Topic: Feedback request from a frustrated treasurer...

[picman]

Our association collects the council rents , they (not named) want to change the date from April 5th to October 1st,  would be very interested what month other associations send out rent and fees bills , many thanks.

[RenishawPhil]

We send out the bills in feb, for payment by end of march.

So if people want to give , they can vacate and the allotment can be handed to someone else in time for growing season

[Digeroo]

We get ours January payment 1st Feb.  But I think that April is rather late by the time someone decides to give up, the next person will get started rather late.  I think October is a much better idea.   Then the new person can get things started before the winter sets in and also have a chance to plant soft fruit and strawberries etc.

[elvis2003]

I send our rent letters out end December/ early January, to be paid in person on one set day at the very end of Jan...seems to work just fine.
Rents used to be pushed through our treasurers door, but this left too much room for error, and made issuing receipts a pain in the backside.
I personally prefer over winter collection, as it is a quiet time of year on my own plot

[picman]

Great to get your input thanks.... Digeroo we usually send bills pre xmas, (even with cards ! ) deadline end of Jan, most members send back in jan some feb so list is ready for council march . site bill comes in April, works OK , (It aint broke)  think Elvis's post makes sense , proposed October bills will cause me all sorts of problems . our financial year end is Sep 30.



Cheers...

[Squash64]

We are self-managed, council owned and the rent is due in October.

The Council doesn't send letters to tenants about the rent any more
so I put notices up saying that the rent can be paid any Sunday in
October in the pavilion. The treasurer and I are there from 9:30 till
around mid-day for rent collection and it seems to work fine.  If people
can't come on a Sunday they can pay me at any other time but most
choose Sundays.

I think October is a good time because if people give up, or don't pay
then the plots are ready to be re-let early in the new year.

[pumkinlover]

October sounds good to me.
We use the traditional Lady day as when the rents are due (25th March) and collect the subs at the AGM.  Which is on a Sunday around this time (but due to Easter and other factors will be 21st April this year)
We meet to have a committee meeting befor the AGM and then decide as a comittee if we need to put the rents up. This is not agreed until the AGM by the members.
From a democratic point of view it's ok but a nightmare as I do the lettings as well because some people do not let you know when they are giving up, they just do not come to the meeting and then make no effort to pay.  I have asked people to let me know this year as it is especially late when we have the AGM. But from a letting point of view October would be much better. As Squash says its better to get this sorted before the growing season.

[picman]

Appreciate your views,  My problem is that the time line for an Oct 1st bill date would have to start in July ,,, ( getting bills out ,30 days to pay,  finalizing plot  list, reporting to council ( we have concession rates ), council need time to bill me on the 1st )  people are not thinking of giving up in July, also our financial year ends 30 Sept , our fees are decided at AGM mid November. I have to disagree about time to give up, in Sept and Oct plots still have crops , the best time to take on a plot is Jan Feb .   

[pumkinlover]

 Each system has it's pitfalls, now you explain how yours works it does seem the new method is not practical.
I agree what you say about crops still there in October, but my experience with people giving up is that they are not forthcoming with the information. October to the growing season gives the secretary more time to work through the process, and then time to set someone on. I end up setting people on well into the growing season when it was obvious way back that the previous tenant was not going to continue.
Mind you I sort of going by the fact that end of March is normally in the growing season!

[Squash64]

I can see that our Council works differently to yours picman.

Our Council set the rent, but don't send bills, so I put notices up well in advance
that the rent can be paid any Sunday in October and the cost for the
different size plots. I also email the 70+ tenants on the email list.

We have never had a problem with people not knowing that the rent
was due - whether they pay on time is a different matter!

The Council sets the following rules :-

(2012)
9 November - Last day for payment before notice to quit
14 November - Notice to quit issued (by council)
12 December - Notices expire
17 December - Confirmation of eviction (7 day letters sent by Council) and final reports sent to Secretary by Council.

You can see from these dates that people who still have crops on their plots can
still pick them until December.

People can still pay me even if they have had notice from the council, but the council put
an extra charge of £10 on top of the rent.  Some people have genuine reasons for not
being able to pay in October and I take this into consideration.

I think we have a lot less admin work than you do picman.

[sparrow]

We're self-managed with 100ish members and invoices go out in October for payment. Most people now pay by bank transfer, which makes for an easier life for the Treasurer. Our fees are announced at the April AGM.

I've just been voted on the Committee, so I guess I'll start seeing the other side of the story soon....:)