In keeping with BC Hockey Bylaw 906, please find attached for your information the 2019 - 2020 BC Hockey Operating Budget as approved by the Board of Directors on January 29, 2019.

The budget will be reviewed as part of the financial report at the 2019 BC Hockey Annual General Meeting (AGM), and in advance of that presentation please note the following background to key items contained in the document:

• The operating budget for the 2019 – 2020 season is a deficit budget which includes subsidies from prior year surpluses in the amount of $393k.

• We are fortunate to be in a position to fund this deficit from prior year surpluses, and the BC Hockey Board of Directors has directed that these surplus funds be utilized rather than adjusting fees at this juncture. Funding from the 2019 World Junior Championships, prior year surpluses in the Unrestricted General and Development Fund, and the General Contingency Reserve Fund are being accessed for this purpose.

• BC Hockey programs are operated on a break-even basis wherever possible, though this is not always possible in some areas including female recruitment/programming and membership services (i.e.  Championship Host Grants, operation of the Annual Congress).

• A resolution will be brought forward for consideration by the membership at the 2019 Annual Congress, setting out a proposal to continue the practice of approval for the annual Membership Fee increase over a three (3) year period starting in the 2020 – 2021 season.

• The membership directed that a small annual adjustment be enacted beginning in the 2007 – 2008 season in order to avoid larger fee adjustments being necessitated over longer intervals.

• Since that time an annual fee increase of twenty-five cents per participant has been approved by the membership.

• At the 2014 AGM the membership approved a proposal to consider these annual increases in three (3) year cycles in order to eliminate uncertainty during the budget development process (i.e. waiting until the June AGM to approve the fee increase for the upcoming season).  The 2019-2020 budget reflects the final year of a three (3) year schedule of adjustments.

In addition to the past practice of seeking approval for fee increases three (3) years in advance, the Board of Directors will also be recommending an adjusted amount of the fee increase from twenty-five to fifty cents per participant. The growth in our operations and to the support offered to our member associations and teams has resulted in an increased level of costs for general expenses.  Services that have recently been developed or put into place include:

• MHA observations,                    

• Operations Update meetings,

• Piloting and support of new tools to enhance administration of the game,

• e.g. TeamSnap, electronic game sheets, the Member Engagement Process

• Subsidization of services such as the administration of insurance,

• Hosting the Annual Congress, and

• Championship Host subsidies.

With this increase in services, the Board of Directors is suggesting that an annual fifty cents (3.8%) fee increase is reasonable given that the overall costs related to general expenses and membership services have increased by 4% when comparing the 2018 – 2019 fiscal year to the coming year. While the Board of Directors has deemed it to be prudent for the 2019 – 2020 budget to include subsidies of surplus funds from prior years, this is not a sustainable solution over the long term.

If you have any questions regarding this notice or the attached budget information in advance of the Annual Congress, please contact Carla Soares at csoares@bchockey.net.