I agree with Dean except on a few minor points. I am treasurer for a much larger club and have been doing it for close to ten years.
First, as he said, the dues must cover the fixed costs. This ensures that the club will still be in good shape if no one flies at all.
Second, again as he said, the airplane rate must cover the variable costs of flying the airplane: engine time, maintenance, etc. Take a long view of "maintenance" -- like five years or more -- because maintenance can vary a lot year-to-year. I have seen an airplane cost $15K one year and $4K the next.
Third, don't take a risk on fuel cost. Either require that members buy fuel directly or do what we do: We bill each month's wet rate based on our actual fuel cost/gallon for the month. This means that the rate changes every month and that when people fly they don't know to the penny what their wet rate will be. But nobody has ever complained and this approach ensures that we take no risk and that we neither under- nor over-charge for fuel.
The one thing I somewhat disagree with is the concept of "budget." Usually having a "budget" like, for instance, dining out means that if you spend your budget for the period you stop dining out. Airplanes are not like that. You spend what you have to spend to keep the airplane safe and airworthy. I tell club members that 85% of our costs are uncontrollable and that when we have a good year or a bad year it is simply a matter of luck. In fact I'm not sure that even 15% of our expenses are controllable. I
am sure about the luck part.
We are fortunate enough to have a $50K credit line that we can use to smooth things out from year to year. Most clubs, and certainly most smaller clubs, will have to handle the smoothing with member assessments. I know of one club in town that has a regular December assessment to balance the year's books. I would advise that you not go to that extreme, but you have to realize that the money must come from somewhere. And the only "somewhere" available to you is members' wallets.
Re selling memberships, the market will tell you what they are worth. Make a survey of other clubs in the area and see where you stand. This is good to do for airplane rates, too. That's what prospective members will do. Then, price at the market. Realize that every month that an overpriced membership sits unsold is a month's dues that you aren't getting. In the longer term, the solution is to make members responsible for selling their own shares and, coincidentally, being responsible for paying dues until they do sell.
Finally, regarding your comment "... no one wants to do anything about it." That doesn't surprise me. It is human nature to avoid making a decision when all the choices are undesirable. Instead of choosing the least-bad alternative we freeze and remain frozen until the situation deteriorates to the point where a decision is forced upon us. Speaking as a former/retired CEO, I will tell you from experience that refusing to decide in such a situation portends disaster. (Yes, the current paralysis on solutions to the nation's deficit is an example.)
PM me if you'd like to discuss this more on the phone. I'd be happy to help. Or, as Bruce advised, you can just bail.
