INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY COMMITTEE

Narrative on the

Responsibilities of the Vice President-Finance and the General Financial Structure of LRA

 

General:

 

ALRA is a non-profit incorporated under the laws of Minnesota, It runs on a fiscal year of June 1st through May 31st, which is the period of time covered the tax return tiled each year.

 

ALRA receives funding through three principal sources - Dues income, interest income and profit from the annual conference.

 

The Vice President-Finance is the ALRA officer responsible for administering the finances of the organization. The office is a two-year term, and is elected at the annual business meeting in even numbered years. The specific tasks performed by the VP-F include:

 

1.      Files the annual tax return;

2.      Receives income and deposits it to the checking account;

3.      Pays bills;

4.      Decides on investment vehicles;

5.      Audits the books of the annual conference;

6.      Sends billing notices to agencies for dues, along with copies of the agency's entry in the Directory for review and correction;

7.      Works with the President-Elect on a fiscal operating plan for that officer's terms as President;

8.      Reports to the Board and to the Membership on the organization s finances;

9.      Chairs the Membership Committee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

·         Tax Return: 

 

The VP-F is responsible for filing out the tax return for ALRA. The tax return is due by October 15^th, but can be submitted any time after the end of our fiscal year on may 31^s

 

·          INCOME

 

 

DUES - ALRA's principal continuing income is from membership dues. They are $250 per year, for a fiscal year of June I through May 31, They total approximately $17,500 per year. Dues statements are sent out in mid-April. 80% of the agencies will pay their dues in the May to July period. A follow-up billing is sent to non-payers on July 1^st.  ALRA has an informal one-year grace period; so for example an agency that did not pay its 2002-2003 dues would still be considered a member until the start of the 2003 conference. An agency in that situation should be advised of that, and told they will not be able to send registrants to the conference unless arrangements are made to pay the 2003-2004 dues. Some are bound to wait until the fall to pay, no matter what.

 

The VP-Finance is responsible for sending out dues statements. In so doing he or she must check the accuracy of the addressee information against the updated directory information from the prior year.

 

Along with the dues statements, the VP-Finance sends a copy of the directory page for the agency, with a request that they note changes and corrections and return it to me. That information is passed along to the VP Administration, who is responsible for the Directory

 

INTEREST - The VP-Finance is responsible for investing a portion of the organization’s money. The Board has traditionally declined to invest in stocks or mutual funds, and has generally looked to bonds and certificates of deposit. Interest income was a significant revenue source RA prior to the 2001 crash in the investment markets. These investments must be structured so that the organization can access that money in an emergency.

 

·         RECURRING EXPENSES

 

ADVISOR – ALRA pays printing, postage, editorial expenses and a stipend for word processing and layout work. Advisor costs run between $2500 and $3000 per issue. The Advisor is running three issues per year, with the costs being paid in November-December/ April-May/ and July.

 

BOARD MEETINGS – ALRA pays travel expenses, lodging and a $50 stipend to Board Members and the Chairs of the Program and Arrangements Committees. It also pays for lunch for the Committee on Saturday and generally a continental breakfast and a lunch on Sunday. Board Meeting expenses typically are paid in 30 days following the meeting, though only after the claimant files an expense form (a copy of which is attached). Expenses have been tracking upward, as a result of greater attendance, the new policy of paying for the Program and Arrangements Chairs, and the tighter agency budgets. ALRA currently averages just over $6,500 per meeting, including the hotel's catering and room fees.

 

CONFERENCE ADVANCE - ALRA will typically advance $5000 to the host committee for the conference, in addition to a deposit to the hotel. The timing and amount of the deposit will vary, and are negotiated as part of the hotel contract. These advances are charged to the conference, and are treated as outstanding loans that we expect to have paid back. They are shown on the annual financial report as assets.

 

The conference committees maintain their own checking accounts, and we do not pay conference expenses as a general rule. As with all general rules, there are exceptions. In San Diego, the advance was boosted by $5000 to cover a required deposit on the Zoo. In Montreal, ALRA paid the big expenses from the ALRA general checking account, in order to be exempt from GST as a U.S. organization. The Halifax conference may follow suit.

 

 

ALRA ACADEMY - The Academy is not treated as a conference expense, though the meals and room charges are commonly mixed in with conference charges, and need to be segregated out for accounting purposes. The VP- Professional Development and/or the Academy Coordinator will have supplies, printing and mailing expenses which will be directly submitted to the VP-Finance for payment. ALRA academy costs vary depending upon enrollments. In the past several years they have averaged S3, 000 per year, and are typically paid in August.

