Policies and Procedures Manual

Interest, Fees, and Expenses

As a general rule, Sections and Regions are charged expenses (postage, specially purchased supplies, travel expenses, etc.) incurred in support of their activities (meetings, publications, etc.). There is no charge for maintaining membership records, collecting Section dues, administering meeting registrations, etc. Regions and (beginning in 1998-99) Sections receive credit for interest on their cash balances. Sections and (beginning in 1998-99) Regions do not pay for meeting management services though some expenses may be incurred and charged. For the five-year period from 1998-99 through 2002-03, Regions (except for the Southwest, which does not hold an independent Regional meeting) and Sections will each pay to the General Fund a fee to help defray expenses of $500 per Council member, except that Sections with less than $500 in interest income per Council member may elect to forgo receipt of that interest instead. This policy has been extended to 2003-04. Beginning in September of 2003, sections and regions will be charged their appropriate share of credit card processing fees assessed by the bank. This will be based and the actual merchant discount rate times the total amount of credit card payments received for each section or region.

Sections and Regions are also charged for preparation of hard-copy or electronic publications. The charge for 2002-03 is $37 per page for journals or monographs, and $15 per page for other materials. There is only a single fee even if multiple formats are created (e.g., printed and online). These rates also apply to 2003-04.

For Section journals wishing to participate in the Electronic Option online full-text program, Section members may access the online journal for an annual fee of $5 to be paid to the General Fund to support the Electronic Option program. A Section may elect to pay this amount directly to the General Fund on behalf of its members.