[Ec-ncuc] [NCUC Finance] Finance Team reboot

[William Drake]

Hi MM

On Feb 20, 2013, at 11:09 PM, Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu> wrote:

> From: William Drake [mailto:william.drake at uzh.ch] 
> 
> >I don't recall the conversation in which the EC appointed you, but that could just be info overload.  Can you remind >me?  Since the question was posed, my guess is it wasn't common knowledge.
>  
> No, there was no conversation it has just been a default.

Ah.  So the ST exists but is not actually appointed, and you're sort of a permanent member of the EC.  We didn't know this stuff, that's why we were having the conversation.  Not sure how that could be dealt with in any bylaws revision, but people can cross that bridge when they come to it.

> But by the same token, there was no conversation in the EC about Maria, either, and until the EC appoints a Secretary-Treasurer I am still it I guess. Neither you nor FT have the authority to change that. It is done through the EC. Therefore I have shifted this discussion to the EC list.

Nobody suggested that either I or the FT would change anything.  If Maria had said she was interested, the EC would have appointed her.
>  
> The reason for the default is the bank account. If I am to add anyone's signature to this account, they will literally have to come to Syracuse physically and go through an identity verification ritual with the bank. And then that would have to happen again if someone else came along, and there are issues about how to cancel the signature of the second person.  The easiest thing has just been to keep me there as S-T, until such time as NCUC is formally incorporated as a 501 3 c or has a legal personality or something important to gain by making a change.
>  
> I can be trusted to write checks approved by EC because I have done it for many years. You don't want to start messing with that simply because you think it's a good idea to shuffle personalities around.

Nobody suggested that either….if we didn't know you were the permanent secretary, how could we thinking of shuffling, much less for the fun of it?

> The fact that the person you asked hasn't responded in over a week (and has council responsibilities to boot) is exactly the kind of thing that causes concern.

We've communicated privately. She's been ill and hence feeling uncertain about even limited new commitments.  Quite understandable, but apparently no longer an issue, will let her know.

> It's basically a clerical function but if mishandled or ignored could cause a lot of grief.

The cutting checks bit, yes.  On the other hand, the ST position as defined in the current bylaws is responsible for numerous other functions.  Have you been doing any of the others, and/or do you want to?  e.g.,

	• The ST shall process membership applications, research applicant organizations, and provide an initial recommendation to the Chairman regarding membership eligibility.
	• The ST shall be responsible for collecting dues and any other appropriate fees from members, depositing such fee, managing the Constituency's bookkeeping and accounting, and regularly reporting to the Chairman regarding finances and accounts.
	• The ST shall assist the Chairman as needed, including in the coordination of meetings and the timely publication of meeting notes.
>  
> The current situation with the bank account is stable and functional. A lot of things can go wrong if you change it but I see no discernible upside. I know that some probably feel I am holding on to this for some reason, but in truth the only reason is that, as noted before, a lot of things that can go wrong if you change it precipitously, and there is no evident benefit that would come about.  

You're on the lists. The only discussion I've seen was about increasing collective transparency of the account and budget.

> So I would strongly advise the EC to leave this alone - for now - unless there is some significant positive objective to be achieved by changing it. For now, let's concentrate on productive things that actually help the constituency.

Agreed, I believe we will be leaving pretty much everything as it is going forward.

Cheers,

Bill

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