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Finance Committee Notes:
June 16, 2004
Draft Notes:
Finance Committee Teleconference Meeting
WEDNESDAY June 16, 2004
Attendees:
Bill Meyers CA facilitator; Jake Schneider WI; Emily Citkowski staff; Jeff
Turner HI; Jo Chamberlain CA notes; Doug Malkan.
Approval of
minutes of June 2 meeting
-approved with Jeff's changes made. Bill will repost with corrections.
1.
Comprehensive database and reporting systems update
-Doug Jeff & Emily (lead person for the database working group)
-Megan is working on merging the old with the new database.
-Data is being input.
-Should finish next week or week after.
2. Income
cost accounting-update- Doug Emily and Jeff
-discussion about how to improve reporting.
-created(ing) income categories.
-second month of doing inventory of merchandise.
-discussion on how caucuses will function within the current party
structure.
3. Committee
Mission Policies and Procedures update (see below)
- Bill - willing to defer until after Milwaukee meeting next week.
4. Revisions
to current Fiscal Policy - Rules and Procedures Update (see below)
-Jake
-new SC will be organized by *portfolio* how this will work remains to be
seen.
-discussion regarding caucus and committee actions.
5. Weekly
financial reports Update
-Jeff Jake
- see reports
- proposal: expenditures under $50 will not be individually itemized on
future reports agreed by consensus.
6. Budget
Amendment Schedule- Jo Jake
-proposal: stop working on 2004 revised budget and focus on 2005 and four
year budget instead agreed to by consensus.
7. Finance
Committee meeting at the convention- Jake
- Jake and Jo will be doing report to the CC 10 min.
- Jeff will provide written material about need for 4 year budget.
- Thursday, June 24th, between 4 and 5:45 pm for meeting in person.
8. Cash Flow-
Income & Expenditures - Everyone
- were not able to add to the reserve last month.
- seem to be spending what comes in.
- income about half for convention and half for general party use.
- still under spending freeze until income increases.
- on next scheduled teleconference will need to make some serious
decisions about income issue.
- convention budget is close to actual costs; income still unknown but
looks like will be positive.
9. Posting
FinCom minutes on our web page Bill Emily
- taken care of already.
10. CCC/
Campaign Resource Program Update Doug
- Doug will be monitoring AZ account and report at each teleconference.
11. Next
meeting
- June 30th, 5 to 6:30 pm Pacific Time.
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Revised Draft
by Bill Meyers on June 2, 2004
Mission,
Policies, and Procedures
Green Party of the United States
Finance Committee
Committee
Mission
The primary
mission of the Finance Committee is to monitor fiscal activities. In
addition it is to consult with staff and officers to make recommendations
to the Coordinating Committee for fiscal policy changes and prepare annual
budgets and occasional budget amendments for the consideration of the
Coordinating Committee. The Finance Committee will oversee day-to-day
affairs of party finances such as bank accounts, methods of disbursement,
etc., as well as obtain an independent annual audit of our financial
affairs by a certified public accountant, as the Finance Committee shall
be considered our audit committee.
Committee
Structure
Membership on
the Finance Committee will be, at a minimum, the GPUS Treasurer, the GPUS
accountant, the designated Steering Committee member who is on the banking
signatory card, and any Steering Committee members who choose to join. Any
member of the Coordinating Committee may join with the voted approval of
the Coordinating Committee. With the approval of their state Green Party,
persons who are Green Party members but not Coordinating Committee
members, including members from states not organized as part of GPUS, may
join if approved by the Coordinating Committee. Volunteers for the Finance
Committee shall inform the Steering Committee of their interest, so that
the Steering Committee may make a timely proposal for approval of the new
members. Members may serve until they resign or are removed for cause.
Members who
have not participated on-line, in subcommittees, or on teleconferences for
the prior three months shall not be counted towards quorum. Quorum will
consist of a majority of active members.
Members may
be removed for cause by the Coordinating Committee upon a proposal from
the Steering Committee. Members may be removed:
1. After
missing meetings for three or more months, or missing more than half the
meetings in a given calendar year;
2. After
registering in any party other than the Green Party or an affiliate of the
GPUS;
3. Upon
notification of removal by the state party where the member has
membership;
4. Upon any
malfeasance, corruption, or behavior which the Coordinating Committee
deems to be incompatible with Finance Committee membership.
