Centralized dues collection for Sections began with the 1989 membership year of MLA. For more details on the mechanisms of centralized dues, see the document "Assumptions and Cost Estimates for Section Dues Billing by Headquarters." These assumptions were approved by the Section Council at the 1987 Annual Meeting. A copy of this document is available from the Director of Financial and Administrative Services at Headquarters.

Membership Year

To facilitate centralized dues collection, Sections should have the same fiscal year as MLA. Sections with other membership periods will need to amend their Bylaws. If a Section has a fiscal year other than January to December, Headquarters could collect dues for that Section but only if the dues collection schedule described above could be adhered to.

Treasurer's Duties

• The duties of a Section's Treasurer should reflect his/her involvement in the centralized dues collecting.
  
• The Treasurer is responsible for receiving membership dues from Headquarters, for disbursing Section funds, and for accounting.
  
• If a Section member inadvertently remits dues directly to the Section, the Section (most easily the Treasurer) must forward the payment to Headquarters, along with the member's name and MLA ID#.

Changes in Dues

Sections determine their individual dues. Notification of dues changes for the coming calendar year must be received by the Section Council before June 15 of the preceding year. This allows Headquarters time to print the renewal notices. Mention of dues changes in Bylaws or procedures must reflect this deadline and procedure.

Fiscal Planning

Twice a year, in February and August, sections receive their dues along with interest from Headquarters. The February remittance will be the largest, because most people renew on time. The smaller August remittance will be dues from late renewals. Procedures on annual budgets should reflect this timing.

The Board of Directors has authorized centralized dues collection as a cost recovery service. The estimated cost to Sections is $2.35 for 1992 dues year per Section member. If a Section has $10.00 dues, it will receive approximately $7.65 per member from Headquarters.

Keep this in mind when considering financial plans and dues increases. Headquarters' actual costs divided by the number of Section members participating in centralized dues collection is the formula which will be used for calculating costs.

Membership Information

With centralized dues collection, Sections no longer have to maintain their own membership lists. Bylaws or procedures should outline these duties.

Headquarters will send a list of paid members with each dues remittance.

Listings of a Section's membership will also be available upon request from Headquarters. All requests must include a description of the purpose of the list and indicate the format needed, i.e., four-up Cheshire (often used for rosters), or pressure sensitive labels (often used for mailings). Sections should allow 4 weeks for delivery.

Sections receive a listing of former members who did not renew their membership in a section. Sections can attempt to re-recruit these individuals on their own, but dues must be sent directly to Headquarters.

In order for Sections to maintain as many current members as possible, Headquarters includes an indication of an MLA member's Section membership on his or her dues invoice. This makes it much easier for a person to renew his or her Section memberships.

Section Information

The annual dues renewal packet includes one page containing information on all the Sections, so members can decide which Sections they want to join. This brief information will include Section highlights and amount of dues. Section Council will be responsible for collecting this information and forwarding it to Headquarters by June 15 of each year. Changes in each Section's information must be made prior to this deadline.

Participation

Section participation in centralized dues collection is completely voluntary. Sections interested in participating must file a letter of intent. Headquarters will assume that those participating want to continue unless notified differently.

See Letter of Intent to Participate in Centralized Dues Collection.

Centralized Dues Collection Calendar

Feb. 15	Headquarters sends section treasurers dues check, remittance report, and status report of unpaid members.
March 1	Headquarters mails final dues renewal notice to members with unpaid national dues. Unpaid members are suspended, (upon payment of dues, unpaid members are reinstated). Headquarters sends section treasurers a list of suspended section members.
June 15	Section treasurers submit current section information to the Section Council for inclusion in the annual renewal notice.
June 15	Section treasurers submit section dues amount for the coming year to Section Council and headquarters.
August	Headquarters sends dues check, remittance report, and listing of unpaid members to section treasurer.
October	Headquarters mails first dues renewal notice to members.
Nov. 1	Headquarters mails second dues renewal notice to members with unpaid national dues.
Dec. 28	Headquarters mails third dues renewal notice to members with unpaid national dues.

Procedure Manual Table of Contents

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Last updated on: February 6, 2002.