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<p>Sorry, one more comment.</p>
<p>Kind of like with ballot access. You gained a lot more insight
what it's like to do ballot access after managing the drive in CT.</p>
<p>Josh did a fantastic job by the way - we probably would have
failed if he hadn't stepped in.</p>
I think if the Employment Policy and Compensation Committee at a
minimum, tracked their hours according to Policy Manual FAE
requirements for a month, your committee would be very well-prepared
to coach me and staff about manageable effective efficient ways to
track the information. You would be helping out staff, and then you
could also speak to the LNC with authority on this subject.<br>
<br>
I think perhaps the LNC would value the feedback of the EPCC on this
issue more than it values staff feedback, particularly if you had
firsthand experience using yourselves as participants. <br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
(202) 333-0008 ext. 232, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>
facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lp.org/membership">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 12/2/2016 4:31 PM, Wes Benedict
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:816855c4-2b15-6dc7-f7d9-426a8288c3fb@lp.org"
type="cite">
<meta content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
<p>It's not just the time tracking, it's the categorization that
can be tough. Tracking your time in .1hour increments isn't so
hard if you typically stay on the same task for an hour. If you
switch categories every .03 hours, it gets messy.<br>
</p>
<p>If I get a call from an irate state chair about something a
candidate said, is that considered affiliate support, candidate
support, or member services?<br>
</p>
<p>Would you try tracking your efforts according to the LNC
categories for a week? I know you do ballot access, admin, APRC
work (what category is that? - does it depend on whether you're
reviewing LP News, something for LP.org, or a candidate piece?)</p>
<p>Try tracking your hours for the national LP for just one week.
I realize you are a volunteer, and it's staff paid time that is
important to track to allocate to the financials. I just want to
be sure you realize what you are asking for because I'm not sure
you'd be asking for it if you really understood the outcome.</p>
<p>See attached financial report plus image below. We track this
stuff, but it's inherently fuzzy input numbers chopped up into
fine detail. <br>
</p>
<p>The image below from our financial report shows an example of
how we allocate our time (it looks like it's time allocated to
LP News, but it's not just that).<br>
</p>
<p><img src="cid:part1.67910FD1.03A21EC3@lp.org" alt=""
height="100" width="750"></p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>If we provide unhappy members even greater financial detail
than what's on the attached 14 pages, I suspect they'll still be
unhappy. <br>
</p>
<p>Be advised I wrote this note quickly and apologize if I've got
some facts and interpretations wrong and shouldn't spend anymore
time on it. <br>
</p>
<p>Still hoping to see you track your national LP hours for a week
and apply them to the proper categories.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
(202) 333-0008 ext. 232, <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>
facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lp.org/membership">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 12/2/2016 3:49 PM, Joshua Katz
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAG3paOQZUkJ27cut=w26AqG3HQm0i6Ckr4hsxbwbo54Vp1+6uA@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Interestingly enough, my LP class requires
timesheets in .1hour, so I've been doing this since August.