The co-chairs
of the committee will be the GPUS Treasurer and the designated Steering
Committee member who is on the banking signatory card. The co-chairs will
be responsible for keeping the committee on task, maintaining a roster of
committee members, conducting votes, and communicating with the
Coordinating Committee and Steering Committee.
Decision
Making
The committee
will meet no less than once per month, but may set more frequent meetings.
Meetings will be in-person or by teleconference. All meetings must be
noticed to the committee members at least 3 days in advance.
Proposals
require no advance notice, but advance notice is encouraged. The committee
will seek to operate by consensus. It there is no consensus a proposal may
be brought to a vote; a two-thirds vote of the committee members present
at the meeting is required to pass a proposal. When concerns are expressed
but not withdrawn, they must be reported in the minutes. If the proposal
is forwarded to the Steering Committee, the concerns must be included in
the report to the Steering Committee.
An e-mail
vote on a proposal may be authorized at a committee meeting and will
follow the same rules for passage as a proposal presented in a meeting.
Such proposals will have an explicit deadline set and will require a
two-thirds vote for passage.
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RULES AND
PROCEDURES OF THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
Updated March 14, 2002
RULES AND PROCEDURES:
1. POWERS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE
Organizational effectiveness requires the Steering Committee:
8. Administer Green Party fundraising and organizational support
expenditures
(ADD)
as well as review recommendations received from the
Finance
Committee for
possible implementation.
5. FISCAL POLICY
Income
(REVISED)
Individuals: Contributions from
individuals will be accepted in
amounts as permitted
by law and all excess contributions
will be returned. The names
of all individuals
contributors will be public.
Contributions are not
tax-deductible. This limit is
subject to a sunset clause at the
first meeting of the Green
Party following the 2008
elections. The Coordinating
Committee must vote to continue this
policy, or the
limit will revert to the levels in
effect prior to this policy.
(REVISED)
The treasurer's annual report
to the Coordinating Committee will
partially consist of
the most recent Federal
Elections Commission report which is
viewable in the
public domain and includes
details on contributions by category
as well as the
names and addresses of
all contributing parties, individuals,
and organizations.
Merchandising
(DELETE)
Expenses for, and income
from, any Green Party merchandising
will be handled
through a separate
account (Green Party Merchandising)
established for this
purpose.
Expenditures
(REVISED)
Expenditures
from the Green Party's general operating account
(DELETE)
or from the merchandising
account,
(REVISED)
may be made by Treasurer upon
written request only when such
expenditures have
been authorized in the Green
Party's interim, annual, or revised
annual budget.
(REVISED)
All
expenditures must be made by check
(ADD)
or credit
card.
(REVISED)
The treasurer when authorized in an
approved budget may make
expenditures from the general funds up to a maximum of $2000 for
individual payment without additional signatures from another designated
Steering Committee member. In
excess of the amount of $2000 the Treasurer shall request and obtain an
electronic approval from the designated Steering Committee member for
each payment.
The designated Steering
Committee member shall be on the banking
signature card.
The Treasurer
shall also make individuals payments when the
Steering Committee approves discretionary expenditures under policies
set forth in these rules.
A petty cash fund will be
managed in the national office for the
handling of small local expenses with monthly reports of this fund to
the accountant an treasurer.
All
expenditures will be recorded accounting to accepted
banking and accounting
practices,
and a report of all expenditures, including payees
and amounts, will be
available for
member review.
(REVISED)
The Treasurer will include categorized expenditures in an
annual report to the
Coordinating Committee which will partially consist of the
most recent Federal
Elections Commission reports which are viewable in the
public domain.
(REVISED)
Copies of
monthly bank statements for all Green Party
accounts, will be made
available to
any member of the Steering Committee upon
request, at any time.
Only the treasurer
or the designated member of the Steering
Committee shall be
authorized to
make disbursements.
REVENUE SHARING
(ADD)
Be it resolved that
in those instances where donations are so
shared between the
state and the
national parties, the maximum contribution
allowed by state and
The Treasurer
shall enforce federal law.
