During the SCA Board of Directors meeting on Saturday, October 27, the Society Treasurer asked for a policy interpretation on a loophole in the Non-Member Surcharge. Groups had contacted her regarding a practice of not charging site fees to non-members, so that they could benefit from the policy that those who are not charged a site fee do not have to pay the NMS. (Point 4 of the NMS language, see below for full text) These groups were, in effect, charging members to be at their event, but not charging non-members.
Mark Faulcon, BoD member and Ombudsman to the East, pointed out that this would be a self-correcting problem, that groups would run out of money if they continued to do this. Society President Tom Hughes cut in with, “Non-members create an increased liability for site use that the SCA has to pay for. It transfers the burden of risk to paid members. Non-members really have to pay the NMS.” He was adamant that the loophole be closed somehow.
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