Fiscally Fit  Secretary-Treasurer Arlea Igoe gives the Secretary-Treasurers report to delegates.   Photo by Richard Dillard

Secretary-Treasurer reports: PEF in good financial shape

By DARCY WELLS
Addressing nearly 1,000 delegates at PEF’s 28th Annual Convention in Lake Placid, Secretary-Treasurer Arlea Igoe assured those in attendance the union is in good financial shape.

In fiscal year 2005-’06, Igoe said, PEF had $27,262,095 in its coffers. With the 2007 PS&T contract negotiations on the horizon, the union has set aside $3 million for a contract fight-back fund.

Igoe said at the beginning of each fiscal year, PEF’s Executive Board approves the budget. “We have appropriated money, paid our bills and our reserve fund is at $1.1 million,” Igoe said.

To build up the reserve fund, Igoe said the PEF trustees will make recommendations and a committee will analyze how to maximize the reserves and minimize the spending. And, she said, since the union has taken a conservative investment approach in the past, it would work to find more aggressive, but safe, investment opportunities.

As PEF is a not-for-profit organization, it has a limited income directly related to the number of members in the union. Igoe reported the membership has increased, and since PEF Regions 10 and 11 now have their own office space, it is “actually saving the union money.”

“We are always faced with decisions and choices in our budget, and the consequences of those decisions,” Igoe said. “We must prioritize our decisions, address the serious issues and remember we are here to represent all PEF members.”

She told delegates that each year the budget is adjusted to reflect the actual spending for the previous year. “When the Executive Board meets, money is appropriated for special campaigns, for the special needs of our members, such as the contract fight.

“We are solvent, and our future will be good as long as we learn to stay within our budget,” Igoe said.