No dues increase for AVMA members next year

Seattle

-- AVMA member dues will not increase in 2010 despite a downturn in association revenue due to the recession."The 2010 budget required the most work to prepare, and it also required the most compromise," says American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Treasurer Brett Marsh. "This budget is right for this time. It would have been easy to ask for a dues increase, but it wouldn't be right."Marsh issued the report to AVMA's House of Delegates meeting on Friday saying the board fulfilled its two promises to membership – a balanced budget and preservation of long-term reserves.To accomplish it, Marsh says, we had to "sit down at the kitchen table and make some tough choices."The 2010 budget shows the association spent about $1 million less than it did in 2009 for total expenses of $28.6 million.

One of the planned cuts targeted reimbursement of delegate travel expenses. The action drew a new resolution, introduced from the house floor, to reinstate the association's current reimbursement schedule. The resolution passed by a wide margin.

The cuts were proposed for one year, but would have reduced delegate reimbursements by nearly one third.