 

TRAINING GRANTS – ALRA pays training grants to agencies, usually on the basis of multi-agency training sessions. These are reviewed by the Professional Development Committee and authorized by the Executive Board. In the past four years, grants have averaged $4500 per year. The timing of these expenses will vary.

 

INSURANCE - ALRA carries three insurance policies -- a theft/forgery bond, a crime bond and Officers and Directors insurance. The two bonds are through Brooks-Lussem Insurance in Iowa, and have been maintained since Dick Ramsey was VP-Finance. These two bonds cost $180 per year total and are paid late in the calendar year. The Officers and Directors is through Smith Brothers Insurance and is a new policy secured in 2002 when the prior carrier got out of the business. It costs $1400. It comes due at the same time as the conference and must be re-bid annually.

·         VP – Finance General Timeline

 

MONTH	ACTION	INCOME	EXPENSES
July	-Follow-up on unpaid dues -Advisor Expenses -Dues Receipts Prepare reports for annual business meeting	$3250	$3000
August	-ALRA Academy -Dues Receipts	$ 750	$3000
September	-Conference Financials -Follow-up on unpaid dues -Dues Receipts	$ 750
October	-Prepare Audit of Conference -Reports for October Board Meeting -Board meeting expenses -Submit Tax Return		$6500
November	-Pay Insurance Bonds -Advisor Expenses		$ 180 $3000
December	-Training Grant		$4500
January	-Hotel Deposit -Conference Advance		$2000 $5000
February
March	-Prepare Reports For Board Meeting -Board Meeting Expenses		$6500
April	-Send out dues statements and requests for Directory Updates -Advisor Expenses		$3000
May	-Dues Income	$6000
June	-Dues Income -Pay Officers and Directors	$6750	$1400

 

 

 

 

ALRA EXPENSE CLAIM FORM

 

Name: ______________________________                  Date: _____________

 

Street: ____________________________________________________

 

City: ________________________________      State/Prov. ________

 

Postal Code: ________________                   Date expense incurred: ________

 

Reason for expense: _________________________________________

1. Air Transportation (attach voucher or coupon):                             $ ___________

 

2. Personal Car travel to meeting – enter the lesser of               $ ___________

a.       _______ actual miles @ $.31 per mile=______ or;

b.      coach class airfare between points of travel

 

3. Ground Transportation (taxi, airport limousine, etc.):                   $ ____________

 

4. Hotel (single room rate plus tax; telephone, food etc. excluded) $ ____________

 

5. Other expenses (specify cost and reason for each expense)     $ ___________

 

                   Breakout of Other Expenses

 

          a. Board Meeting Per Diem (in lieu of meals)       $ _______

         

          b. __________________________________     $ _______

 

          c. __________________________________               $ _______

 

TOTAL EXPENSES CLAIMED:                                           $ ____________

 

Signature: ____________________________________________________

                       (Remember to attach receipts)

 

ALRA GENERAL EXPENSE POLICIES

 

BOARD MEETINGS

(Applies to Board Members and to Program and Arrangements Chairs)

 

Air Transportation - Where it is not feasible for a Board member to have transportation paid for by the member agency ALRA will reimburse the round-trip coach fare for Executive Board meetings. Board members are urged to utilize the lowest available airfare whenever possible.

 

Ground Transportation - ALRA will reimburse for airport transportation costs. Board members are strongly encouraged to utilize airport coach/bus transport to Board meeting locations. Board members who drive to Board meetings will be reimbursed at the current IRS rate per mile to a maximum of the round-trip coach airfare between the points of travel and for any parking costs.

 

Meals and Incidentals - Board members will receive a total allowance of $50 (US) for meals and incidentals. The per diem is a flat amount - no receipts are required. Any additional reimbursement will be made only with the express prior approval of the President

 

Hotel  - Where it is not feasible for a Board member to have hotel costs paid for by the member agency, ALRA will reimburse for the cost of a single room and taxes for a maximum stay of one (1) night. Any additional reimbursement will be made only with the express prior approval of the President.

 

 

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

 

Reimbursement will generally not be paid for non-Board members who attend committee meetings; any reimbursement will be made only with the express prior approval of the President.

 

 

ANNUAL MEETINGS

 

ALRA will pay for hotel room expenses for the President, but no other expenses will be paid by ALRA for any other Board or Committee members.

