[Lnc-business] Upcoming budget increase requests

Sun Sep 4 22:24:35 EDT 2016

It seems to me that this continues to be an excellent argument for a
September meeting.  I know I feel less and less comfortable supporting or
opposing anything without an actual deliberative assembly. That has also
been the sense of my regional members so far.

-- 
*In Liberty,*
*Caryn Ann Harlos*
Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
Harlos at LP.org
Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
<http://www.lpcolorado.org/>
Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
<http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org/>

On Sun, Sep 4, 2016 at 5:00 PM, Wes Benedict <wes.benedict at lp.org> wrote:

> Aaron , I'll try to answer that exactly on Tuesday.
>
> In advance of my exact answer, would you care to suggest an amount you
> think would sound concerningly high to you, an amount you think is expected
> or completely reasonable, and an amount you think is comfortably low?
>
> Do you have other questions you'd like us to work on that you can ask now?
>
>
> On Sep 4, 2016, at 6:32 PM, Aaron Starr <starrcpa at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> At first I understood that "all of these budget increase requests are the
> result of good news".
>
> With further inquiry I now understand that is not the full explanation: "There
> have been some raises and bonuses given that also affect overall
> compensation--with my own total compensation being the biggest factor there
> (as you know I was given a new contract by the LNC in July 2016)."
>
> We are certainly aware of the change caused by the new executive director
> contract. That explains some, but not all, of the requested $60K increase
> for the balance of the year.
>
> Before supporting an increase in budget for compensation we should all
> understand that there is a distinction to be made between increased
> expenditures due to timing differences (or even an increase in activity)
> versus increased expenditures resulting from pay raises.
>
> How much was paid in bonuses so far during 2016?
>
> Not including the Executive Director, how much has the annualized cost of
> compensation increased on account of changes in pay rates?
>
> Aaron Starr
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Sep 2, 2016, at 10:15 AM, Wes Benedict <wes.benedict at lp.org> wrote:
>
> I haven't taken the Policy Manual out to read it in detail before
> providing this response, and I haven't taken the time to investigate
> line-by-line every 2016 expenditure, but in general, unless I'm mistaken,
> the budgets that the LNC passes are annual limits on expenditures, not
> monthly limits. Some months we may go over the average monthly budget
> limitation, and some months we may go under the average monthly limit.
>
> Beyond monthly variations, however, as you noted below, we have indeed
> consistently spent at a rate that, if continued through to the end of the
> year, would put us over the 2016 annual compensation budget.
>
> My thinking for the 2016 effort was that we should plan for success, but
> be prepared for the worst, and also front-load our expenses when it
> mattered the most. So, I was comfortable spending over the average monthly
> limits in the first two-thirds of the year when we had the very large
> critical projects of the *national convention*, and *50 state ballot
> access,* that take a lot of staff time. Had things gone really poorly
> this year, we would still have had the option of cutting back staff
> sufficient to meet whatever budget restrictions were in place later in the
> year. As an exaggerated example, in theory, if things had going really
> really poorly, we could terminate every staff member except for Robert
> Kraus, terminate most contractors, and I could have resigned myself (or be
> terminated). Again, that's not what we expected, or hoped for, but it was a
> way to meet budget requirements if needed.
>
> It turns out, things have gone really well--far better than the LNC or I
> projected. And my thinking back in early 2016 was that if things did go
> very well this year, the LNC would likely want to increase the budget later
> in the year.
>
> There have been some raises and bonuses given that also affect overall
> compensation--with my own total compensation being the biggest factor there
> (as you know I was given a new contract by the LNC in July 2016).
>
> The bottom line is, we can add people and hours and pay and continue
> working to grow this party, or we can cut people and hours and pay, and
> shrink it. My recommendation is to grow.
>
> In summary, we have been spending more than our average monthly budgeted
> amount, and I recommend increasing the budget.
>
> This email took me an hour to write because I was trying to be rather
> careful. Hopefully I got all of my facts right, or at least close enough.
> I'll be correcting a fact in a response to Alicia.
>
>
> Wes Benedict, Executive Director
> Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
> 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314(202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.orgfacebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
> Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership
>
> On 9/2/2016 2:48 AM, Aaron Starr wrote:
>
> Wes,
>
>
>
> I’m still missing something here.
>
>
>
> The original budget for compensation was based on a particular staffing
> level at specific amounts of compensation.
>
>
>
> It looks like the activity of the first eight months is already running at
> a rate that will exceed the budget for compensation for the year. (If
> $314,155 is eight months of expense, a simple extrapolation would bring us
> to $471,233 for twelve months, which is well above the budget of
> $388,800.)  I seem to recall that most of our compensation cost is based on
> fixed salaries, not hourly rates.
>
>
>
> During the first eight months we were spending just under $40K per month.
> For the last four months of the year you anticipate spending only $34K per
> month, so I’m not seeing how the need for a $60K increase in the budget is
> due to a need to cover increased people costs between now and the end of
> the year. It appears that we were spending well over our budget earlier
> during the year.
>
>
>
>
>
> Aaron Starr
>
> (805) 583-3308 Home
>
> (805) 404-8693 Mobile
>
> starrcpa at gmail.com
>
>
>
> *From:* Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org
> <lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org>] *On Behalf Of *Wes Benedict
