[revrnd]

Hopefully there won't be a big surprise this fall with the insurance/permit price/availability foul up like last fall.

The clubs south of the French River shouldn't be complaining about money due to non-capital costs because for a lot of areas there wasn't enough snow to get the groomers out. I hope the OFSC does something for the clubs up north who had to contend with an overabundance of snow & grooming when it finally came.

If you have been at the OFSC office in Barrie, I encourage you to drop in. It's off the 400 @ Molson Park Dr. beside Royal Distributing. A pretty spashy place

 I wonder how much the rent and staffing costs?

Also another thing I would like to see is a proper annual report of the financial situation IE a proper balance sheet of revenues, assets, liabilities etc. Not just a few figures thrown in the Ontario Snowmobiler. As it is, we don't know how the money the clubs turn over to the OFSC is spent.

 

[IndySKS]

Ahh don't get me all fired up again......lol

Have you ever filled out a year end report for the ofsc as a club representative ?  It's more than a few post it notes ! Now with us being legally acountable to the Feds for all trail pass money because of this "wonderfull" bill 101 ( nothing but a joke ) the forms this year will probably choke a goat . More volunteer time . Also if the goverment thinks things are not right with the books they can audit the club. ( already heard of one that has been audited ) . The ofsc year end figures are given out to club reps. at each AGM ( I have a copy hear from last year ).

As for the clubs in the south having lots of left over money, there is still payments to make on new groomers and other capital expences to be paid for like signs and stakes and all the rest of the preparation work that went into building the trails . It's not our fault the snow never came ! Yes we did not have feul bills or wages to pay or unexpected break downs but that is only a small portion of where the pass money actually goes. Most clubs did get some grooming time in , we are about 1/2 of the normal season in groomer hours. Last year was an exception.

The OFSC has some plan in the works so that permits will be out before mid Dec this coming year. The hold up last year was bill 101 had to be voted in by the clbs at the AGM , untill it got the go ahead the goverment would not print the permits. Bill 101 still has to voted on this fall as well , it is only a one year contract . Although with the Provincail goverment handing over  $1 million a year we would be dumb not to take it. Every new program has a few glitches. Bill 101 is no exception !

As for funding lets hope the matrix system that the came up with last year works. Basically the clubs recieve a portion of the pass money depending on their groomer hours, length of season,  hours / week groomer , permit sales ect. All this is based on a 3 year average. The clubs to the south might lose some revenue this coming year and more get sent north.  The district also gets an equalization payment to offset some costs in their distrcts.

I do feel sorry for some clubs in the north that have been having a hard winter due to shortage of funds and break downs and lack of volunteers to do the work and some have got more snow than they can handle. Our club has in the pass donated money to a club in the north to help them out . I even when grooming for them while on holidays to give the poor club president a break .The best thing we can do is get the message out to all the people who rode the trails in the north this year to spend the extra time and order a permit from a club in the area they were in this past winter. I buy 2 permits in the north each year from small clubs that are doing a great job on their trails ( Club Echo is on my list for next year along with a club in the Port Loring area )
Well enough for now  

 

[paul yarek]

one of my permits always comes from a northern club but not this year because of the complications from late availability.

indysks,
 i hear your message and none of us on the outside really know what is involved in a local club but could get on the committee. i think in general there are some unhappy riders over only one or two issues.

 

[paul yarek]

indysks,
 i failed to mention that no matter how hard you try and how much you believe it is right someone will always have another spin on it.

 

[IndySKS]

Your right Paul most people understand why things are like they are and if I can help to make them understand a bit more it all seems worth while. I by no means have all the answers or support  everything the ofsc does. Being a club exectutive and a district director sure has helped me understand things a lot better. This sport is changing so much that none of us can keep up .

 

[LadyK]

we buy our permits from a local small club instead of the big one.we decided next year we would buy one locally and one northern.besides then you get newsletters from two clubs

 

 

[revrnd]

I was on the executive of my club for 6 years. Five looking after the land permissions and one year doing the newsletter.

After a executive meeting when our treasurer presented our financial report, I included it in the newsletter. I figured the members had a right to know where we were spending our money. Boy was I wrong!! I was basically reamed a new you know what  

I was told that if the members wanted to know the financial situation, they could come to the annual meeting. I guess if you can't make it to the meeting, tough, you're in the dark.

If the OFSC can pass the info to club representatives at the AGM, could they not mail it to the permit buyers? I have never heard once in all my years what the delegates from our club have done at the AGM or what the OFSC has decided upon until we read about it in the non-snowmobiling media.

My comment in the initial post was about NON-capital expenses. I know that there are expenses that have to be paid regardless if there is no snow on the ground. How much do you think a club down here in the banana belt like Port Perry spent on fuel? Money saved this year should be used for paying off debts and preparing for next season.

I know when I was on the executive we were limited as to how much money we could have in the bank in regards to our charitable status.

To finish, I would have to say I wish the OFSC were more open with the membership and communicate with us directly. can you honestly say that what is in the OSM gives us a clear idea. Examples: # of permits sold, # of kilometres groomed, # of dollars from permits sold etc. This isn't a financial report. Each month I even get a financial statement from my union local and it is a complete balance sheet.

With the amount of money the OFSC deals with, I think the accounting would prevent the misconceptions as to what is going on in Barrie.

I'll post another question and see what the results are.

P.S.: After the newsletter fiasco, I sort of got the idea that the executive's opinion was that if people know how much money we have, people will start to complain about the cost of permits. Also, I don't have a problem with the clubs and their finances. They work very hard for the money and except for a couple of situations when I was an executive, I don't have any concerns.