WASFAA Fiscal Planning Committee
Lemieux Library, Seattle UniversityJune 24, 2004
Present: Jim White, Kate Peterson, Steve Herndon, Peter Miller, Kay Soltis, Lana Walter, Wendy Olson (for Secretary Kathie Anderson)
Not Present: Kathie Anderson, Theresa Bosworth and Judy Saling Field
Meeting began at 9:00.
President Jim White gave each member the SASFAA training notebook which can be used to gain ideas for WASFAA. It contains training materials for new state presidents.
Kay Soltis began the meeting with the news that 128 people are here in Seattle for the Summer Institute.
Banking On Line: Lana Walter, Peter Miller and Steve Herndon have researched banking on line for WASFAA. Bank of America has no branches in Alaska, so it will not be possible for Peter Miller to make physical deposits with them. On-line bill paying may not be that beneficial since many of our payments are to organizations that we don’t have regular business transactions with (like hotels and drayage companies). The cost to WASFAA if we used Intuit with QuickbooksPro is $800 - $1500 for the software and then a monthly maintenance fee. Making deposits takes a lot of the treasurer’s time so Steve proposed that we decentralize this process. Discussion followed about simplifying the reimbursement process (lots of checks are required). One possibility to reduce the work load of the Treasurer is to have the Treasurer-Elect handle deposits and the Treasurer does the rest. Kay Soltis asked that Peter Miller create a proposal that would suggest utilizing the Treasurer-Elect for more Treasurer’s tasks (like deposits), the benefits of on-line banking, and changing our bank, for the October meeting. We will bring to the Executive Council the proposal that we have a debit card available for key WASFAA officers which would reduce the number of checks that need to be cut.
Historical Archives: Jim White contacted Kate Bligh, Historical Archives Committee Chair. She reported that a company in Tacoma has made a proposal to make all of our records that we wish to archive adobe acrobat files and saving them on to compact disks. The cost would be $2000. Jim suggests that we add to the Policies and Procedures the requirement that we put all of the information that we want to keep forever, on the website for three years and then after that burn it to a CD. Peter will be demonstrating how we can utilize our website’s committee management capabilities. The organization that Kate hired to do our archival work last year received funding to do the job ($1100), but did not provide the service as anticipated, so a refund will be due to WASFAA. Kate Bligh will need to request a budget increase for 2004-5.
Laptop Computer for Secretary: It was agreed that $2000 could be allocated for the purchase of the laptop.
Membership: A list of the benefits of WASFAA membership was reviewed.
Spring Training: Jim White proposed that when training occurs within two months of May 1, membership dues can be attributed to the next fiscal year.
Adjustments to the Budget: Steve Herndon initiated a discussion about why and when adjustments should be made. Kate Peterson recommended that we allow the Treasurer to hire a part-time person to assist with the Treasurer’s tasks. This proposal can be part of the proposal that Peter Miller will bring to the October meeting. The proposed budget adjustments are on Lana’s WASFAA Budget that was sent out this week.
WASFAA Bags – Bags were purchased to be utilized at the conference, Jerry Sims Management and Leadership Institute and Summer Institute. The expense will be attributed to all three budgets proportionally. It was proposed that the Vice President will make the purchase of the give-away for these three events in consultation with the chairs of these committees.
Associate Members – We reviewed the use of these terms and some possible proposals for voting representation on the Executive Council. No final proposal was suggested.
Asset Reserves – Our asset reserve level should equal the three year average of our most recent budgets. Catherine King-Todd was going to have someone make professional suggestions about our investments. This will be addressed at the executive council meeting. We should review our expenses/cash flow to make sure the cash will be available for bills.
Travel – The category “Telephone” needs to be a separate item on the instructions that accompany the Reimbursement form. The amount will be adjusted to $10 from $3. Kay Soltis wishes to adjust the maximum for meals to $46.00 per day ($10, $14, $22). The ground transportation section is going to move to the “Receipts Required” section. .375 is the mileage reimbursement value set by the IRS. The title “Air Fare” will be used instead of “Transportation.” The reimbursement form instructions will be updated with this information and the roommate requirement changed. Lana will make the changes with assistance from Peter (who will make the changes on the web).
Contractual Agreements – Jim White is proposing that we allow chairs to sign contracts or agreements when approved by the president and acting as the president’s designee.
Old WASFAA Give-Away Items and Training Materials – The training materials that are no longer current can be dumped, but vests and other give-away items can be used as door prizes or gifts that the president can take to state conferences or other regional events.
Tracking Assets – Kay Soltis has established a form to track WASFAA’s assets. She will develop a master list of our assets after the information from other Executive Council members has been gathered. The Fiscal Chair is responsible for keeping the information updated and the Treasurer will keep the information with the other fiscal records of the organization.
Executive Committee – Jim White would like to have more preparation before the Executive Council meetings so that straight forward proposals can be discussed at the meetings with less problem solving. The Executive Committee can be used for this purpose.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Wendy Olson, on behalf of Kathie Anderson, Secretary