Mil Rate Proposal Vote – Message from the Finance & Investment Committee

Mil Rate Proposal Vote – Message from the Finance & Investment Committee

Dear Colleagues,

The Faculty Association is now ready to launch an electronic vote of the entire Membership on the Mil Rate Proposal, which has been submitted by the Finance and Investment Committee, approved by the elected representative Council, and unanimously supported by the Members present at the 2018 Annual General Meeting.

We, as members of the Finance and Investment Committee, are encouraging you to support the proposal and to vote YES to increase the mil rate. In doing so, we are not simply asking for your approval, but providing you with assurance that the proposed changes are the result of a thorough review, analysis, and deliberative process conducted by the Committee.  The Committee includes members with diverse views who were on opposite sides of the certification question in 2014, and yet our recommendation on the current mil rate proposal is unanimous.

The Mil Rate Proposal we are encouraging you to adopt is as follows:

Motion: THAT effective as soon as possible following approval of the Membership, the Mil Rate increase from 5 to 8 for a 3-year period ending on June 30, 2021, and then be reduced from 8 to 6 effective July 1, 2021 and to remain at 6 until altered by Resolution.

We want to highlight the key reasons we believe the Membership should support this proposal:

  • It is based on 5-year budget projections and a careful examination of past fiscal needs.
  • It ensures the Association can meet its legal and fiduciary responsibilities to the Membership.
  • The rise to 8 for three years will help to build financial reserves, which have been depleted under our current low mil rate and a more aggressive legal stance by the University on dispute resolution.
  • The commitment to reduce the mil rate from 8 to 6 after building reserves allows the Association to stabilize the mil rate in the long run, but still respond to immediate and unpredictable events.
  • The commitment to reduce the mil rate from 8 to 6 in 2021 is a pledge to the Membership that the Association will operate in a fiscally responsible and prudent manner.
  • The rate could drop to 6 sooner if target reserve levels ($800,000) are reached prior to June 30, 2021; this would require another membership vote passed with a two-thirds majority.

We believe it is for these reasons that Council voted overwhelmingly to recommend that the Mil Rate Proposal be submitted to the Membership at the April 11, 2018 AGM, and why Members present at the AGM voted unanimously in favour of recommending that it be submitted to an electronic ballot of the entire Membership.

If you would like further information before voting, please feel free to contact any of us by email.

Additional information can be found in our Mil Rate Proposal Briefing Note located, here and in our AGM Mil Rate Proposal Presentation located here.  Please note a MR of 1 = 0.1% of your salary.

The vote will commence today at 4:00 PM and close at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.  Your Elector IDs and Passwords will be sent directly from the Simply Voting platform.

Sincerely,

The Finance & Investment Committee

Rebecca Warburton | FA Treasurer | F&I Committee Chair |Public Administration | [email protected]

Martin Farnham | Economics | [email protected]

Chris Graham | Business | [email protected]

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