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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:part1.7E1A5285.D3D998B7@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 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 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>
</div>
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</blockquote></div>
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</pre>
</blockquote>
>From
FCC: im
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