So about this meeting...

[Anastasia Wilford]

Has an agenda been posted somewhere? What about officer/department/project reports?

Outside of the announcement about when and where the meeting is, I'm not finding anything in this, our official and public forum about the contents of the meeting (outside of a couple of threads requesting time on the agenda) and there's no meeting folder in the usual place in Egnyte where that stuff seems to be stored.

 

[Anastasia Wilford]

Just found this buried in another thread which is a start. However, consider this my formal request that a preliminary agenda be published a minimum of 2 weeks ahead of the meetings so people can strategize about whether or not there is expected to be time to bring motions to the body, time to thoughtfully consider the business coming up, and know which reports they can expect to be presented.

 

[Andrew Amelang]

So for anyone new to SLEC, the practice for awhile has been to submit officer and director reports not later than about a week before the meeting. That came up in the Kennedy resolution thread yesterday when RJ asked a question about it, and I answered him there. The officers and directors have been aware of this, and y'all will see the agenda later today and should see reports coming in today and possibly some tomorrow. The one exception that I'm aware of is that Joe has been working serious overtime on revising our financial reporting, and he's almost but not quite there, so you may see the Treasurer's report later this weekend or early next week.

I'll take the two week request under advisement, but frankly every quarterly meeting is mostly officers, directors, and our LNC rep reporting on the state of the union, with some time in the afternoon for new business, and most of the requests for time on the agenda will be driven by whatever's going on in the last couple of weeks before the meeting. So anyone paying attention to the forum is going to already know what items are being scheduled for new business, and anyone not paying attention isn't going to get the memo no matter how early I post a draft agenda. But I'll give it a shot in November and see if it makes any difference.

NOTE: As I mentioned on the other thread, some District Reps will use the quarterly meeting as an opportunity to fulfill the 'communicate...to the Party' responsibility of the job description. See this post for more info: https://forum.lptexas.org/index.php?threads/844/#post-8959

 

[Anastasia Wilford]

most of the requests for time on the agenda will be driven by whatever's going on in the last couple of weeks before the meeting. So anyone paying attention to the forum is going to already know what items are being scheduled for new business, and anyone not paying attention isn't going to get the memo no matter how early I post a draft agenda.

Those requests tend to get buried in threads, like your mention of getting an agenda posted got buried, so getting a preliminary agenda further in advance than a week can give people an opportunity to make sure their thing wasn't lost in the shuffle or be sure to get something added if they thought it was being championed by someone else but turned out not to have made it onto the agenda.

It's been the practice for the last 10 years to give more than a week's notice of the proposed agenda, usually at least two weeks, with a reports deadline of one week. Neither of those have needed to be codified up to this point.

 

[Andrew Amelang]

Fair enough. Like I said, that's already the plan for November.

 

[Joe Burnes]

Those requests tend to get buried in threads, like your mention of getting an agenda posted got buried, so getting a preliminary agenda further in advance than a week can give people an opportunity to make sure their thing wasn't lost in the shuffle or be sure to get something added if they thought it was being championed by someone else but turned out not to have made it onto the agenda.

It's been the practice for the last 10 years to give more than a week's notice of the proposed agenda, usually at least two weeks, with a reports deadline of one week. Neither of those have needed to be codified up to this point.

Given that bank reconciliations haven't been done since 2016 and I've been finding accounting errors going back as far as 2005, you'll have to forgive me if you don't get your report a week in advance.

I can say that I do not appreciate the attitude and my patience doesn't run as deep as Andrew's. At this point, I have put in close to 200 hours to get our financials in shape. Being called out in a public forum does not sit well with me. If you want to "codify" a requirement for when the reports are due, feel free to make the motion.

If I had the time, I would happily go back and prove your statement wrong as my memory does not agree that we have usually been given two weeks notice on the agenda or that the department reports were furnished to us a week in advance. I distinctly remember multiple meetings over the past several years where we got the agenda in under a week and department reports within a few days of the meeting. But I'm not going to waste my time on that... or arguing this. I'm going to spend my time doing what I was elected to do.

You will get my report when I can be certain that it is accurate, and not before. Just know that my desire to get it to you as soon as possible lessens with pettiness like this.

 

[Anastasia Wilford]

That's rich coming from the man who lambasted anyone who voted to approve Corpus because you alone didn't have enough time to go through the reports.

Of all people, I thought you'd understand.

 

[Joe Burnes]

That's rich coming from the man who lambasted anyone who voted to approve Corpus because you alone didn't have enough time to go through the reports.

Of all people, I thought you'd understand.

"you alone" was about 48% of the entire body. Feel free to consult the minutes and correct me if I'm off. "Didn't have enough time to go through the reports" is another misrepresentation of the facts that you are making. The numbers in those reports were changing right up until the vote was called. We never had a solid report to make a decision on.

Almost half the body voted in a way to postpone. And that decision was a $70,000 decision that was under no real emergency to make. Nothing being presented at this meeting will come remotely close to carrying that level of financial gravity.

