DRAFT Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on Friday, 27th January 2017
The President, S. Carroll, acting as Chairman as per clause 25.7 of the Constitution.
Attendance: 203 as per the signed record.
1. Introductory Remarks:
The President, S. Carroll, opened the 104th A.G.M. of the Club at 7.35pm He then advised the meeting of some housekeeping matters. All in attendance then stood for one minute’s silence in memory of deceased Members.
The Chairman also advised the meeting that another Motion had been added to the list of Motions for discussion, and this Motion was displayed on the overhead screen as Motion No. 10.
2. Notice Convening the Meeting:
The Chairman sought and was granted approval to take the Notice Convening the Meeting as read.
3. Adoption of Standing Orders:
The recommended Standing Orders, which had been circulated with the Notice convening the meeting, were, with the approval of the Meeting, taken as read. On the proposal of J. Higgins, seconded by B. Curran, these Standing Orders were adopted by the Meeting.
3.1 Items for A.O.B. Those present were invited to put forward any items they wished to raise under A.O.B. and J. O’Connell indicated her wish to raise the matter of the high number of Ordinary Lady Members reverting to Five-Day category.
4. Draft Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 29th January 2016:
The Chairman received approval for the draft minutes to be taken as read. As there were no comments or amendments in relation to these draft minutes they were put to the Meeting for adoption on the proposal of D. Killen, seconded by J. McMahon, and formally approved. They were then signed by the President.
5. Annual Reports of Committees:
The Annual Reports of the Committees, having been previously displayed on the Club’s notice board and available on the Club’s website, were, with the approval of the meeting, taken as read.
At this stage, the Chairman presented the six reports to the Members present for information purposes and then called upon the Chairman of Management, P. Fagan, to speak in relation to Management Committee Report. The Chairman of Management outlined the main topics in the report:
Amended Constitution|: He advised that the amended Constitution is nearing completion and that an SGM should be called within the next few months to discuss and vote on it.
Membership: He said he recognised that he has been repeating the same message for the last three years in that the trend of Ordinary Members transferring to the Five-Day category continues, that Ordinary membership is 9% down and that this is impacting on income and the running of the Club. He highlighted the fact that 59% of our members are now over 60 years of age.
Costs: He noted that costs are rising as a result of inflation and a revision of the practice in relation to the recovery of VAT on costs. Insurance increased by 16% in 2016 and we face a near 40% increase this year and Dublin City Council is seeking a 25% increase in rent. He advised that the Management Committee has been working very hard looking at various models for financing the Club and stated that it’s an issue that must be faced at this A.G.M. and hence the reason for the proposed motions, as there is a need for everyone to contribute something.
Course: He referred to the changes made on the 13th hole at the start of the season and expressed the belief they have greatly alleviated the difficulties previously identified. He stated that the course had improved over the season and that the investment in a semi-rough cutting mower has provided greater definition.
House: He reported that the house was externally painted during the year and new security external cameras were added and that the Photo Gallery of winning teams, housed in the TV room, was a great source of interest.
Clanmoyle Road Flood Alleviation Scheme: He noted that the Club had engaged with DCC in mediation in recent weeks and that the job is practically complete except for a few outstanding items that will be addressed in the coming weeks.
He thanked the outgoing members of the Management Committee and wished Anna Glover and Arthur Cahill good health and happiness in their imminent retirements.
As there were no comments or questions on the Management Committee Report or on the reports for Course, House, Men’s Club, Ladies’ Club or Bowling Club, the Chairman thanked the authors of the six reports.
6. Club Treasurer’s Report, Financial Statements, Financial Summary and Financial Estimates for 2017:
As these had been previously displayed on the Club’s notice board and available on the Club’s website and posted out to members (Financial Summary and Financial Estimates), approval was obtained from the meeting to take them as read.
The Club Treasurer, T. Considine, then made a presentation of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st October 2016 and drew the attention of the Members to some of the key issues. He highlighted the following points in the Financial Statements:
· It was identified at the 2016 AGM that Total Income, after Operating Expenditure, had become insufficient to fund the level of Capital Expenditure required to maintain the current standard of the overall Club facilities.
The Budget for 2016 was prepared on the basis of breakeven in terms of cash spend in the year, and that measures to address the financial needs of the Club for the coming years would be developed and brought forward to the next AGM.
· In 2016 the budgeted outcome was achieved. Total Income was €1,246k v Budget of €1,210k, with Operating Expenses at €1,130k v Budget of €1,106k, and Capital Expenditure was €110k v Budget of €103k. Overall this yielded a Cash Surplus of €6k against a Budget of €1k in the year.
Influencing factors in the year were;
- Subscription Income, at €1,000k in 2016, has fallen steadily since 2012 €1,052k, and now appears to have stabilised. It is accepted, however, that there is no capacity to grow membership numbers further at this time, evidenced by timesheet pressures and the time needed to play a round.
- Green Fee Income, at €58k in 2016, grew €6k in the year. Measures to grow the income are being pursued actively to get back to pre-Wad project levels, i.e. €69k in 2012.
- Competitions and Sponsorships Income, while flat in the year at €35k, is a key source of income and appreciation of sponsors support was expressed.
- Entrance Fee Income, at €124k in 2016, (up on €72k in 2015), has fallen from the levels enjoyed 2003 to 2012 which averaged €290k pa / totalling €2.9m in the period. This is the key influencer on the Club’s shortfall in Income now being experienced.
Demand for membership so far this year is significantly down on 2016 and income in 2017 is estimated at €75k, and achieving this may well prove to be a challenge.
- Operating Expenses at €1,130k in 2016 have been tightly controlled/reduced for over 8 years from €1,168k in 2008 which in reality has been the result of efficiencies and savings achieved during the period.
