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<p>Caryn Ann, I don't mind if you do it successfully. I'm not
saying it can't be done.</p>
<p>So, I hereby challenge you to do it, if you can do it without my
help (meaning don't ask me what goes in what category).<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 5:11 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAL4U=_rioJuidbPR58ARPGqWd5ALVBkKJPGojn-_vsdQBjfvWw@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Wes I'm not the best person to make that challenge
to. I'm a paralegal. My entire work day requires me to keep
track of every six minute block by L and A codes. I have done
it for twenty years. It does require setting guidelines for
what things get calculated as and tolerance levels on level of
granularity.
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline">
-- <br>
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<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"
color="#666666" size="4"><b>In Liberty,</b></font></div>
<div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"
color="#666666" size="4"><b>Caryn Ann Harlos</b></font></div>
<div><font size="1">Region 1 Representative,
Libertarian National Committee </font><span
style="font-size:x-small">(Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah,
Wyoming, Washington) - <a
moz-do-not-send="true">Caryn.Ann.
Harlos@LP.org</a></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:x-small">Communications
Director, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.lpcolorado.org/"
target="_blank">Libertarian Party of
Colorado</a></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:x-small">Colorado
State Coordinator, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org/"
target="_blank">Libertarian Party Radical
Caucus</a></span></div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<span></span>
<div><br>
On Friday, December 2, 2016, Wes Benedict <<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org"
target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px
0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<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 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">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" href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
<div>On 12/2/2016 3:21 PM, Joshua Katz wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<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>
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<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">Joshua A. Katz
<div><br>
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