Dear Members
As autumn draws in and renewal letters to the majority of Members whose renewals fall in October, will shortly be being sent out, your Flags and Board members thought it would be helpful to explain the process of setting membership fees and other charges for the next financial year.
As far as we can, we have endeavoured to keep the increases as low as possible for members, but we need to preserve cash to operate our business. We are all rightly proud of Sussex Yacht Club as members and Flag Officers and the Board are charged with ensuring the viability and prosperity of our club long into the future. An essential part of that process is setting rates and charges annually, and all members of the Board of Directors unanimously agreed the rates for this coming year. There are minimum reserves that we must keep in order to function responsibly not least due to the legacy negotiations related to the completion of our building.
As in any other business, Sussex Yacht Club has, like all of us, suffered the impact of inflation. We need to reflect these increased costs of doing business and note that in some cases these have increased by more than the average rate of inflation.
However the overarching reason for fee increases is that we want to invest in the future of our club. And to do this, we need to generate income to fund a significant number of projects we plan to undertake over the next few years.
These include:
- renovating the pontoons at Shoreham
- repairs to the travel hoist with a view to part exchanging for a new one
- urgent repairs to Southwick clubhouse to make it safe and watertight
- replacement of electrical supply to the boatyard
- installation of solar panels to the Shoreham clubhouse
- upgrading our training fleet
We are also hopeful the council will complete the wall during the next financial year, and we will be in a position to finish the outstanding Items on the new clubhouse and landscaping the grounds.
Accordingly – so that we can invest in our joint futures and ensure our club continues to thrive – our decision as your Flags and Board is to make increases in 2024-25 fees that while reasonable, reflect all this. Overall, most fees have been capped at rises of around 5%. Importantly, because we are focussed on the future, certain charges have been frozen at 2023-24 levels including Cadet and Youth membership rates.
Posted: September 24th 2024