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 01, 2016 4:25 PM
> *To:* lnc-business at hq.lp.org
> *Subject:* Re: [Lnc-business] Upcoming budget increase requests
>
>
>
> I can't disclose exact pay rates and hours worked publicly on this email
> list, as you know. In any case, the increase in the budget is to cover more
> hours and more people than were originally budgeted for.
>
> Some contractors and staff have been working more hours, and I'd like to
> continue working more hours, than were in the original budget.
>
> I've got more contractors than in the original budget.
>
> I'd like to spend more on additional staff, including interns, as
> advertised here:
> http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/hiring-libertarian-packaging-interns
>
>
> With Robert's help, the numbers below show:
>
> FYI – Compensation:
>
>
>
> Compensation YTD *                                           $314,155
>
> Est Amount for Sept-Oct (based on July/Aug)         $69,000
>
> Est Amount for Nov-Dec                                      $65,000
>
> TOTAL EST 2016:                                               $448,155
>
> * Includes 09/07 payroll
>
>
> I'm prepared to scale back everywhere if needed as needed, including
> cutting people, hours, pay rates, etc., if activity drops post Election Day
> or whenever regardless of how far it drops.  Of course we hope to win lots
> of elections and see activity skyrocket even higher after Election Day, but
> I'm prudently prepared for the alternate scenario as well.
>
>
> Wes Benedict, Executive Director
>
> Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
>
> 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
>
> (202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org
>
> facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
>
> Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership
>
> On 9/1/2016 6:25 PM, starrcpa at gmail.com wrote:
>
> Thanks for the good news!
>
>
>
> I would like to understand in greater detail the need for a $60,000
> increase in compensation.
>
>
>
> Aaron Starr
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> On Sep 1, 2016, at 12:46 PM, Wes Benedict <wes.benedict at lp.org> wrote:
>
> Dear LNC:
>
> I'd like to start a discussion about several budget increase requests
> before a formal motion is considered. I mentioned to the chair that I
> thought it would be good for me to put this before the LNC soon, and he
> agreed it was okay for me to get this discussion started on this list.
>
> To me, all of these budget increase requests are the result of good news
> -- our revenue, membership, and interest is very high, far higher than
> budgeted, and as a result, many of our expenses are higher as well.
>
> More revenue and members means more membership cards and LP News to mail
> out, and bigger lists to send fundraising letter to.
>
> The original 2016 Budget adopted for the entire year of 2016  was
> *$1,474,561*. My preliminary estimate for August 31, 2016 YTD revenue is
> $1,679,938 (July 2016 YTD) plus $412,425 (August 2016) = *$2,092,363*.
> It's possible we could double the original revenue budgeted for the entire
> year (although I'm not ready to predict that).
>
> Dues-paying membership has increased from *11,693* at the start of
> January to approximately *19,300* at the end of August.
>
> The original budget for branding revenue was *$35,000*. We've already
> brought in *$205,862* in branding revenue (that's mostly the stuff we
> sell at LPStore.org <http://lpstore.org>).
>
> Again, all of these increases in donations, memberships, and store orders,
> means higher postage, credit card processing fees, purchases of items
> offered at LPStore.org <http://lpstore.org>, office supplies, and some
> labor to help process all that stuff.
>
> Robert Kraus and I have looked over the results of this year to date,
> considered what things could look like going forward, and are recommending
> that the LNC proposed and passes the following budget increases.
>
>
> 26-Brand Political Materials Revenue increase by $150,000 to $400,000
> 32-Fundraising Costs increase by $60,000 to $201,364
> 33-Membership Fundraising Costs increase by $35,000 to $127,200
> 40-Adminstrative Costs increase by $50,000 to $310,050
> 45-Compensation increase by $60,000 to $448,800
> 55-Brand Political Materials Expense increase by $150,000 to $400,000
> 85-Member Communication increase by $17,500 to $62,500
>
> We have the revenue to pay for all of these budget increases. I'm pretty
> certain we have more money in the bank for the September of a Presidential
> election year than ever before in the history of the Libertarian Party, and
> that's in spite of paying what it has taken to achieve 50 state ballot
> access for the first time since 2000.
>
> While we are not technically over budget in most areas, we are trending in
> that direction and certainly will go way over budget by the end of the year
> unless I proactively cut back on fundraising letters, LP News, shipping
> LPStore.org <http://lpstore.org> materials, staff levels, and other
> areas. That could be done, but I don't think it's the right thing to do.
> For example, instead of focusing my time on trying to continue the growth
> of membership and fundraising by hiring another intern to fill boxes with
> campaign materials, I could spend my own time stuffing envelopes and
> filling boxes with yard signs--something I do actually enjoy and find to be
> therapeutic.
>
> I'd be happy to try to respond to any questions you have on these items.
>
> Thanks for your consideration. I'm hoping we have a productive discussion
> on this, and then the chair or treasurer can propose a motion that fits a
> consensus for you to consider of the Labor Day Weekend.
>
>
> --
>
> Wes Benedict, Executive Director
>
> Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
>
> 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
>
> (202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org
>
> facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
>
> Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership
>
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>
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>

-- 
*In Liberty,*
*Caryn Ann Harlos*
Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
Harlos at LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org>
Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
<http://www.lpcolorado.org>
Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
<http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>
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