Be it resolved that
before any shared contribution in a given
year is accepted by a
donor, it will need to be
determined by the Treasurer as to
whether the donor's
state can accept their
full share of the money for use by the
state party and if not
the assistance of the
state treasurer by the national Treasurer
shall be required for a
decision as to the
disposition of the states share of the
donor's contribution.
FISCAL MANAGEMENT
BANK ACCOUNTS
(DELETE)
The Green
Party shall maintain the following accounts. Note
that dual federal and
nonfederal
accounts are a general necessity for following the
regulations of the
Federal Election
Commission whether or not the Green Party is
actively involved
in both
categories of activities. Transfers between the
general and merchandising
funds may be made as
needed in accordance with the annual
budget, or specific
directive of the
coordinating committee.
(DELETE)
General
Federal paragraph
(DELETE)
General
Nonfederal paragraph
(REVISED)
The Green Party shall
maintain at a minimum a general operating
account for check
writing and
depository purposes and a saving account for
placement of the party's
reserve funds.
Transfers between these accounts may be made
by the treasurer as
needed in
accordance with annual budget or upon specific
directives from the
Steering Committee.
(DELETE)
Payroll
paragraph
(ADD)
Green Party of The United States
Credit Card Policy
The Treasurer, in consultation with
the Steering Committee and
the Finance
Committee, is authorized to obtain
credit cards under the name of
The Green Party of
The United States, in order to
facilitate normal fiscal
operations of The Green Party
of The United States.
The use of the GPUS credit card or
any other person's credit card
for GPUS
expenditures does not constitute a
loan under this fiscal policy
as long as the bill is
paid in full each month.
It is the intention of the GPUS to
pay all credit cards
charges in full when due except
for any disputed items that were
charged on the
card. Any decision not to
pay the full amount is subject to the
loan provisions of
this fiscal policy.
Only the Treasurer is automatically
authorized to hold a credit
card for which the
GPUS is responsible. For
any other person, such as staff or
committee members to
be issued a credit card, the Finance
Committee must make a
recommendation for the
Steering Committee approval and that
card must be designated for
that individual so
that the charges to it can be
traced to each cardholder.
The Finance Committee shall institute
guidelines for credit limits
and authorized
usage limits for any credit card
issued under the name of the
GPUS based upon the
authorized monthly budgetary needs of
each cardholder. All
people herein issued
credit cards are required to file a
report to the Treasurer
and/or accountant each
month by the 10th day of the
following month, indicating what
each charge to the
credit card is for, and what
budgetary line item covers that
expense. Repeated failure
to provide this information is
grounds for cancellation of
charging privileges and
return of the card at the
Treasurer's request.
The GPUS credit card may not be used
for non-party expenses, or
any unauthorized
expenses, under any circumstance.
If any person issued a GPUS
credit card uses it
for any unauthorized expense,
the Treasurer may cancel the
charging privileges of
that card and request
immediate return of the card as well as
require immediate
repayment of the unauthorized
expenses.
The Finance Committee, or any
staff and/or volunteers assigned
by it, is authorized
and required to monitor
the use of the GPUS credit card to
ensure that this policy
is followed and enforced.
APPROPRIATIONS AND REIMBURSEMENTS
(ADD)
It is the policy of the
Green Party of the United States (GPUS)
to pay actual and
necessary expenses
incurred by authorized Party members and
employees when
they travel outside their
city of residency while conducting
official business for the
GPUS.
All travel by Party
members and employees must be approved by
the committee on
which the person
serves or for employees by their
supervisor(s). Committees
should not expect
GPUS to pay for all committee members to
attend events.
It is not the
intention of the GPUS to pay for delegates or
committee members
travel to and from
the annual meetings and conventions except
to enhance
diversity.
Specifically, to increase the number of
participants who are people of
color, women,
L.G.B.T.I . (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, intersex), youth,
the disabled, and
any other traditionally disenfranchised
group. While the primary
responsibility for
travel assistance for delegates and
committee members rests with
the states that
those individuals represent, it is of such
vital importance to the
growth of the Green Party
to enhance diversity that the
national party will allow the
Diversity Committee
to allocate funds from the annual budget
and to raise
additional funds to
provide financial assistance for delegates
and committee
members who
represent the above mentioned groups.
