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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>
          <div>
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              <div dir="ltr">
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                    <div dir="ltr">
                      <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>
                        <div>
                          <div>
                            <div dir="ltr">
                              <div>
                                <div dir="ltr">Joshua A. Katz
                                  <div><br>
                                  </div>
                                </div>
                              </div>
                            </div>
                          </div>
                        </div>
                      </div>
                    </div>
                  </div>
                  <br>
                  <fieldset></fieldset>
                  <br>
                  <pre>______________________________<wbr>_________________
Lnc-business mailing list
<a moz-do-not-send="true">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org" target="_blank">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi<wbr>nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a>
</pre>
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<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
Lnc-business mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Lnc-business@hq.lp.org">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a>
</pre>

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