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Bad Manners and Brimstone
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#Post#: 15731--------------------------------------------------
A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: Despedina
Date: October 9, 2018, 3:05 pm
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I'm the treasurer for a youth organization. We have a Committee
that consists of various parents with positions and parents that
are registered members of the organization. I would say about 15
people. We have committee meetings once a month (which are held
outside of the weekly youth meetings run by the youth.
Today I got a text from the former communications chair. She is
still on the committee as a registered parent but stepped back
since her son is not so active anymore. She has a hard time
though letting go so still does a lot of things she should pass
on to the new committee and communications chairs. She is
telling me that "a few of us" decided to give a $125 donation to
the scoutmaster's family after the loss of his mother in law.
She told me she needed to be reimbursed since she wrote her own
check. This happened previously this year when a parent's
brother in law passed away. None of the committee were aware
either time that a death had happened and had no input on the
donation. I am simply asked for reimbursement. This time I asked
who is making these decisions and why the committee is not being
involved. I'm told they "always" spend $80-90 on flowers for
funerals and that she, John, and Jane decided a donation to the
family would be better. She then said there is not time to ask
the whole committee. In this case there was 2 weeks between the
death and the funeral. Also I was not aware of this policy and I
know some others are not either. I told her if that is the case
the committee needs to be aware this is happening and the need
for it. I also told her that funeral purchases were not the
only issue, that a few seem to be making decisions for the many.
Last December the youth decided to go to a popular indoor
amusement area. A few adults called to set it up but gave the
rest of us NO information. Also none f the adults involved in
that attended, so myself, my husband and 1 other dad who went to
chaperone were completely in the dark on what youth were coming,
who had paid, or what the policies were. We then found out that
the policies were not being followed (everyone needed to arrive
at the same time) because only one adult had gotten the
confirmation email with this policy and had not shared it with
anyone else. This adult did not attend.
So I don't know how to bring this up. I don't want to bring the
funeral issue up at a committee meeting because the scoutmaster
will be there and he will feel bad. I'm not against the donation
but I don't understand why so many of us are being kept in the
dark about decisions. Thoughts?
#Post#: 15737--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: frog24
Date: October 9, 2018, 3:51 pm
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This is absolutely not OK. It should be put on your next agenda
as a motion for discussion and added to your bylaws. All group
spending must come through the committee. All group events have
to be brought to the committee (planning can go to a parent-run
sub-committee).
Both events you described raise serious red-flags for me, as
they rightly do for you as the treasurer.
#Post#: 15738--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: Rose Red
Date: October 9, 2018, 3:55 pm
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Maybe in the next meeting, you can bring up how it seems
decisions seem to be made without consulting the committee which
results in confusion. Bring up the field trip, and how donations
are handled (without bringing up the specific cases). How word
of mouth don't work since people will miss the announcements.
Inform everyone that all these topics need to be brought up
officially at an official meeting so that one person can be
assigned to organize so nobody is kept in the dark until the
last minute which results in chaos like having no chaperones.
For example, if money is collected, "Jane" will organize it and
collect the money, instead of handing money to random members
willy nilly just because a random member told you to pay up.
I bet you're not the only one who feels this way.
#Post#: 15739--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: lmyrs
Date: October 9, 2018, 3:56 pm
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You're the treasurer. You need to create a specific and clear
policy around how spending decision will be made. Then, at the
next meeting, table the policy and explain that from this point
forward, no spending will be approved and no expenses will be
reimbursed without following the precise steps.
As for field trip things - I'd say that you should just make a
rule if you want to coordinate a field trip, you have to be a
supervisor for it.
#Post#: 15740--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: NyaChan
Date: October 9, 2018, 3:58 pm
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I wouldn’t bring up the particular instance of the funeral to
avoid making the scoutmaster feel bad though I think you are
justified in your thinking. Instead I would issue a reminder
of proper policy at the full meeting and make clear that future
requests for reimbursement will be denied if policy isn’t
followed. The trip issue seems different - that’s an
organizational problem and I think definitely worth bringing up
for discussion too but perhaps separate from the treasury issue.
#Post#: 15747--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: AvidReader
Date: October 9, 2018, 5:06 pm
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This is the kind of financial shenanigans that gets volunteer
groups into trouble.