And I do fully understand (and agree with your underlying point) which is why I'm working my ass off to get my report out as soon as possible. It is not the underlying point (having enough time to adequately consider decisions put before us) that I have a problem with. It is the disrespectful manner in which it is being presented and the manipulation of facts to inaccurately make it appear that this group of officers is doing something completely out of line with what has been done in the recent past.

I'm getting Kathy Glass vibes here. And just like with Kathy Glass, if you are going to bend the facts to make a point, I'm going to be there to push back until you're willing to be completely honest. There are a lot of new faces on this body and they deserve the entire story, not just the pieces that benefit the point you're trying to make.

 

[John Wilford]

Given that bank reconciliations haven't been done since 2016 and I've been finding accounting errors going back as far as 2005, you'll have to forgive me if you don't get your report a week in advance.

I can say that I do not appreciate the attitude and my patience doesn't run as deep as Andrew's. At this point, I have put in close to 200 hours to get our financials in shape. Being called out in a public forum does not sit well with me. If you want to "codify" a requirement for when the reports are due, feel free to make the motion.

If I had the time, I would happily go back and prove your statement wrong as my memory does not agree that we have usually been given two weeks notice on the agenda or that the department reports were furnished to us a week in advance. I distinctly remember multiple meetings over the past several years where we got the agenda in under a week and department reports within a few days of the meeting. But I'm not going to waste my time on that... or arguing this. I'm going to spend my time doing what I was elected to do.

You will get my report when I can be certain that it is accurate, and not before. Just know that my desire to get it to you as soon as possible lessens with pettiness like this.

As the person who was doing the reconciliations in 2016 and cleaned it up then (with regular help from Ana) I'm completely sympathetic to what you are saying. I'm also not surprised at what you are finding, though I was hoping to be. Most importantly, I want to applaud you here; the transparency about the situation is refreshing and much-needed progress. Now, due praise and sympathy out of the way, there is work to do, as you're well aware. I personally know that in the 2014 term, when we switched the bank accounts, one of the things that were helpful was it killed the QBO connection to the old bank accounts, allowing the old unreconciled transactions to fall off.and us move forward with correct balances and budget tracking after that. I know we have switched banks at least once since then, so it may be that a similar reset has already occurred sometime post-2016, but I am not sure. Is there a plan in place to get us back on track? Is it possible to reconcile back to the point of the account change and let everything prior just sit where it lies? Would it possibly be prudent to just go move to new accounts and start reconciling moving forward? Most importantly, is there anything this body or I personally can do to help?

I hope you don't feel called out by being questioned further but for good or bad, in public, is where SLEC does it's business and while I very much appreciate you taking this on and the transparency that is already coming forward, we have a job to do and there will be no world where the body just accepts silence on our financials. You would not have accepted it when you were a rep, and we will not now. It would be grossly negligent of us if we did. Any further information you have at this time is much appreciated as well as any information you get between now and the meeting.

Thanks

 

[John Wilford]

I'm getting Kathy Glass vibes here. And just like with Kathy Glass, if you are going to bend the facts to make a point, I'm going to be there to push back until you're willing to be completely honest. There are a lot of new faces on this body and they deserve the entire story, not just the pieces that benefit the point you're trying to make.

On a separate note, I realize you are in the middle of processing your feelings around what is going on with the position and the requests being made of you in the position but can we please for the love of everything Libertarian stop talking about Kathie... She left years ago to go pursue a spot in the GOP after we censured her for using our data to promote a GOP candidate, half the people here don't even know what you're talking about, and I swear I still hear their name more than anybody in the party. Politics has always been a game of personalities, logic, and rhetoric, can we please have any more creativity in our frustration than to contribute to the iconography of Kathie Glass.

 

[Joe Burnes]

As the person who was doing the reconciliations in 2016 and cleaned it up then (with regular help from Ana) I'm completely sympathetic to what you are saying. I'm also not surprised at what you are finding, though I was hoping to be. Most importantly, I want to applaud you here; the transparency about the situation is refreshing and much-needed progress. Now, due praise and sympathy out of the way, there is work to do, as you're well aware. I personally know that in the 2014 term, when we switched the bank accounts, one of the things that were helpful was it killed the QBO connection to the old bank accounts, allowing the old unreconciled transactions to fall off.and us move forward with correct balances and budget tracking after that. I know we have switched banks at least once since then, so it may be that a similar reset has already occurred sometime post-2016, but I am not sure. Is there a plan in place to get us back on track? Is it possible to reconcile back to the point of the account change and let everything prior just sit where it lies? Would it possibly be prudent to just go move to new accounts and start reconciling moving forward? Most importantly, is there anything this body or I personally can do to help?

I hope you don't feel called out by being questioned further but for good or bad, in public, is where SLEC does it's business and while I very much appreciate you taking this on and the transparency that is already coming forward, we have a job to do and there will be no world where the body just accepts silence on our financials. You would not have accepted it when you were a rep, and we will not now. It would be grossly negligent of us if we did. Any further information you have at this time is much appreciated as well as any information you get between now and the meeting.

