Scotland Island Residents' Association SIRA News

SIRA NON-POTABLE EMERGENCY WATER PRICE CHANGE

Sat, 09 Jul 2016 02:16:56 GMT

During this year’s financial planning cycle for 2016-2017 the SIRA committee has determined that there is a need to increase the charge for non-potable emergency water.

For water bookings starting on 1 July 2016 and thereafter, the price for buying non-potable emergency water will increase from $4 per 1000 litres to $ 5 per 1000 litres. In the interest of keeping cost of living for members low, the $10 booking fee will remain as is.

The reasons for the increase are:

Increase in Sydney Water charges: The charge for water has been $4 per 1,000 litres since 1984 and the price has not been adjusted for increases in cost. SIRA currently pays the Sydney Water usage charge of $2.28 per kilolitre, causing a depletion of the reserve (see below). Sydney Water has indicated it will reduce their charge to $1.97 next financial year and will increase again correcting for inflation over the next 4 year
Maintenance Cost: The current reticulated water infrastructure on the Island is 10 years old and maintenance costs have started to increase. These costs are borne by SIRA and are drawn from the water sales income. We anticipate that costs will continue to increase.
Self- insurance reserve: The self-insurance reserve is in existence so that SIRA will be able to replace large parts of the system in case of a disaster, for example a bush fire. The reserve is currently $87,000 and held in a term deposit which has been built up over the last 10 years. SIRA is currently reviewing the size of the fund and may have to increase it. If there were no price increase for water sales, a projection shows that the fund would decrease over time. The price increase will prevent this decline, at least in the short to medium term.

In case you have any questions regarding the price change, please contact the SIRA treasurer by email on: treasurer@sira.org.au

Note:

The original water price was set by Warringah Council in 1984 and remained at that price under Pittwater Council from 1992. In 2005 SIRA took over the responsibility of the emergency water line as an alternative to it being turned off and continued to maintain this price. The line was upgraded and has been maintained since with funds as they became available from water sales income.

Membership fee change for 2016-2017

Fri, 06 May 2016 02:22:01 GMT

You will recall that in July 2015, SIRA changed the way it was charging fees for membership. We moved from a $20 per household fee to a $10 fee for individual members.

The SIRA committee wasn’t entirely sure at which level the fees should have to be set, so it was decided to go with the lowest level and then review the membership after the first year.

While the total number of households with at least one member does not seem to have dropped, overall income has dropped. It is also the case that this year SIRA will experience a small financial loss.

The Committee has thus decided that the fees for 2016-2017 will be set at $15 per member.

Below there is a short summary of our financials, you can refer to the financial reports on the website for more information.

SIRA performs a number of essential community services and advocates on behalf of the Scotland Island Community. Without SIRA’s efforts, the Community Hall, the Emergency Non-Potable Water supply, the Community Vehicle, the information channels such as SIRA News and the website would not be funded. SIRA also provides some support for the PON. SIRA facilitates the important discussions we as community need to have and acts on the community’s behalf if this is necessary.

We hope that the Association will continue to receive support from the community. The financial contribution we ask is modest for the individual member, but is essential to enable the Committee to run the Association’s affairs.

Kind Regards,

SIRA Committee

FINANCIAL SUMMARY*

There are 293 households who have at least one SIRA member. Before the change of the fee structure, this resulted in fee revenue of about $6,000. Post change, the same number of households are now contributing around $4,300. This creates a shortfall in the SIRA revenue, which we hope to remove with the fee increase.

SIRA Revenue

The ‘association’ part of SIRA has three sources of income: Membership fees ($4,000 to $6,000), a management fee for governing the Water Supply System of around $10,000 and some small donations, interest etc. The total comes to about $17,000.

SIRA Expenses

Expenses for running the Association (total approximately $20,000) and its activities include:

· Sponsoring of community events such as festivals

· Financial support for the kindy (SIOCS)

· Community Hall

· Advocacy: printing of posters, flyers, transport for members to council meetings

· Sponsorship of Pittwater Offshore Newsletter

· Membership systems and membership administration.

· Accounting and audits

· Website maintenance

* Excludes the emergency non-potable water operation financials

SIRA AGM and 'An afternoon on the green' - Celebrating our 60th anniversary!

Sun, 15 Nov 2015 07:11:33 GMT

CHANGES TO SIRA MEMBERSHIP AND AGREEMENT FOR SALE OF NON-POTABLE WATER

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 11:47:08 GMT

The SIRA Committee is introducing some changes to membership structure and administration, the way we interact with members and the legal requirements for the purchase of Emergency Non-potable Water.

