[Businessmtg] Treasury Position

[List Administrator]

Biz-Pals,

Glad to see that the noggins are beginning to turn. A few things to note 
as we work this out:

      When members are willing to stand for service positions, those 
positions get filled; when no one stands, they do not. In ASP trusted 
servants are elected from the ranks of the Business Meeting. It falls 
upon the BM, then, that we may have to lean on the Steering Committee to 
fulfill essential positions until such time as the BM fulfills its 
obligations. The SC, doing its duty, is obligated to perform essential 
tasks left undone by the Business Meeting. Personally, would I prefer 
that the BM elected a new Treasurer? Of course I would. First someone 
has to stand for the position.
      A word about the "controlling" thread which is beginning to appear 
here: Where does this come from? Yes, the general policy is that two 
service positions at once can lead to controlling behaviors, but is that 
the case here? No. Someone has to be acting treasurer, whether that's 
the SC as a whole or one or two individuals. This is a service position 
which can not go unattended. The SC has the responsibility of seeing to 
it that essential matters unattended to by the Business Meeting still 
get done.
      As Chair of the Steering Committee I plan on seeing to it that ASP 
continues to operate as smoothly as possible. One of the options I 
believe I have is to appoint someone in situations like this when 
essential vacancies persist. I'm not against doing it, but would like to 
hear feedback from the Business Meeting before considering this...

The subject of non-profit, multiple treasurers has come up. Very good 
thinking. As you may be aware ASP has passed a motion which is now being 
worked on (delayed by the website hubbub) which will make ASP a legit 
non-profit. Multiple signatures will be a part of the deal as would a 
permanent bank account. By-Laws will spell the details. Because a 
non-profit status is a legal matter, not a matter of our Traditions, 
much of the content will be governed by the laws of the State in which 
it's formed. Meanwhile we're still operating as we were when ASP was 
first formed - as if we were a small F2F meeting. We put our trust in 
one individual to handle all our funds. It is my hope that we can 
complete this move to non-profit standing in relatively short order for 
many good reasons - not the least of which is a permanent bank account 
which will not change with changes of ASP officers and the assurances 
that come from greater financial security.

A few random thoughts:

Yes, we have a PayPal account. Donations are always welcomed there. 
Currently PayPal donations are eventually transferred into our existing 
bank account out of which our primary bill (our server) is paid 
automatically.

How much time to perform the Treasurer's tasks? Having spent 5 years as 
ASP's Treasurer (no one stood for the position so I was continued in 
office) I have a good feel for the ease of fulfilling the position. A 
few times a month I stopped by the Post Office to pick up checks. Before 
deposits were made I had to spend an hour+/- entering the details of 
each check into the Tradition 7 Register. At the same time I entered the 
PayPal donation details. Then off to the bank to make the deposit. Near 
the end of the month an hour or so to create the Treasurer's Report for 
the Business Meeting.  Then, after the end of the month I sent the 
updated Tradition 7 Register to the webmaster for posting on the ASP 
website. All totaled perhaps 4 hours a month including drive times.

Lastly, I hope we can keep our focus on the problem at hand: filling the 
Treasurer position. Our solution will come from a spirit of 
participation and cooperation. Both the Business Committee and the 
Steering Committee have responsibilities here. Let me relate a story 
from a recent Area Assembly here in Michigan:

Michigan uses the old-fashioned process of standing for service 
positions: The chair asks every voting member to stand. The chair then 
reads off any requirements for the office and asks that those not 
"qualified" to take their seats. The chair then asks those not willing 
to fill the position to take their seats. Those who remain standing are 
the candidates for the office...
...well, wouldn't you know: when it came time to elect a new treasurer 
we went through the process and in the end NO ONE WAS STANDING! This had 
never happened before. What to do? So we repeated the process - and got 
the same results! Heavens to Megatroid! Rather than go again immediately 
we took a small break to let the dust settle - we could not operate 
without a treasurer. Can't happen. The Assembly had not produced a 
treasurer candidate.

On the third go one member remained standing - we had our treasurer.

That's what I, as List Administrator, am asking the Business Committee 
to do: from the Business Committee ranks, someone please stand. The work 
is simple math - no special qualifications are necessary, and you will 
have the support of multiple past treasurers behind you all the way.

In service,
Jerry H.
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