[jonesy]

http://www.ushja.org/content/about/b...ndreports.aspx

It appears the USHJA has posted the August 2, 2011 Planning Committee Retreat Notes which discuss the finances, raised dues, program statuses, etc.

I admit to only reading through it once and skimming once but so far what I take from it are as follows:

Membership dues increased.
If a USHJA program is not SELF-SUFFICIENT (in otherwards NO use of USHJA membership money whatsoever) it can stay in place. If not it gets scrapped. If you want it to stay you voluntary committee members can go get donations to pay for your program.

So what exactly is the USHJA doing with all that membership money other than getting ready to pay a balloon payment in February 2015 on the building mortgage. The retreat notes imply the interest rate on the mortgage is high because the building was put on leased land. It appears since the land is owned by State of Kentucky there are no taxes but I can't seem to see what the USHJA pays to lease that land. Nor can I see who holds the mortgage. They MUST hold at all times $800,000 and change in LIQUID assets to ensure the loan stays in place. They are trying to pay off the building by 2015. That is a $5,000,000 building. In 2008, the latest numbers, the revenue was $4.2 million. I would think that has increased some but if you have to hold at least $1 million in liquid assets, pay salaries, etc, that $4.2 chips way fast.

I would have liked to see how the $70.00 would be broken down towards USHJA programs. So far I see, building, salaries, and play toys.

I see the house of cards falling

[SGray]

perhaps some folks are not accustomed to paying for their own toys

[Mayaty02]

perhaps some folks are not accustomed to paying for their own toys

LOL! so true

[jonesy]

Looking back at the irs published forms the USHJA invested $5,773,314 for the building and has a mortgage of $3,763,177 as of end of 2008.

With the new membership increase it is about $500,000 of new fees due to come in.

[grandprixjump]

With the new membership increase it is about $500,000 of new fees due to come in.

That is providing 50% don't decide to forget the checkmark..

[dab]

Interesting to read where our money is being spent --

Also interesting to read the results of the membership survey -- "... while most of the respondents indicated that they began their participation in the sport as children, that the majority of respondents’ own children are not involved in riding. "

[findeight]

Hey, at least they made it public.

[RedMare01]

I am not a h/j person and have never been a member of USHJA, but I got curious after reading all of these threads....

From the link above:

Membership, Zone Support and Non-Member Fees generate the operating capital for the USHJA to provide the necessary General Administration, Building Maintenance and Member Services as well as the basic Communication, Rules/Governance, Awards and Education that the membership should expect from the Association.

After these ground floor expenses are covered and staff is put into place to support program development and implementation there is very little money left over to actually fund the program activities from the general operating capital. As we evaluate our programs, we need to be aware of this financial reality.

Um, what? Does this not flag to someone that perhaps if you have no money for programs that you need to LOWER your internal expenses? What is the staff actually supporting if there is no money for program development?

As a non h/j person, could someone clarify this for me:

The Zone support fee is budgeted to generate $355,000 in revenue of which $284,000 (80%) is available to the Zones for direct support of their program initiatives and $71,000 (20%) is retained by the USHJA to cover the cost of administrative support for Zone governance and programming, as well as to support the Zone awards programs. The 2011 actual cost to USHJA for these administrative expenses will be $133,000, which is a $62,000 shortfall. The Committee agreed to move a discussion of the Zone support fee amount and percentage allocation to the end of the day’s meeting.

What actually costs $133K? Shouldn't the administrative support and expenses be covered under the previous "ground floor development and program staffing" general operating capital? Because it doesn't make sense to me to say we don't have the budget for programs because we're paying staff, but the programs that are out there (and being paid for by the public) also have to pay an administrative fee to have their costs covered and people to administrate them. But maybe that's just me.

[pds]

USHJA spends far too much of every dollar taken in on administrative expense. There in lies the problem.

FYI USHJA spent

• $280,000 on the Annual Convention
• $467,000 "ADMINISTRATION AND ASSISTANCE IN THE GOVERANCE OF
  24 NATIONAL HUNTER AND JUMPER ZONES."
• $537,000 on "ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES TO 35,000
  MEMBERS INCLUDING SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE USHJA BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE,
  EMAILS OF USHJA E-UPDATE, PARTICIPATION IN THE USHJA AWARDS PROGRAMS,
  AND ACCESS TO A WIDE RANGE OF GUIDES AND DIRECTORIES."
• $142,000 to "PROVIDE A NATIONAL INTERNET-BASED INFORMATIONAL
  RESOURCE FOR MEMBERS"

And these are just a few of the expenses I picked at random.

[jonesy]

Maybe we are missing an opportunity. Perhaps we should make known to the USEF that we wish to have the USHJA done away with immediately even if that means a small increase in the dues to the USEF. Why wouldn't the USEF agree? They are two separate entities and supposedly stand alone. I say we start sending letters to the USEF with that request.

