[This post has been edited, 1/14/2006, ncb]
To date the secretary has written 102 dues cards for the 2006 fiscal year (including those for life endowed and 50-year members). This means that over 70 members of this Lodge have yet to pay or request remission of their 2006 dues.
If you or a family member are experiencing health and/or financial problems that make your payment of dues prohibitive, PLEASE allow the Lodge to exercise its duty of relief to you and request remission of dues. There should be no shame in making such a request of YOUR LODGE if the relief is truly needed. Unfortunately we have seen cases in recent years where brethren absolutely refuse to request remission. It is your right as a member of this Lodge and we trust that no Brother would make such a request unless the need was great.
Remission of dues must be requested in writing with a full statement of the reason for the request. Please try to mail such requests before January 1, 2006, if at all possible.
The $10 late fee mandated by our bylaws for dues accounts in arrears is assessed if charges for non-payment of dues are preferred (which happens at the March Stated Meeting). Therefore Brethren who have not paid their dues by March 9, 2006, and who are charged with NPD, must include the additional $10 to clear their account. All notices for NPD for 2006 will show the amount due as $110.00. This is per General Regulation 37.070, which states that the fee may be assessed and that all notices of arrearage must include notice of the late fee which has been assessed.
Please note that dues must be RECEIVED and IN THE SECRETARY'S HANDS by the time the Stated Meeting starts on March 9, 2006, or charges for non-payment of dues will be preferred.
[My apologies for any earlier confusion when this article said the $10 fee was assessed on January 1. It is entirely possible to intrepret Reg. 37.070 as saying this, but our Lodge Bylaws are more specific.]
Posted by Nathan Brindle at December 11, 2005 10:48 AM