused donations budget -$

Description

LASERFICHE OFFICE SOFTWARE

For Budget workings for period: April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017

Labout cost:

FSA database creation casual labour 15,708.00$ (based on 4 months'/16 weeks' work)

In lieu of benefits, vac & stats 2,356.20$ (approved at feb 18, 2016 fin. mtg)

18,064.20$

Software cost 4,000.00$

Total cost 22,064.20$