Thanks

In answer to all of your questions in your first paragraph, 5 of the new Frost Bank accounts were started in April of 2021 with the final Frost account being started in August of 2021. I have reconciled all accounts going back to their inception through end of June 2024. QuickBooks now matches reality for every bank account we currently have. As far as a plan to keep us on track, I will be asking the rules committee to add additional requirements to the Treasurer position which will include forcing bank reconciliations to be provided to this body on a monthly basis. Once I know they are accurate (while the money is currently accurate, the accounts that expenses and income are assigned to are not fully corrected), I will provide all reconciliation reports going back to the inception of the accounts. I am thinking the best way to do this would be to upload them into Egnyte and make a public post in the forum with the link to the report in Egnyte. This provides notification to the body while maintaining privacy.
Before this meeting (likely Wednesday or Thursday.... But I keep uncovering situations that end up requiring additional hours that were unplanned for), this body will be provided accurate Balance Sheets for Q1 and Q2 of 2024...with one minor exception (The equity side and retain earnings will be off as AJEs had to happen to correct for old errors.... But none of that really matters as there is no true equity in this "business"). I will not be able to deal with that exception prior to this meeting but will address it with a professional likely in August (I'm going to need money to do that which will require a motion but at this point I don't even know how much I need to ask for yet). We also very well may be switching away from QB entirely. The number of hours both Jocelyn and I have had to log due to known bugs in QB is ridiculous. At this point, I feel like an abacus and some crayons would be more efficient tools for me.

I will also provide accurate income statements for Q1 and Q2 of 2024. I am currently working through the chart of accounts and adjusting it to fit reality and our current budget (And then re-categorizing all transactions accordingly). While I will not be able to achieve budgeting within QuickBooks at this time, the budget spreadsheet I will provide will draw its numbers directly from a QB income statement that will be provided so there will be no concerns about where the numbers come from.

I do not feel called out by being questioned further and will always welcome financial questions. And you are correct, I do not expect this body to accept silence on the financials. I had intended to have finalized reports to the body with a week to spare but this turned out to be a far bigger task than I had anticipated and if I'd have known the extent of it, I would have gotten Kate some professional help when she took office because this position very much needs an on-call professional accountant to answer questions/provide direction as well as someone who is intimately familiar with QB and the workarounds that should be employed to deal with QB bugs.

Let me know if there is anything I have missed or if you have any other questions at this point.

 

[John Wilford]

In answer to all of your questions in your first paragraph, 5 of the new Frost Bank accounts were started in April of 2021 with the final Frost account being started in August of 2021. I have reconciled all accounts going back to their inception through end of June 2024. QuickBooks now matches reality for every bank account we currently have. As far as a plan to keep us on track, I will be asking the rules committee to add additional requirements to the Treasurer position which will include forcing bank reconciliations to be provided to this body on a monthly basis. Once I know they are accurate (while the money is currently accurate, the accounts that expenses and income are assigned to are not fully corrected), I will provide all reconciliation reports going back to the inception of the accounts. I am thinking the best way to do this would be to upload them into Egnyte and make a public post in the forum with the link to the report in Egnyte. This provides notification to the body while maintaining privacy.
Before this meeting (likely Wednesday or Thursday.... But I keep uncovering situations that end up requiring additional hours that were unplanned for), this body will be provided accurate Balance Sheets for Q1 and Q2 of 2024...with one minor exception (The equity side and retain earnings will be off as AJEs had to happen to correct for old errors.... But none of that really matters as there is no true equity in this "business"). I will not be able to deal with that exception prior to this meeting but will address it with a professional likely in August (I'm going to need money to do that which will require a motion but at this point I don't even know how much I need to ask for yet). We also very well may be switching away from QB entirely. The number of hours both Jocelyn and I have had to log due to known bugs in QB is ridiculous. At this point, I feel like an abacus and some crayons would be more efficient tools for me.

I will also provide accurate income statements for Q1 and Q2 of 2024. I am currently working through the chart of accounts and adjusting it to fit reality and our current budget (And then re-categorizing all transactions accordingly). While I will not be able to achieve budgeting within QuickBooks at this time, the budget spreadsheet I will provide will draw its numbers directly from a QB income statement that will be provided so there will be no concerns about where the numbers come from.

I do not feel called out by being questioned further and will always welcome financial questions. And you are correct, I do not expect this body to accept silence on the financials. I had intended to have finalized reports to the body with a week to spare but this turned out to be a far bigger task than I had anticipated and if I'd have known the extent of it, I would have gotten Kate some professional help when she took office because this position very much needs an on-call professional accountant to answer questions/provide direction as well as someone who is intimately familiar with QB and the workarounds that should be employed to deal with QB bugs.

Let me know if there is anything I have missed or if you have any other questions at this point.

This was very helpful to my decisions moving forward and my general peace of mind.
Thank you!