Membership Dues Are Changing

After much consideration, the TA board of directors has decided it’s necessary to raise our annual dues. As of July 1, 2016, Tenants Association dues will be $50 a year per apartment, and $25 a year per apartment for our neighbors on SCRIE or DRIE.

Another change: The membership period will be from January 1 through December 31, not one year from when you pay.

We did not make this decision lightly, but we anticipate that this new system will allow us to save precious dollars on multiple renewal mailings throughout the year. It should also help you keep track of your membership.

If you’ve already renewed your membership this year, you’re good for the rest of 2016. In December you’ll be asked to renew for 2017 at the new rate.

If you renew or join between July 1 and December 31, 2016, your membership will extend through December 31, 2017. That’s a bonus of up to six extra months. Your next renewal will be on January 1, 2018.

Why the increase? Why now? We have held dues steady for years. Even though board members and volunteers don’t get paid, we do have some heavy expenses, and their costs have gone up.  

Legal fees—our biggest expense—pay for the heavy work our tenant-law attorney puts into challenging MCIs, loss of services, and other matters that have often saved tenants big bucks. And we know more MCIs are on the way.

Communications—printing of bulletins, flyers, banners, ads, promotional material, and postage—cost money.

Our Message Center and website cost money.

Our database costs (we switched to a more user-friendly one this year), rental of venues for meetings and buses to Albany cost—all to the tune of many thousands of dollars a year. And membership dues contribute virtually every nickel we pay.

Our goal is to get all members on the same renewal schedule, but we realize that those who responded to our renewal letter in March 2016 may feel they are getting fewer months of membership for their dollars. We hope you’ll consider the extra dollars ($2.92 for each missed month) an additional contribution to your TA.