MEMBERSHIP

Currently the SIRA membership fee is $20 per household. As from 1 July 2015, membership will be based on individuals, with an annual fee of $10 per person. This is as a result of a review of membership requirements in the SIRA Constitution. We encourage and welcome all residents to join.

The SIRA membership year runs from 1 July to 30 June and you remain a member providing that you pay your renewal fee within 60 days from 1 July and ensure your membership details are up-to-date.

The benefits of SIRA membership include:

staying up-to-date on Island issues
having a vote on important decisions
being involved with your community
being able to buy Emergency Non-potable Water

What does this mean for you? If you are currently a member, and wish to renew, please pay your membership fee of $10 before 30 August 2015. We will send you a renewal notice on 1 July.

EMERGENCY NON-POTABLE WATER

The provision of Emergency Non-potable Water is an essential service that SIRA provides to the community and comes with some risk. A legal review of the existing Agreement for Sale of Water has resulted in the rewording of the agreement between the Buyer and SIRA.

The main changes that have been made to the agreement are:

a clearer definition of Emergency Non-potable Water and how it can be used

clarification that the agreement is only for the property to which it refers and with the person identified in the agreement
a clear statement that the Buyer’s undertakings include the responsibility of informing household members and guests that the water supplied is non-potable

Please note: There is no longer the requirement for all members of the household to be SIRA members before buying Emergency Non-potable Water. However, as SIRA members share joint responsibility for the waterline, water bookings will only be accepted from SIRA members who complete and sign the Agreement for Sale of Non-potable Water.

What does this mean for you? To assist with the transition to the new Agreement for Sale of Non-potable Water, we ask all Buyers to complete and sign the new Agreement from 1 July 2015.

ONLINE SELF SERVICE PORTAL

From 1 July, SIRA's new Secure Self-Service Online Portal will be available. The portal will enable:

new members to join our association online
existing members to renew their membership online, once a year
members to sign the Agreement for Sale of Non-potable Water online
members to view their details and update these details
members to indicate which topics they would like to receive information and notices about

What does this mean for you? This year's membership renewals will be processed using the new online system. You will still have the choice to use the paper based form.

COMMUNICATIONS

The new membership system includes a communications module that we will use to send notices and information. In your online profile you can indicate your interests. You can change your preferences at any time.

QUESTIONS?

The committee anticipates that there will be some questions, so please check out the FAQs below.

We hope the transition to our new procedures will be smooth, contribute to a more dynamic administrative process and improve our member services.

Regards,

SIRA Committee

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What happens if SIRA doesn’t have my email address?

A: SIRA will not be able to send you communications and you will not be able to use the Self-Service Portal to renew your membership or to view your membership data. However you can still be a member and renew your membership following the notice we will send you via the post.

Q: Can I pay my membership fee with cash / cheque or via EFT?

A. Yes, all currently used payment methods will continue to be available. Please read the instructions on the invoice you will receive (by email or via the post) because they may have changed.

Q: Can I pay my membership fee with my credit card?

A: Yes, if you pay with a credit card online. You can also pay from your PayPal account if you have one.

Q: What happens if I do not pay my $10 membership fee by 30 August?

A: Your SIRA membership will be suspended, you will not be eligible to vote on important matters at meetings and you will be unable to make an Emergency Non-potable Water booking. Your profile will be retained in our system until 30 June 2016. You can reactivate your SIRA membership at any time by paying the renewal fee. After that time you will need to reapply by completing a new membership application.

Q: Will the water still be supplied from the same source?

A: Yes, there is no change. Water will continue to be supplied by Sydney Water, via a submarine pipe to the Island which is managed by Pittwater Council and delivered by SIRA emergency water lines to the standpipe that services your property.

Q: Can anyone in my household order water if I am a member?

A: No, only SIRA members who have completed and signed the new Agreement for Sale of Non-potable Water can make a water booking.

Q: Can more than one person of a household be a member?

A: Yes, all individuals over 18 years of age who are full-time or part-time residents or owners of property on Scotland Island are eligible to join SIRA. We encourage all members of the household to join.

Q: What if I am away and someone else in my household needs to book water?

A: If the person is over 18 years old, they can join SIRA and sign the Agreement for Sale of Non-potable Water. The water monitors can provide prompt assistance with this process.

Q: Is my membership profile secure?

A: Our membership system is hosted by Wild Apricot which provides systems for over 15,000 non-profit organisations. They are certified to the highest IT security standards. We do not store credit card information. Online payments are handled by PayPal who do not make credit card data available.

Q: Who can see my membership profile which includes email and phone numbers?

A: Your information can only be viewed by designated SIRA Committee members for membership administration, and water monitors for the purpose of administering water bookings. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information.