More fee increases? Any other ideas?

 I just have to say rather quickly that I find it shocking that the market will have another fee increase this June. These rapid increases are at a time when everyone is suffering from the world situation that will make literally everything more expensive. Our micro businesses are generally fragile in that all of our income depends upon our individual ability to make and sell our products. So many things can get in our way, from supply issues, energy costs, and domestic survival costs to the kinds of small crises that to an individual artisan tend to be debilitating. One month of lower income can put a person out of their rental, out of their studio, or out of luck.

The market is supposed to be the safety net for hundreds of people. Many of us do not have adequate resources, adequate health insurance, or any way to make money if we cannot work. This is just the worst time to increase our fees, and it looks and feels extremely insensitive. Nothing in the letter saying that the Budget Committee was unanimous looks like an effort to cut costs, to trim spending to fit the reality, or to ask for and find alternate solutions for us except yet another fee increase.

Let's say you sell fairly well and make an average of $300 in sales, with a reserve booth. In 2022, you would have paid on opening day your $50 membership, your $150 reserve fee, and your $15 plus 10%, for a start-up cost of $245. This year you will have paid $85 for membership, $200 for your reserve fee, and $20 for your space, for a start-up cost of $335. That is a 37% increase. And in June that cost will increase another $5, so that in 2027 it will be $340. If there are not even more increases. Yes, your start up costs are spread over the year, but you still have to come up with them in the spring to be a member in good standing. Which could become important if you need to ask for a leave, or any other special arrangement. And in June you're going to have to register for HM. We've seen outrageous increases there as well. 

Even the 4x4s are not getting a break. To start up in 2022, you would have paid your $50 membership, and would pay $8 plus 10%, and if you were lucky enough to even get a space, and make that $300, you would pay $88 just to sell that first day. That is already a 29% fee. This year, you will pay a start-up cost of $85, plus the $40 for a total of $125. If you made that $300, you will pay 42% in fees. That is just untenable. Plus I'm guessing not a lot of 4x4s make $300. I hope they do but you can't fit much inventory in that small space on the perimeter. 

Every time we used to contemplate a fee increase in the past, I would make a chart showing the possibilities, so that we could see what the fees would look like for all of the income levels. It was generally accepted that somewhere about 25% was a bearable fee. If you just look at the daily space fee of what will be $25 plus 10% and $13 plus 10%, you have to make $200 in an 8x8 and about $80 in a 4x4 to get to around that 25% threshold, and anything below that means you will pay more than 25% in fees. If you reserve, you're paying around $6.45 per market now instead of the $5 you were paying only 4 years ago. That is again, a 29% increase. If you have a zero day, best of luck finding a way to come back now that you invested that $85 for the season. 

The financial statement we got for the end of February showed that some spending had been cut, but not nearly enough. The bottom line was negative $13,900, and did not indicate that the staff and office costs for March would not be covered by any additional  income, putting us even farther in the red for the second year in a row. And we didn't get a statement of what has happened with our savings. And we didn't get real reports or minutes from the budget committee, just the statement that it was unanimous. By how many members? How many people are making these life-changing decisions for the membership? We deserve to know. We deserve to see the real minutes and the real votes in matters this impactful. In all matters. 

We know we paid for that website rebuild that has dubious value and isn't completed. We know we're paying for a legal retainer presumably to make it "more legal" to throw out members who ask difficult questions. We've been told repeatedly that an audit would be "too expensive." Yet in the past audits were done every year on part of our financial processes. We haven't seen one since 2021 or before. 

Fee increases are a tool that has to be used with finesse. The presumption is that membership levels will stay the same, people will still reserve booths, people will still attend regularly. Perhaps it is cynically thought that members will be even more desperate to come to pay for all the many things that also went up in their lives. This is entirely speculative. The perception can also be that a few people are being supported by a large number who are sacrificing beyond their means to do so. Just like what is happening in the macrocosm. Guess we'll see.

I do appreciate that we got a financial statement, which looks carefully prepared. It does show us in a better position than last year at this time. I'm trusting the Budget Committee and Treasurer that they are doing their jobs. I'm not trusting the general direction that we can just pay more. 

The two-year fix for new members is unfair, as there is no reason to believe that all of these members are at the same position; some may come in and sell way better than many established members, who will not get any kind of a discount. That discount does not establish us as a business incubator. We are not just a pass-through for micro businesses that will go on to open storefronts after they are more successful. We are a community that provided mutual support for hundreds of artisans of all kinds and income levels, including many who are just hanging on. Older members face many diminished capabilities that also limit their sales. People who are disabled or ill do as well. It's a gesture that is not based in reality. 

And don't get me started about a flat fee. This is regressive as can be, virtually guaranteeing that any low-income artist will not succeed. We are not Portland. We do not draw crowds that large, and with what is happening with tourism we will be lucky if we don't see dramatic decreases in attendance. The weather is supposed to get hotter and dryer...so we may face fire and smoke issues, something we have no control over. We can't promote ourselves to people who aren't here...and since we don't have professional staff we know we won't get more dynamic and more exciting promotions. And farmers are now closing at 2:00, so again, we have two hours at the end of the day that will need additional support to keep those crowds we do get. We have issues! We need leadership!

It is not easy to run our market and our events every week. We're paying professional salaries. We need a lot more expertise at the helm. We need innovation and fresh new ideas, to be aligned with all of the other organizations facing similar problems. We're not going to succeed with these seemingly simple, but damaging decisions.