Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/626797
continue to use the overwhelming majority of the federal LUST trust fund money in ways that was never intended, they have just announced a new ozone standard which will cause thousands of counties across the country to fall into non-attainment status and likely require reformulated gasoline and/or lower RVP fuels and there is serious talk about raising the federal motor fuels tax rate. In Alabama the 2015 legislative session brought a proposed indexing of the state gasoline tax which would have provided for the tax to increase from 18 to 64.5 cents per gallon. We saw the Director of the Department of Environmental Management attempt to raid our state UST Trust Fund of $7.7 million to offset the agency's general fund budget cuts. We had a proposal to implement a lottery and there was a 25 cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax. And although the last two are not "fuels" issues, they are important to jobbers who operate stores. And with legislators who are, at least in most instances, not inclined to increase taxes, permit fees and fines from state agencies have skyrocketed over the past few years as these agencies attempt to keep their operations at current levels. In Alabama, cities and counties are also able to impose local option taxes on motor fuels and cigarettes so specific marketers and specific markets are at an even higher competitive disadvantage. From the association's perspective, the consolidation within our industry is our most challenging issue for a variety of reasons. Our dues income makes up approximately one-third of our annual income and is based on a monthly average of gallons sold with a cap applied. As more of our larger members, those who are already at our dues cap, purchase smaller members the net result is a direct loss in dues income. As multi-state retail chains purchase Alabama jobbers they are often less likely to participate in individual state associations, again resulting in a loss of dues income. When the major oil companies began to merge two companies became one resulting in a loss of dues income. But the problem doesn't end with the dollars... Fewer members mean fewer attendees at association sponsored events. Fewer attendees make it harder to sell sponsorships resulting in registration fees increasing. Higher fees mean fewer attendees. It's a vicious cycle. From a governmental affairs perspective, fewer members means a loss of grassroots strength. Where before we may have had 7 branded jobbers in a city of 20,000 today there may be two or three. And in some cases we have no jobber presence at all. In 1989 the Oilmen were known for their political involvement. As I mentioned earlier most jobbers were leaders in their local communities. In many cases they are now gone and the void created by their absence is hard to fill. Couple this with the fact that most retail locations are now being leased to multi cultural dealers, many of whom participate in ethnic specific buying groups but not traditional state based trade associations and the political clout shrinks even further. Finally, what may be our biggest challenge is the fact that it is difficult to separate "Member benefits from Industry benefits." When I came to the association in 1989, it was almost a given that jobbers supported the group that protected their industry. Most never considered not joining the association because they couldn't imagine running their business without the services the association provided. Today the internet has changed what the association offers. Members can get more information with the click of a mouse than the association could have provided in a week back in 1989 and the younger generation (Millennials) get their "networking" via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or some other form of social or electronic media. Coming to the association's summer convention used to be the family's summer vacation but fewer and fewer of this generation see the value in association-sponsored events. What the association does still provide is governmental and regulatory affairs. For the most part, it is still the association who watches over the industry in terms of legislative and regulatory issues. Unfortunately, the work we do in these areas to protect the members most always benefits the non-member as well and in today's environment, "why pay for the cow when you are getting the milk for free?" So today's challenge for state associations like P&CMA is to remain relevant in a rapidly and continuously changing environment. We must learn how to communicate with our members, be able to identify the programs and services that provide members with the desired return on their dues investment and be willing to make changes to our offerings where necessary. At the end of the day, our long-term survival depends on our ability to provide "member only" products and services that add value to our member's companies.