The winter meeting of the Council of Representatives included somewhat less business than usual, as much of Friday was spent on diversity and inclusion exercises.
Pro-Con statements:
Council voted by a narrow margin to approve a bylaws change changing authority for selection of authors of pro/con statements that accompany bylaws change ballots sent out for membership vote. This task was moved to the Elections Committee from its current location with the Council Leadership Team (CLT). A further amendment retained editing privileges for the statement authors rather than delegating it to the Elections Committee as well. However, after considerable discussion, the item was returned to the Elections Committee for further consideration and wordsmithing.
Budget
Please note the following information is provided by the APA Finance Office: The 2020 APA budget was approved with a deficit of $7.9m. The approved budget includes revenues of $122.4m which represents an increase in revenues of $5m from the 2019 approved budget. The main driver of this increase is the new edition of the APA Publications Manual, which is anticipated to have revenues of $12m in 2020. Revenue categories in the 2020 budget expected to decrease from 2019 include licensing and advertising, due both to a slower than anticipated launch and marketing of new products and to advertising revenues being lower than anticipated. Other inflows being strategically accessed for the 2020 budget include $5.5m from the APA buildings and $11m from the Strategic Investment Fund, an investment fund created by a refinance of the APA building which provided $20M to move the new strategic priorities forward.
The 2020 approved expense budget includes an increase of $11.6m over the 2019 approved budget. The highest driver in the increase to expenses is salary and benefit costs. The 2020 budget includes a $1.3m merit salary increase for top performing staff. In addition, the APA benefit budget increased by $2.5m over 2019 due to increases in health care benefits. APA pays approximately 80% of the health insurance premiums and employees pay 20%.
Other major drivers in the expense budget increase included realigning advocacy expenses between the APA and the APASI and increases to facility expense, including an annual increase in APA’s rent and additional rent for swing space on the 9th floor.
Delegation of authority
Council debated at length a business item continuing delegation of authority for certain functions to the Board of Directors (BOD). Specific items regarded selection and evaluation of chief APA central office staff officers, approval of budgets for establishment and funding of ad hoc groups and determination of membership dues. A motion to vote separately on the three functions passed by a sizeable margin.
An amendment was then proposed to give Council the option to review and renew decisions every three years. Considerable discussion was devoted to alternatives to this amendment, including changing the time frame to one year and postponing the decision until August. The latter was defeated by a large margin. For the first two points (evaluation of chief staff officers, funding of ad hoc groups), the language passed with addition of an amendment for continuing review on a three-year cycle.
On the third point (dues assessments), language was amended such that changes in dues structures recommended by the BOD will continue to require Council approval. A later motion to revisit this decision elicited a great deal of discussion on the structure of membership dues, historic and current patterns of dues income, and alternatives to promote and maintain membership. In the end, the motion as originally approved was retained; thus, Council will still have the authority to approve any dues changes.
Climate change
Council attended a web-based presentation by Janet Swim, PhD, on the psychology of climate change. Swim reviewed her own and others’ research, providing both empirical and conceptual views of behavioral change in support of the environment from the individual to the corporate level. Chief Executive Officer Arthur Evans, PhD, then outlined APA’s efforts in the area of climate change.
Council was then asked to approve a new Response to the Global Climate Change Crisis, replacing and updating the 2011 statement currently in force. An informal ad hoc work group developed an amendment to language, which was accepted; the new response document was then approved.
In other business, Council:
- voted to archive a previous Resolution on Sexual/Gender Diversity in Children and Adolescents in Schools, and to approve a newer 2020 version;
- approved new Practice Guidelines for Assessment and Evaluation;
- accepted, with amendments, the updated Report of Task Force on Violent Video Games.