Good news: Folks have been asking how the troop can take payments for things like camp outs, summer camps and recharter fees while we're doing the whole pandemic lockdown thing, and we now have that nailed down.  In the upper right-hand corner of our website, you can see a new selection called "Payments" - this will tell you how to get a payment to the troop treasurer. Many thanks to Mike Wells for setting that up!

Good news: The troop committee voted to suspend payment of 2021 dues until we can get back together for meetings and campings, which should help a lot when we consider that because of the impact of the pandemic on fundraising this year, we need folks to pay for their own recharter fees in accordance with the troop policies/by-laws ($66 for each youth, $42 for each adult.)  I have been asked, "Hey, if the troop has a positive balance in the bank, shouldn't that all go towards rechartering fees, and then ask everyone to pay their part of the difference?"  The answer to that is "No."  We need to keep a strong balance so that we can use that money to ensure that we can secure reservations with "early-bird" savings on summer camps, Klondike Derbies, Camporees, etc.  That usually involves submitting the entire balance due before every family in our troop is able to pay for their part of it. Remember, not everyone has $350 - $1500 laying around to pay for their summer camp, so being able to spread that expense across a few months can be the difference between a youth going or not going.  Also, being able to get those early-bird rates can save the average scout/scouter up to $100 annually. Considering that some families send more than one youth to a camp out or summer camp AND may have an adult going, too, it can save those families a boat load of money.

Necessary items and money are often donated by troop committee members to help with all of this, but we cannot rely on that to happen all of the time.  Scouting, compared to other activities such as sports, music lessons, STEAM clubs, and other activities, is still a really great value.  And when it comes to week-long, residential summer camps, you would be hard-pressed to find one that provides the same level of activities and amenities as a BSA summer camping program.

We aim to keep the costs of scouting as low as possible without sacrificing the quality of the program. And at the end of the day, one of our goals is to ensure that we spend every single penny of the annual troop budget on the youth and on training.  We also aim to make working with the troop as convenient as possible. If you have suggestions along these lines, tell a committee member or - better yet - join the committee!