Historically, even though the O&M Division has never existed as an autonomous entity, it was allowed to make decisions about its own budget without having to get approval from AER's Board.
It had its own bank account and raised its own funds by collecting dues and printing and selling its own publications, and then it decided how those funds would be spent.
Dona Sauerburger remembers turning in receipts to the O&M Division Treasurer for expenditures that the O&M Division had approved, and the Division Treasurer wrote the check for reimbursement.
The O&M Division used its funds for projects that its members thought were important to the O&M profession and those we serve.
For example, it funded
- the development of the first certification O&M exam;
- representatives to network with the engineering community and serve on the Access Board's Rights-of-Way committee to develop standards and regulations for environmental accessibility;
- in-person meetings to develop a model for training and using O&M Assistants (this model was approved as a position paper in 2004 and posted here);
- efforts to get reimbursement by Medicare;
- scholarships for O&M students.
Gradually over the last 20 years, the O&M Division lost all control over its budget.
First its bank account was closed and the funds placed with AER's funds, later the profits from its publications and conferences were subsumed by AER.
In the last several years, the policy was changed to require that all the O&M Division members' dues go to AER and then AER's Board decides how much will be allocated to the Division, and to require AER Board approval for decisions about how to spend those funds.
So the divisions have gone from handling all their own financial decisions to having to justify every expenditure, even to the point where they need approval for the logo for buying T-shirts to sell at conferences and AER office staff tells them what size plaques they are allowed to buy for their awards.
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O&M Division Resolutions considered
When the 2002 Resolutions Committee rejected the resolutions, O&M Division representatives asked to meet with the committee.
The Resolutions Committee was not convinced to accept the proposed resolutions until after several meetings and an appeal to AER leadership.
At AER's membership meeting to consider the resolutions, O&M Division members went from table to table trying to convince the AER members to pass their resolutions.
Thankfully, the resolutions each passed -- they are posted at the following links:
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BUDGET:
We calculated how much it might cost to run the most basic functions of a Professional Association, such as
maintaining a robust website; communication technology; conferences and publications; and as much expense for advocacy as AER's O&M Division provided in its most ambitious years.
Because the board of the O&M Professional Association would be responsible for making the decisions necessary to promote, support and strengthen the O&M profession, it would probably need to meet in person at least once a year.
Of course these projected expenses are only hypothetical -- once it is set up, the Professional Association will make its own decisions about what is important to spend its money on.
But in the meantime, we want to consider what resources it might need in order to function.
So we investigated costs of part-time staff and travel expenses to maintain these basic functions.
The following is our estimate of costs of maintaining the PA regardless of whether it is within AER or separate (this does not include start-up costs):
$1,000/year -- website and communication media
$8,000/year -- accounting / membership records
$11,000/year -- annual in-person board meetings
$5,000/year -- advocacy
$3,000/year -- bookkeeping, insurance, etc.
$10/member -- Benefits (publication, etc)
That totals $28,000/year plus $10/member to function effectively at a minimum level.
As the organization grows and/or there is income from sales, conferences and on-line continuing education, then the PA could develop a financial cushion and financial stability, expand, offer scholarships, etc.
DUES:
To figure out how much each member would need to contribute in dues to maintain the functions of a PA which is within AER or separate,
we'd need to estimate how many members it would have.
This is hard to predict, of course, but we did some quick calculations in each case.
PA within AER:
We estimate that since there are almost 1,200 members in the O&M Division, there might be at least 700 who would join the O&M PA.
The projected budget could be met if each member pays $50 in addition to the AER dues.
Separate PA
Over the last 20 years, the O&M Division had between 900 and 1,400 members, and we estimate that in the United States and Canada there may be about 100-150 guide dog instructors and 3,000 O&M specialists (in the U.S there are more than 2,400 COMS and 72 NOMC plus those who have no certification; Canada has about 100 O&M specialists, 35 of whom are COMS).
A separate PA would incur start-up costs that a PA within AER might not incur.
We did not include these costs when estimating the amount of dues needed, we only considered the costs for maintaining it once it is established.
We calculate that if at least 380 members join the new PA, $85 annual membership dues would cover the projected annual expenses.
The start-up costs could be covered if more than 380 members join.
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LIABILITY INSURANCE:
There is a lot of concern about what coverage is actually provided by the Forest T. Jones professional liability insurance policy which is offered as a membership benefit by AER.
We are convinced that it is necessary to have it reviewed by a lawyer, who can determine whether written clarification is needed, and can suggest what can be done by our professional association to help avoid problems.
Examples of ambiguities in the current policy which we believe require written clarification from Forest T. Jones are:
- The policy excludes property damage and bodily injury. If bodily injury / property damage are part of a claim that is awarded against us, will the policy cover it, or will it be excluded?
- Among the exclusions listed in the policy is liability arising out of the use of automobiles, buses or any other vehicle. Does that mean we are not covered when training people to use buses, subways, light rail and commuter rail, cabs, and paratransit?
- One of many things that make our profession unique is that much of the training we provide is done outside of our office or campus.
It is not clear whether it is therefore necessary to get the off-premises rider in order to get liability coverage for our services, or whether that rider is only necessary to insure against property damage for agencies that allow us to use their facilities for our training.
A lawyer who specializes in insurance and who takes the time to understand what our profession does may come up with more questions that will require written clarification from the insurance company.
Legal guidance is also necessary to learn how we can verify or ensure that the insurance policy applies to what we are doing.
For example, the very first exclusion in FTJ’s policy says it does not cover "activities not conducted in the scope or performance of your professional educational duties."
So until we have a document that spells out what’s within the scope of practice for O&M (or RT or TVI or whatever we are), it will be unclear as to whether the Forest T. Jones policy will cover what we are doing.
Thus we believe that we need legal expertise to anticipate and address concerns as to what is covered with the policy and what is not, and to help us understand what documents our profession should have for reference in our professional liability insurance applications to ensure that we are covered in what we do.
It is hoped that AER will exercise due diligence and procure this legal expertise on behalf of the members who use the insurance policy it offers.
If it does not, we hope that once the O&M Professional Association is established either within AER or separately, its leadership will take up professional liability insurance as a priority issue.
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