 

Speakers from outside of ALRA agencies will be reimbursed for coach airfare or other reasonable transportation costs, taxis, one night of lodging, and reasonable meal expenses,

 

 

Attention:  All claims for reimbursement shall be filed within sixty - (60) - days of incurring the expense

MEMBERSHIP

 

The Vice President-Finance is the Chair of the Membership Committee. That principally involves following up on inquiries about membership. Most membership gains have come through folks approaching someone on Board after hearing of ALRA at a conference or from a representative of a member agency.

 

If someone asks about membership, they are sent an application form, a copy of which is set forth below. The VP-Finance and the Membership Committee then review the completed application.

 

Neutrality is the principal inquiry, and if there is another ALRA agency in the area, The VP-Finance and Committee would probably contact them and ask if there is any reason the applicant would not qualify. The Membership Committee then makes a report to the Executive Board. Membership is contingent on payment of dues and approval by the Board. However, ALRA adopted a policy in 2002 that when applications are received between the Spring Board meeting and the conference, and are approved by the Membership Committee, the applicant agency can send representatives the conference even though the Board has not yet acted:

 

It is the policy of ALRA to allow attendance at the Annual Conference by Representatives of agencies that have submitted applications for membership and tendered dues, if the application has been approved and reviewed by the Membership Committee but has not yet been acted upon by the Executive Board. In the event that the Executive Board rejects the application, the tender of dues will be returned to the candidate agency, but the agency’s representatives will nonetheless be allowed to attend the conference and participate in the program and activities. No new agency may participate in the Annual Business Meeting if the Executive Board has not approved its application for membership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION - ASSOCIATION OF LABOR RELATIONS AGENCIES

 

 

Eligibility for membership in ALRA is defined in Article III of the ALRA Constitution

 

Article III· Membership

 

Association membership shall be divided in the following classes:

 

1.                  Agency members.

 

            Any impartial government agency in the Untied Slates or Canada responsible for administering labor-management relations laws or services including, but not limited to, mediation, conciliation, fact-finding, arbitration and adjudication. Agency membership shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Board following receipt of an application from the agency and payment or the appropriate dues The American Arbitration Association shall be permitted to maintain its current ALRA membership.

 

1.         Does the primary work of the agency relate to the provision of any of the following services?

(Please check all that may be appropriate. - Attach a narrative statement if you wish to explain or expand on any answer)

            .

_____  Labor Management Contract Mediation

_____  Grievance Mediation involving Union represented employees

_____  Providing neutral interest arbitration services to labor and management

_____  Arbitration of disputes arising under a collective bargaining agreement

_____  Establishing, maintaining and/or providing lists of neutral arbitrators for Labor-Management disputes

 

_____  Conducting representation elections and/or determining the appropriate configuration of bargaining units

 

_____  Providing a neutral forum for hearing and deciding unfair labor practice charges and/or appeals of decisions on such charges

 

_____  Providing training to labor and management in interest based bargaining techniques and/or labor-management committee training

 

 

 

 

 

2.         Is your agency a subdivision or unit of a larger governmental agency? (For example, a mediation unit located within a State or Provincial Department of Labor)

 

______            No, the agency is a freestanding agency, board or commission.

 

 

______            Yes.     If “yes” please provide details: ________________________________________

 

                        ________________________________________________________________________

 

                        ________________________________________________________________________

 

2.                  Does your agency, or its parent agency provide advocacy for either labor organizations or employers in Labor-Management disputes? (Excluding the defense of agency decisions in favor of one party or the other after a due process hearing, or defense of agency procedures that may be challenged by one party or the other.)

 

________ No.  ________ Yes (Please attach a narrative)

 

 

 

I attest that the agency hereby making application for membership in the Association of Labor Relations Agencies is an impartial government agency responsible for administering labor-management relations, laws, or services and is qualified for membership as described in Article III of the ALRA Constitution.

 

 

 

/s/_______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Title:  _________________________________________________  Date: ____________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information/ALRA Directory Information

 

AGENCY:

 

 

Address:

 

 

 

 

 

Telephone:

FAX:

 

 

 

Board Members:

 

Chair:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

 

 

Member:

Phone:

Fax:

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Member:

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Fax:

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Member:

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Member:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

Executive Staff:

 

Name:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

 

Name:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

 

Name:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

 

Name:

Phone:

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Name:

Phone:

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Email:

 

 

Please attach additional pages as necessary

Return the completed form to:

ALRA Membership Chair

John Toner, Chief of Staff, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Room 911, 2100 K Street NW

Washington, DC 20427

Fax: 202-606-4251