At the risk of sounding like a dissenting opinion I have a few questions here.
$400 a year represents an almost 50% increase in dues for most people whose livelihoods and wages are impacted by a pandemic.
As an instructor here I have worked very hard to earn the credits for my dues because I know the combination of graduate school and the reality of life in 2020 might make discretionary spending an untenable luxury.
I know of many members who just joined this year, some of whom I train. They feel that some of the maintenance problems we’ve experienced have caused too many aircraft to be unavailable. Paying $900 for broken aircraft every year has made many rethink the wisdom of joining this club, and a financial burden of this size would likely push them further in this direction away from us.
For your first move as a new board to be demanding an increase in dues by almost 50% sets a strong precedent that I’m not sure you fully understand the implications of.