It is frustrating, but I do not stop what I am doing every few
minutes to log hours; I sum up every so often. I recognize
that timesheets are not perfectly accurate, and I would not
object to a standard of 1 hour rather than .1. If the system
is too cumbersome and you have particular feedback on how we
can allocate hours more effectively, the EPCC is eager to hear
it, and I know I am very open to modifications. I'm not open
to the idea of dropping all staff time into a black box,
personally. What I object to, additionally, is having a
policy but then budgeting as if it didn't exist.</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all">
<div>
<div class="gmail_signature"
data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">Joshua A. Katz
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 2:38 PM, Wes
Benedict <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p>An interesting experiment would be for each LNC
member to track its hours for one month according to
the Functional Allocation of Expenses procedures
requested. It would give you some hands on experience
in dealing with the reality that we switch categories
often every few minutes, like from:<br>
</p>
<p>40 - Admin (this conversation)</p>
<p>88 - Outreach (LNC photos on the website)</p>
<p>80 - Media or 85 - Member Communications (delivering
the message the LNC wants)</p>
<p>85 - Member Communication (recording the termination
of the membership of person who disapproves of LNC
buying meat)</p>
<p>40 Admin? or 55 Branding? or 70 - Ballot Access? -
approving staff getting a poster about ballot access
printed.<br>
</p>
<p>I literally switch tasks every few minutes. Trying to
track this in detail is very tough.</p>
<p>I really would like to see the LNC track themselves
for a month. You'll find out how hard this is after
one hour.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<pre class="m_-7317621363026609069moz-signature" cols="72">Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="m_-7317621363026609069moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a> @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="m_-7317621363026609069moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
<div>
<div class="h5">
<div class="m_-7317621363026609069moz-cite-prefix">On
12/2/2016 3:21 PM, Joshua Katz wrote:<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<div class="h5">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>I pointed out earlier the concern I am
expressing here, but I did it briefly and
without much explanation, because I wanted to
know if, in fact, I have misunderstood, if I
was making a big mistake, and if my concerns
were unfounded. All of that remains perfectly
possible, but the fact that I have not
received an explanation making those points
suggests to me that perhaps I am onto
something important.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>80% of the proposed budget is accounted for
by administration and compensation. A member
seeing that might be excused for believing
that the national party simply consumes 80
cents of each dollar received. This would be
a mistake, but it would be an understandable
mistake - and one we can easily prevent. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>This member would be mistaken because
compensation is not consumption. Staff does a
lot of things. Staff work is a very large
proportion of what the national party does.
When we see an affiliate support line with a
rather small number on it, it conceals the
fact that staff spends a good amount of time
supporting affiliates. Since staff time is
split between different functions, we have a
timesheet policy allowing staff time to be
billed to different lines. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>So this brings us to, perhaps, a bigger
problem: even knowing this, the member
reading this budget has no idea how much of
staff time is spent on what projects. Perhaps
most importantly, neither does the LNC.
Certainly the LNC is not giving direction as
to how staff time should be spent. We have,
essentially, created a black box into which we
place 50% of the annual budget. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>A budget that breaks down staff time the
way it is to be billed, and that funds staff
time from line items, also allows members, at
a glance, to see what priorities the national
party has, and to know easily and quickly what
staff is doing. Most importantly, it assures
members that these priorities are being set by
those they elect to make such decisions, not
being left to the ED, or to chance, or to
"whatever is most pressing at the moment." I
have said before that my most pressing </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>After all, functional and operational
transparency require not only that members see
and hear us talking, but that we are talking
about the things that members need to know.
If we make ourselves open, but exercise no
control over fully half the budget, we are not
transparent.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>This is not at all hard to fix. We know
the proposed total compensation. We may
modify it at our meeting. A portion of that,
perhaps 20%, should be left in the
compensation black-box. The LNC can decide
what we'd like to prioritize by setting
percentages to various functional lines. The
remaining compensation multiplied by the
percentage gives the amount to be moved from
compensation to the appropriate line item.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Maintaining is also easy. Simply fund
compensation from the various lines, in
accordance with the timesheets received. The
Treasurer can, in turn, keep an eye on the
lines, and see if some lines are over or under
funded. If so, the board can decide how to
react - by amending the budget, or by
instructing staff to respect the priorities
set. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I am not known as a transparency champion.
In large part, I have a different notion of
transparency from many of my colleagues. The
above shows the sort of transparency I worry
about. I hope, though, that my colleagues who
are known as transparency champions will join
me on this issue, and join me in requesting
that we not place 50% of our annual
expenditure in a black-box line item such that
members cannot use the budget to determine
what it is that we do, and we cannot use the
budget to govern the organization.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>For my part, I am disinclined to vote for a
budget that black-boxes 50%, and that charges
80% to administration.</div>
<div><br>
<div>
<div>
<div
class="m_-7317621363026609069m_8278745216533835877gmail_signature"
data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">Joshua A. Katz
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
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</pre>
</blockquote>
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</blockquote>
>From
FCC: im
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