Proposed Dues Bylaw
The following page has been created to help you vote on the dues bylaw referendum proposed at the January 25, 2006 Membership Meeting. There are resources below to help you make your decision, including an explanation of the dues bylaw, the reason this bylaw is being proposed, and the actual text of the bylaw itself. These resources are available on this website and for download in PDF format.
On your ballot, you will be asked to vote YES or NO in response to the following statement:
I approve the DUES BYLAW proposed by the GEO membership at the January 25th, 2007 meeting.
Don't forget to vote for BOTH the proposed Dues Bylaw and the proposed Constitutional Amendments. If you need help filling out and returning your ballot, click here. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact umgeo [at] umich [dot] edu.
Summary of the Proposed Dues Bylaw
The current GEO dues bylaw, setting dues at 1.37%, was passed 14 years ago. Since then, the per capita fees we pay to our affiliates have risen more rapidly than the money collected from members' dues, meaning that the resources available for GEO to use locally have been diminishing steadily. Under the proposed bylaw, there will be a small dues increase phased over three years so that, by 2010, member dues will be 1.50%. More importantly, there will be a change in the dues structure. The new dues structure will require dues to be recalculated annually, insuring that GEO's operating budget will not be affected by increases in the per capita fees assessed by affiliates.
See the full text of the proposed Dues Bylaw. [html] [pdf]
Resources
Below is a list of resources that will give you more information about the constitutional amendment proposals.