Per the
fiscal policy on expenditures of all travel
expenditures must be approved
by the
treasurer prior to commitment of any funds.
In the case
of Steering Committee (SC) members each receives
an equal amount of
travel
funds at the beginning of each budget year. If a SC
member's travel
exceeds the
budgeted amount the SC can vote to disburse
discretionary travel
funds for a
one time allocation to that member for specific
activity. Travel
expenditures by
each SC member will be limited by the amount
of funds in their
travel
account. A SC member may transfer funds from his or
her own account to
that of
authorized use for a portion of their allocation to
another SC member if
authorized by a vote of the SC.
The treasurer
will provide periodic updates of travel
expenses for committees and
Steering Committee members. All committees and SC members
are advised to
keep track of their spending.
Reimbursable travel expenses will include but not limited
to: registration fees,
lodging, transportation, meals and a child care allowance.
The reimbursable
amount for
mileage and food will be paid as determined by the
Internal Revenue
Service. For
business travel. For example in 2002 mileage
was on average $.365
per mile.
See http://www.irs.gov for details prior
to
travel.
Every effort must
be taken to purchase the least expensive
travel. This may
include
staying over on a Saturday night by some airlines.
The least expensive
*class* ticket must be
purchased. Purchase tickets well in
advance for best price.
When possible negotiate
for a exception for refund and flight
changes with airlines.
When selecting lodging
the least expensive union facilities
will be given first
choice. If a
union facility is not available then the least
expensive guideline
applies. In
all cases members should select lodging where
they feel safe and
comfortable.
At the point where
the GPS has contracted with a travel
agency, all travel will be
scheduled through
that agency.
Party members who require
advances before traveling must
request the funds in a
timely manner from the
Treasurer.
All authorized travel by
party members and employees will be
reimbursed for all
reasonable and necessary
expenses upon presentation of
receipts, paid bills, ect.
All reimbursable travel must be
reconciled with receipts within
30 days of
reimbursable travel.
Prohibited travel expenses:
. Travel by family or companions, except expenses for child care, meals
or other expenses incurred prior to or after the end of the official
travel with the exception of meals while traveling directly to and from
activities
. Parties and entertainment that are not sponsored by GPUS
. Portions of official travel hosted or paid by others
. Mileage traveled using personal vehicle while not on official
travel
status
Guest travel
The party may host guests in their official
capacities that require
travel funds. The SC
will vote to approve funds from the
discretionary travel funds
prior to extending the
invitation. The proposal
for such funds will include the name
of the guest, the
official purpose of the travel,
itinerary and not to exceed
amount.
REPORTING AND AUDITING
(ADD)
There will be a standing
Finance Committee who primary task is
to monitor fiscal activities only. In addition it is to ensure these
rules are approved, consult with staff and officers to make
recommendations to the National Committee for fiscal policy changes,
prepare annual budgets and occasional budget amendments for the
consideration of the National Committee. The Finance Committee will
oversee the daily affairs of party finances such as bank accounts,
methods of disbursement, ect as well as obtain an independent annual
audit of our financial affairs by a certified public accountant, as the
Finance Committee shall be considered our audit committee. The
Treasurer and accountant will consult with the Finance Committee on our
fiscal policies, and the Finance Committee is authorized to bring issues
of concern to the Steering or National Committee and temporarily halt
transactions if they raise concern. The Steering Committee with the
direction of the National Committee shall implement whatever actions are
recommended in order to continue financial transactions.
Membership on
the Finance Committee will be, at a minimum, the Treasurer, the
accountant, the designated Steering Committee member who is on the
banking signatory card, and any Steering Committee members who choose to
join. Any member of the National Committee may join with voted
approval
of the National Committee. Volunteers for the Finance Committee
shall
inform the Steering Committee of their interest, so that the Steering
Committee may call for a timely election for approval of the new member.
The Treasurer shall be the chairperson of the Finance Committee and the
designated Steering Committee person who is on the banking signatory
card shall be the co-chairperson of this committee.
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