[Lnc-business] Upcoming budget increase requests
Wes Benedict
wes.benedict at lp.org
Tue Sep 6 19:34:33 EDT 2016
Aaron, I hope I have found all of the bonuses and affects on
compensation from raises. It is possible I've missing something or
someone. If so, it is not intentional.
How much was paid in bonuses so far during 2016? *$8,600*.
Not including the Executive Director, how much has the annualized cost
of compensation [Line 45--Compensation] increased on account of changes
in pay rates? *$7,030*.
Aaron, I think bonuses and raises aren't the primary factor pushing us
over budget on compensation--rather, it's my desire to add staff to
accommodate growth.
If anyone wants to know who got how much of a raise and how much of a
bonus, you can send an email to Robert Kraus and he will give that
confidential information but you're supposed to agree to keep that
confidential. The LNC has as a practice kept pay details confidential.
It's not something that I have personally pushed for, but I have
certainly understood the desire for the LNC to have that practice and I
have tried to accommodate the LNC on this.
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 9/4/2016 7:00 PM, Wes Benedict 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
> <mailto: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
>> <mailto: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.org
>>> facebook.com/libertarians <http://facebook.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] *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 <mailto:wes.benedict at lp.org>
>>>> facebook.com/libertarians <http://facebook.com/libertarians> @LPNational
>>>> Join the Libertarian Party at:http://lp.org/membership
>>>>
>>>> On 9/1/2016 6:25 PM, starrcpa at gmail.com <mailto: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
>>>> <mailto: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 <mailto:wes.benedict at lp.org>
>>>>
>>>> facebook.com/libertarians <http://facebook.com/libertarians> @LPNational
>>>>
>>>> Join the Libertarian Party at:http://lp.org/membership
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org <mailto:Lnc-business at hq.lp.org>
>>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>
>>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>>>
>>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org <mailto:Lnc-business at hq.lp.org>
>>>>
>>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org <mailto:Lnc-business at hq.lp.org>
>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>> _______________________________________________
>> Lnc-business mailing list
>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org <mailto:Lnc-business at hq.lp.org>
>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Lnc-business mailing list
> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business/attachments/20160906/b08fed63/attachment-0002.html>
More information about the Lnc-business
mailing list