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By Judy Jakush

Honolulu—The 2009 ADA House of Delegates Oct. 6 said "no" to a dues increase for 2010. Dues in 2010 will remain at their current level of $498.

Faced with a funding deficit of more than half a million dollars, the House chose to direct the ADA Board of Trustees to balance spending with funds from the reserves.

The Board had presented the House with a balanced budget, but programs approved by the House at its Honolulu meeting resulted in $536,050 in additional expenditures.

The budgeted expenses for 2010 are $115,222,500 against anticipated revenues of $114,686,450.

The House spent nearly two hours debating the dues question—whether to raise or even lower dues—before deciding to direct the Board to pull from the reserves. Dr. Edward Leone Jr., ADA treasurer, reported to the House that the current economic market had negatively affected reserves, which are at 34 percent of the operating budget. The House-approved target is 50 percent.

After the meeting, Dr. Leone said he thought the Board of Trustees had "worked very diligently over the past year to formulate a budget that would be effective and efficient for the operation of the Association. The House of Delegates was relatively judicial in adding additional costs, but they chose to fund them out of reserves. The impact on the Association's future dues structure will be significant."

Newly installed ADA President Ronald L. Tankersley agreed with Dr. Leone's assessment. "The House probably acted this way because of the stressed economic times we are all facing. However, this is not a practice that can continue," he said.