From: Dave Edelman (dedelman@iname.com)
Date: Wed Dec 25 2002 - 18:20:47 CST
I guess that over the years we have done it both ways. Last year, the
council contingent's funds were handled thought one of our larger unit's
account. That unit had the processes in place to ensure that it all happened
with the appropriate amount of oversight and control.
This year's contingent funds are being handled through the council office
and the money sent to Philmont from the council. With the exception of one
major oops, this has worked out fine. The contingent leader is copied on all
payments to council and all payments from council to Philmont.
If council were to tack on any administration fee, the arrangement would be
unacceptable. My suspicion is that the new CE described in Jerry's message
is doing what he or she did because the volunteers let it happen.
In this time of Enron, World Com, <add your third least favorite company
here>, it is probably worth reminding the council president and the various
vide-presidents that there is a fiduciary oversight responsibility involved
in their roles and that despite any insurance that council may provide,
they, not the CE, are required to make those types of decisions.
I caused quite a stir this last year when I pointed out that it would be
hard to claim due diligence when not one person on the board had seen the
budget, read the articles of incorporation or the bylaws, or reviewed the
IRS form 950. It is amazing how quickly these documents were made available
to us. I realize that I am hearing (reading) only one side of this argument,
but if the professional staff's actions are preventing quality program
delivery, write to your council president (he or she is a volunteer) and
make sure that the facts are stated in a calm, matter of fact fashion. If
that person does not deal with the situation, organize a meeting with the
Council Exec, the Council
President, and all of the Chartered Organization Reps that feel the same way
that you do. By all means have unit leaders present, just remember that the
COR's have a vote for the council slate and things get very interesting when
the slate is voted down. Don't use threats, and don't use the power
abusively but make sure that everyone understands that the only purpose of
council is to help the volunteers provide program. [Yes that is a bit of a
simplification but without the basics being in place there really isn't room
or need for the other details.]
Herb does not say where he is located but I suspect that not all of the
collected funds are Philmont charges. In this case the question becomes how
will you handle the things like airfare, ground transportation, and lodging
costs? In our case, this is a larger cost than the Philmont fee. You might
want to speak with your council VP - Program for advice.
Dave Edelman
Staten Island, New York
Soon to be former Council VP
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of HICKER1@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 25, 2002 11:47 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: Re: [Philmont]: Council Contingents
Herb,
I don't know if there are any current National restrictions on volunteers
handling the funds, but that was exactly the way our council formerly
handled Philmont Contingents. The volunteer in charge set up a separate bank
account independent of our council so as not commingle Philmont monies with
his own personal funds. Having a two signature requirement on the checks
would reduce the possibility of fraud accusations.
A new CE came in and kicked the volunteers out. Now our council tacks on a
substantial administration fee for doing practically nothing. The cost to
the individual scout and scouter has gone out of sight and less than half of
the council's reservations are filled each year.
Jerry Jung
As our council slowly heads toward insolvency I would like to
> know how much
> support is required by the council for a contingent. If the
> council puts in
> the reservation can funds dispersal be handled by the volunteers? I am
> concerned about money getting tied up in a financial fray in the
> event of a
> National Council mandated merger.
>
> Can we just collect checks from the contingent members made out
> to Philmont
> and send them in?
> This is for 2004.
Herb Dulzo
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