Chichester Yacht Club Magazine December 2019 | Page 17

MONEY MATTERS
Although unable to be present personally, Treasurer Roger Marshall
reported a satisfactory surplus of £30,000 in 2018 which, although
down on the previous two years, reflected a continued increase in
membership, a strong performance in functions and a good result in
the restaurant and bar, offset by increased investment in service to
members and inflation. The effect of the rise in minimum wage was
particularly significant.
Roger stressed that our aim was not to maximise profits but to create a surplus that can be re-invested in the Club in
three ways:
•
frozen subscriptions, which have remained virtually flat for six years and are significantly lower than at other
comparable clubs in the area
•
maintaining high levels of service
•
investment in our facilities.
In 2019 we paid off our mortgage, leaving the Club debt-free for the first time in many years, giving us room to look at
further enhancement of Club facilities. Although we had hoped to make a start on the Waterfront Project in 2019, this
will probably commence in March 2020. At this stage in 2019 we expect to make a small surplus.
Without our functions business subscriptions would have to be much higher but it is impracticable to grow this part of
our business further without inconveniencing members. This, coupled with continuing cost increases (particularly for
staff) will lead to an increase in subscription rates for 2020, on which a final decision will be taken later this year.
HANDS ON THE TILLER
Following the election of the General Committee for 2019/20 (reported last
month), the Commodore presented a proposal to make some detailed changes
to the way the Club is governed. These included increasing the number of Rear
Commodores to five and removing the role of Vice Commodore. This would
allow the appointment of a Rear Commodore (Membership) to provide more
focus on member experience. The appointment of sub-committees by the
General Committee and the ability to co-opt members where desirable would
be clarified and a power (optional) to appoint the General Manager as an
executive director would be introduced.
The Commodore explained that these recommendations had come from an extensive and comprehensive review led
by Philip Brown and are aimed at enhancing the sustainability of the Club. The principal review findings were:
•
some committee roles are now seen as “big jobs” that can only be performed by retired members with the
time to commit
•
some committee posts are hard to fill
•
some roles are unclear
•
some committee roles carry executive responsibilities which may deter members
•
the volunteer culture is changing.
The proposed changes would allow the Club to tackle these issue in future. The proposal was passed by the
meeting and the General Committee is now working on making the adjustments, including the creation of a Member
Experience Sub Committee which will work separately from the Board Sub Committee, both reporting to the General
Committee.
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