Dues Increase?

I just got in the mail my brochure for the State Bar Annual Meeting in a large brown envelope. The postage for that envelope was $1.22. The problem is that I downloaded the same brochure as a PDF just last week, with no postage cost to either the Bar or myself. There goes the better part of the $2.00 bar due increase for next year.

One of the issues the Board of Governors will need to tackle is the budget, or more precisely, the expenses. I am not going to say that the staff at the State Bar headquarters is wasteful. In fact, quite contrary. Last year the staff at the Bar Headquarters worked voluntarily worked hard to cut costs and came in substantially under budget. But there are are other ways to cut the costs of operations that will require the cooperation and support from the membership as well.

One area the Bar can cut costs is in communications. The Bar has a state of the art website, membership database and e-mail system. With the use of technology, the bar could cut costs in printing and mailing the many communications it sends out such as brochures, magazines and notices. Tis can eliminate thousands of dollars in costs and as evidenced by the costs just to mail one brochure, could eliminate the need for further bar dues increases.

Please share your insight or for more information.