There is no national standard for assigner’s fees. What follows comes from professional observation of the officiating community.

There’s no "best way" to pay the assigner. Here are four methods and some thoughts about each, so your association can make the decision on what suits your situation.

• Assigner is paid 10 percent fee from each game fee. It could be withheld as a deduction from each official’s check. That is the most straightforward method as it is totally tied to workload. It can aggravate officials when they are reminded of the fee each time they get a check; their expectations of the assigner’s performance increase accordingly. Ten percent is the percentage most often used.

• Assigner is paid an agreed-upon salary from the association. The amount is based on the number or games assigned, so the dollar amount could be figured to be the same as if the 10 percent method was used. Most officials won’t begrudge the assigner that salary, as it takes many games for that fee to become a substantial amount and it isn’t being deducted from their game checks. That method works well for an association with an annual budget and some money in the bank.

• Officials pay nothing directly to the assigner. The assigner gets a set fee from the contract negotiated with the institution or league. Officials get whatever per-game fee with no deductions to pay the assigner. Certainly, the money the assigner gets could be passed on to the officials and thereby increase their game fees, but that is a less direct method for assigners to get compensated.

•Assigner takes no fee. There are associations where the assigner works on a volunteer basis. Certainly he or she has an advantage in getting "good games." Maybe being the assigner comes in some logical progression of holding office in the association. Maybe a retired official volunteers simply to keep in touch.

(Written by Tom Herre, Racine, Wis., who spent more than 10 years as NASO-ON (formerly LOAN) coordinator and officiated for more than 20 years.)