You need the clarification of a written policy statement
approved by the entire voting membership of the adult Committee.
All expenses will be approved in advance by a majority of voting
Committee members or approved in like manner (in advance by a
majority of voting Committee members) by email poll between
Committee meetings.
Not your bailiwick, but if it is not already doing so, the group
needs to be sending out a weekly blast email to all parents and
kids with any and all activity updates, reminders, and
requirements, etc. Ask me how I know.....DH has been involved
with a scout group for years and every Monday morning the troop
blast email shows up.
#Post#: 15753--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: Amara
Date: October 9, 2018, 6:47 pm
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Things like this really tick me off. No one has the right to
spend anyone else's money whether it is co-workers, family,
friends, or committees /organizations. And that is exactly what
is happening here.
Nor has anyone the right to spend any one else's time. This
includes holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings,
celebrations. You can invite people to share your holiday but
you can't arbitrarily decide that your way is how they will
spend it.
People assuming control of both of these--money and time--make
me mad as hell. It's disrespectful and dishonest. It's also
selfish. This person had no right, OP, to choose how much anyone
else is going to spend. Maybe no one wants to spend it on that.
Off to "grrrrrrrrrr" now. [emoji35]
#Post#: 15761--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: gmatoy
Date: October 9, 2018, 9:15 pm
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Okay, I'm going to give you some serious ammunition, if you are
in the U.S. If you are audited by the IRS, they will ask to see
both the financial records and the minutes of the meeting. They
are looking to see that there was a motion, that it was seconded
and that it carried (or passed.)
If there are expenditures without those things, your
organization could be in trouble. Money can not be spent without
the consent of the body or the body's representatives. So if the
rules say the board can make decisions, then they can, but there
must be a paper trail.
So, make the IRS the bad guy.
I can remember going to a state PTA convention, where a speaker
gave a talk about things that would be helpful for the secretary
to know. She told us to bring tape, thumb tacks, extra pens,
etc. When she was done she asked for questions. I asked her to
speak to the importance, should we be audited, of the official
minutes. Blank stare. She said, "Perhaps you'd like to address
that concern."
So I did, with a question and answer time afterward. Can you
tell that this important to me?
#Post#: 15766--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: mime
Date: October 9, 2018, 10:44 pm
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Oooh, I remember some stuff happening like this when I was the
treasurer at my old church. There were protocols I had to follow
that were very effective, but every once in a while someone
would still come along who thought they could just spend the
church's money however they saw fit.
In a smaller and less formal group, I think I'd handle future
requests/demands with an urgent email to all people who have a
vote, explain that you were taken by surprise, and for the sake
of clean records: was this voted & approved, or should we do a
vote now? Then it is out in the open that a couple of people are
making rogue spending decisions, and the whole group can weigh
in on whether or not they're ok with it.
As for the poor planning, I'd bring it up at a completely
different time so the two issues don't get twisted together.
#Post#: 15770--------------------------------------------------
Re: A few making decisions for the many
DIR By: Aleko
Date: October 10, 2018, 2:13 am
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I agree with the people who have said that the unplanned event
is a separate issue and should be tackled separately.
When you do, I would give it both barrels. The organisational
failures on that occasion could easily have led to some mishap
(eg child dropped off by parents, left wandering lost around the
venue). If it had, either the parents who did turn up to
chaperone, or the organisation, or both, could have been found
legally at fault; and whatever insurance your organisation has
would certainly not cover such an ad-hoc,
not-properly-authorised event. If anything untoward had
happened, that could have been a disaster for the organisation
and the individual organisers and chaperones.
I would move formally that no external trip or special event
should EVER take place without [written list of steps] being
followed, and that all members of the organisation, and all
parents, should be made aware that any trip organised without
these processes is not one of the organisation's events, should
not be represented as such, is not covered by the organisation's
insurance, and is the sole responsibility and risk of the people
who set it up
Seriously: you simply cannot risk well-meant lash-ups like this.
The issue of individuals making payments unauthorised by the
committee should be addressed quite separately, but if both
issues are tackled properly and nailed down, you should find
that your queen bee is a whole lot readier to 'let go', and a
good thing too. (She can't have been a good communications
chair, surely!)
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