We should not be FORCED to have a ushja membership nor deal with them.

[Infinite]

[*]$142,000 to "PROVIDE A NATIONAL INTERNET-BASED INFORMATIONAL
RESOURCE FOR MEMBERS"

If this is just their website, you have got to be kidding me. First of all, that would imply a (highly paid) full time person sits at that office and their only responsibility is the website. The website does not update that often nor is it that well done that it would a) require a full time staff person or b) be worthy of spending $11833/month on.

Is there some other internet-based information repository I have missed? Please tell me there is.

[Infinite]

Maybe we are missing an opportunity. Perhaps we should make known to the USEF that we wish to have the USHJA done away with immediately even if that means a small increase in the dues to the USEF. Why wouldn't the USEF agree? They are two separate entities and supposedly stand alone. I say we start sending letters to the USEF with that request.

We should not be FORCED to have a ushja membership nor deal with them.

I actually thought about this...but that brings us back to the governing body debate and the USHJA vs Gary Baker's National Hunter Jumper Assoc (I think that is what it was called). Maybe we should have seen how they plan to spend dues money before we let USEF mandate the USHJA thing.

But back in the day, didn't we pay x for USEF membership and then an additional breeds/discipline fee (nominal by comparison to what we are paying now)?

What I found remarkable in the minutes discussing the fee increase...no ONE word on reducing any administrative costs in an effort to balance their budget. That tells you the mentality of the management. The bottom line is they can raise the fees every year because we have no choice to join if you want to participate in the h/j sport and have access to USEF awards/programs.

[jonesy]

I also forgot to point out before that the USHJA can only lease space to NON-Profit organizations that are in some way related to the horse industry. They should have seriously considered that before building a HUGE building with extra space. What non-for-profits want to share space with a competitor? I seriously doubt they will ever maximize the lease space since their agreement with the State of Kentucky for their land lease says no private leasing unless those terms are met. Stands to reason why there have been no-takers.

If I was running a not-for-profit why would I house my company with the USHJA and let them prey off my sponsors,members and donors. Can we say huge conflict of interest.

[Smiles]

If they cannot manage the current budget how is an additional $10 going to make a difference next year? If they won't adjust for over spending in certain areas do they real think this small amount of extra money is going to solve this problem? Or will they have to hire additional people to account for the added money coming in.

[Infinite]

I also forgot to point out before that the USHJA can only lease space to NON-Profit organizations that are in some way related to the horse industry. They should have seriously considered that before building a HUGE building with extra space. What non-for-profits want to share space with a competitor? I seriously doubt they will ever maximize the lease space since their agreement with the State of Kentucky for their land lease says no private leasing unless those terms are met. Stands to reason why there have been no-takers.

If I was running a not-for-profit why would I house my company with the USHJA and let them prey off my sponsors,members and donors. Can we say huge conflict of interest.

Let me just say that I would posit rule number one in running an efficient operation (profit or not for profit) would suggest that you do not build a behemoth ridiculously expensive building while your organization is in its infancy. You build your programs FIRST and then you build a building to house them once you've met your mission statement. You know AHSA was in a pretty small space for LONG time before they had a building.

[Infinite]

So technically speaking, if I am a USEF member and I want to participate in USEF run programs how can they mandate I have to join another organization when it doesn't explicitly offer me any benefits? If USEF is our national governing body, what forces me to join the other? I realize it's because they tell me I have to, but what are their grounds for doing so? Did we vote on that as members of USEF back when USHJA was founded?

[Infinite]

So what exactly is the USHJA doing with all that membership money other than getting ready to pay a balloon payment in February 2015 on the building mortgage. The retreat notes imply the interest rate on the mortgage is high because the building was put on leased land. It appears since the land is owned by State of Kentucky there are no taxes but I can't seem to see what the USHJA pays to lease that land. Nor can I see who holds the mortgage. They MUST hold at all times $800,000 and change in LIQUID assets to ensure the loan stays in place. They are trying to pay off the building by 2015. That is a $5,000,000 building.

A copy of the note would be available at:
Fayette County Clerk
162 E. Main St, Rm. 132
Lexington, KY 40507

It doesn't look like Fayette county has online records, though maybe someone else knows. Anyone can stop by and get a copy its public record. Anyone in the area?

[jonesy]

PNC has the mortgage but we called Fayette today and they (1) don't have online services and (2) property appraiser says because on the Kentucky horse park they are exempt from paying taxes.

The only question now....what do they pay State of Kentucky for the land lease? I too would love to see the mortgage documents. Holding almost $800,000 liquid means they must have a hefty mortgage and interest rate.

[Salome]

FYI USHJA spent

• $280,000 on the Annual Convention

[Salome]

That $10 hike is realistically worth $350k annually.