- Capital Expenditure, at €110k in 2016 is below the average level needed to maintain the Club’s standards.
· The Balance Sheet may be considered strong, with good reserves and no borrowings. Cash at bank and in hand at €506k in 2016 is marginally up from €487k in 2015. Creditors’ liability at €203k in 2016 is well covered by Cash. A Cash Reserves policy governs €340k of the €506k balance in 2016, with €125k to cover future Wad flood events, and €215k to fund any other major unforeseen costs. The policy is due for review in 2017.
Under questions or comments on the Financial Statement for 2016, D. Gilroy referred to the Club Lotto Income, €4k in 2016, and how it used to be the case that lotto income was used to fund specific projects, such as, audio system replacement or ball washers and bins for the course. He felt that members would be more favourably disposed to support the Lotto if it was seen to be supporting a particular project and he requested that we return to the practice of some years ago of allocating Lotto funds to specific projects and that this should be highlighted each year in the Club Treasurer’s Annual Report. He also referred to the cash reserve policy as set out in the Financial Statements and suggested that any monies spent in enhancing the appearance or facilities of the course for visitors or visiting societies (such as improved course direction signage or enhancement of the bed of stones to right of 6th green) should be regarded as investment expenditure toward the generation of new society business and should be treated as part of our day to day working capital needs and paid for out of our reserves. As there were no further comments or questions, the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31st October 2016 were adopted.
Estimates 2017: The Club Treasurer noted that there were a number of membership issues that needed to be addressed.
The number of Ordinary Members has dropped by 9% over the last four years, but has now stabilised. Pressure for playing time on weekends, with tight capacity issues on timesheets, indicates there is no ability to increase Ordinary membership numbers. Fewer Five-day are transferring to Ordinary membership. Subscriptions Income therefore will not grow organically.
Entrance Fee income will remain flat as is being experienced this year. This is, in part, driven by lifestyle and financial demands on under 40’s, and is evidenced in the aging profile of the Club’s adult playing membership. Currently there are only 20% of members aged from 20-49, 21% aged from 50-59, with a majority of 59% in the age bracket of 60plus. Over 80% of Total Income comes from Subscriptions and there is little scope to significantly increase other income sources
-Green Fee business, although rising back to pre-Wad Project level, is facing severe competition from commercial clubs
-Entrance Fee Income has fallen significantly from pre-2012 levels. Competition in the market is showing that this source of Income is likely to remain static, at best, for years to come.
-Costs Inflation is now becoming evident. For instance, Insurance will increase 38% this year, while DCC is seeking a 25% increase in Rent. Overall, in 2017 an increase of €41k in Operating Costs to €1,171k is estimated.
-Capital Expenditure required for the coming 5 years has been calculated at €155k p.a. on average. This amount is purely for renewals and replacements that will arise, and does not include funding for any facility improving projects, or out of course costs that might arise. The necessary planned renewals for 2017 total €141k.
-In summary, the Estimates for 2017 are showing a cash deficit of (€103k) in the year. Projections for the following 4 years 2018-2021 also show that this level of annual Cash deficit will continue, without an increase in the annual Subscription.
The level of annual cash deficit now arising, estimated at €103k 2017, is not bridgeable with normal Subscription increases as heretofore, and can only be achieved by a rebalancing of the Subscription charge to all categories of membership.
It is proposed to increase the Subscription to Ordinary Members by €50, with a rebalancing of the percentage charging rate to other categories of membership, followed by a pro rata application of the €50 increase to each category.
Should the proposals be accepted by the members an additional c€70k will be generated, which is approximately twice the amount that would be achieved without rebalancing the categories.
A shortfall of €33k will still arise in the year, to be funded exceptionally from the current cash funds on hand of €506k. Measures to fully balance the Income/Cost gap will be explored in 2017 for consideration at the AGM in January 2018.
It was noted that the current funding problem would have come to the fore earlier but for the exceptional funds received in relation to the Wad project.
In closing his presentation, the Club Treasurer set out the key messages for 2017 as follows:
· Inflation will continue to add to our cost base
· We must attract new members to maintain our current numbers, ideally in the 20-39 age bracket
· Capital Estimates are based on having the additional projected income c €70k and part use of deposit funds of
c €33k
· Under current method of charging subscriptions a reasonable increase in the subscription of €50, will not generate, on its own, sufficient additional income to meet the Club’s current and future needs
The load has to be more equitably shared.
He then requested comments or questions from the floor on the Financial Estimates for the year to 31st October 2017.
Questions and comments from the floor concerned; (a) J. Hynes suggested that it might be reckless of the meeting to approve the budget estimates before seeing how the proposed motions go. (b) A. Magill asked if a breakdown was available for competition fees and sponsorship and what percentage goes in prizes and how was the extra income from competition fees to be generated. He also felt that photographic costs of €3k incurred were excessive in light of the current income gap, and he also queried why the cost of covering the snooker tables at €2k was in the estimates when the work is complete.
In response, the Chairman advised that the Estimates are for consideration and not approval. The Club Treasurer said he agreed to some extent with J. Hynes’ suggestion, in as far as, in the same way we restricted Capital Spend in 2016 to the level of funds that were generated in the year, ‘we may have to cut our cloth again to its measure in 2017’.
In relation to the question on Competition Fees he said he hadn’t got specific figures available but following a benchmarking exercise in early 2016 it was determined that the competition fees charged were less than that of other clubs, and some rebalancing was then undertaken. In addition there is broad agreement across both the Men’s and Ladies’ Clubs as to the level of payback of the competition entry fees by way of prizes.