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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"
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      <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>
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                  <pre>______________________________<wbr>_________________
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</pre>
    </blockquote>
    

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</blockquote></div>
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</pre>

</blockquote>
>From 
FCC: im


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</pre>

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