WASFAA 2011-12 Fiscal Planning Committee Year-End Meeting
April 21, 2012
Benson Hotel, Portland, Oregon
Present: Laura Hughes, Ashley Munro, Nichole Doering, Adam Hatch, Jim White, Tracey Lehman, Steve
Herndon, Kay Soltis, Jack Edwards, Wendy Olson, Tami Sato, Mindy Bergeron, Sun Ow, Leonard Walker,
Peter Miller, Sandi Guidry, Ashley Salisbury
Not Present: Mary San Agustin (represented by other co-chair)
Call to Order: A year-end meeting of WASFAA’s Fiscal Planning Committee was held at the Benson Hotel,
Portland, Oregon on April 21. The meeting convened at 8:10 a.m. with Steve Herndon presiding and
Wendy Olson as secretary.
MOTION
Approval of Agenda: Sandi Guidry made a motion that the agenda be approved. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION
Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Ashley Munro to approve the minutes of the February 29,
2012 meeting as amended. MOTION CARRIED.
The To Do items from our last meeting were reviewed. All items were completed except for the
following with modifications added during this meeting:
TO DO
The incoming secretary will work with the incoming Fiscal Planning Chair to purchase an electronic
devise for the secretary to use for taking minutes. Funding for this purchase will be from general
administration.
TO DO
Key executive council members will review an electronic version of most of the documents from Richard
Glasner (WASFAA’s past legal counsel), as determined by Kay Soltis.
TO DO
Update on Disposition of the WASFAA Files from Former Attorney: Kay Soltis scanned all of the
documents that were received from Richard Glasner. Nichole Doering suggested that the paper
documents be destroyed with the exception of the Articles of Incorporation. There was discussion about
having a WASFAA safety deposit box for the important legal documents.
Ashley Salisbury will check with Bank of America about obtaining a safety deposit box for WASFAA.
Identifying a Candidate for WASFAA’s Attorney of Record: Kay Soltis talked with Becky Cady Rude about
the possibility of her working for WASFAA. A meeting has been scheduled to discuss with her the scope
of the position and see if she is interested and what her rates would be.
WASFAA’s Investment Collaboration with NASFAA: At our last meeting we decided we would wait to
decide whether or not to invest more with the Charles Schwab portfolio. The two monthly statements
we have received thus far show some downturn in value. It was determined that the decision to invest
more should be postponed until the fall so we will be able to see more performance reports. Currently,
we are set to reinvest our dividends monthly. NASFAA will be extending this opportunity to invest
through this program to state associations.
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TO DO
TO DO
TO DO
Treasurer’s Report: Peter Miller did not have a written Treasurer’s Report for the meeting. Steve
Herndon asked what his plans were for the coming year as far as his duties as Treasurer. Peter Miller
and Mindy Bergeron have talked about transitioning during her treasurer-elect year. Peter Miller
recognizes that the treasurer’s report to the membership on Tuesday is very important. Peter Miller is
eager to make the transition after five years of effort. Mindy Bergeron was CASFAA’s treasurer with a
similar budget. She is used to working with ATAC and QuickBooks and feels she can step into the role
readily. SASFAA has some good information about fiscal policy that she picked up at the NASFAA
Leadership conference. They do an internal audit. The question of whether we need to accelerate when
the audit takes place was discussed. The last audit was an internal self audit. The last outside audit was
when Lana Walter finished her term as Treasurer and Peter Miller became Treasurer. A full outside audit
could cost $2000-$3000. Wendy Olson recommended that there be an audit this summer that would
look at the fiscal records/history of WASFAA up until April 30. Jim White feels an audit is important but
recognizes that it will mean more work for Peter Miller.
The fiscal committee chair will find a firm/person to assist with WASFAA’s audit this summer. CASFAA’s
auditors may be a good possibility.
Peter Miller and Mindy Bergeron will set a time to meet in May to begin the transition of duties. Mindy
Bergeron will assume the day to day duties of the position sooner than later.
Currently, it appears that the treasurer-elect does not have voting rights on the council.
Review past minutes and voting records to determine if the bylaws are current with regards to the
treasurer-elect having voting privileges. If not, a bylaws change should be voted on in the future to allow
the treasurer-elect to vote. The position is a voted-by-membership officer position and so voting rights
for the treasurer-elect is consistent with other positions.
Peter Miller said that considering all of the things currently going on in his life, his resignation might be
the best for WASFAA and thus he would consider resigning. The Executive Council recognized Peter
Miller’s contributions to WASFAA. Jack Edwards suggested that Peter Miller continue as treasurer and
then resign after our June or November meeting if he is still so inclined.
TO DO
The bylaws or policies and procedures need to be reviewed for clarity on what constitutes a valid
“mailed” ballot.
Budget adjustments: No formal submissions or oral requests were made so the budget for 2012 is
unchanged.
Historical Archives/Asset Inventory: The inventory is up to date per Ashley Salisbury.
Unfinished Business: WASFAA’s Taxes are not yet filed for the 2011 or 2010 tax years and there may be
a penalty that WASFAA must pay. Getting the taxes finished must be a priority. Peter Miller promised
the committee that prior to the transition of duties, the 2010 and 2011 taxes will be finished. WASFAA
has paid for tax preparation services in the past, but the person who did so is no longer available. The
2010 tax information is close to being finished. Peter Miller promised that both tax years’ taxes would
be completed and filed by April 30. Peter Miller also stated that he would use the remainder of the
treasurer’s funds, which are given to his institution each year, to cover the penalties that WASFAA may
be responsible for due to our late submission.
New Business: Sun Ow said that $37, 750 has been raised this year through fund development. She
asked if we want to consider additional membership outside the usual FAA population- High school
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counselors, fiscal managers and staff. TIAA-CREF could be a possible supporting vendor as well as CSS.
She also asked us to consider if sponsors could assist with meal expenses at our conferences, since it is
offered to everyone and is legal to do so. Vendors can do a raffle if the prize is less than $10. Another
idea that Sun had for raising funds is a silent auction. Idaho has been doing this for some time with
success. WASFAA could have a raffle as well. Some organizations do big ticket raffles - $50 per ticket to
win a cruise. Sun Ow also looked into grant writing. Some foundations like to support organizations that
do financial literacy. These ideas can be passed on to the next fiscal planning committee. There will be
further conversations about these ideas and other ways we can increase our revenue.
MOTION
Sandi Guidry stated that we can control our expenses better if we go to a maximum per diem rate and
step away from the GSA rate put in place the summer of 2009. Per diem costs for 2011 were $6500.
NASFAA’s maximum rates are $55/day - $10 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $35 for dinner. The
maximum rates would apply to wherever the meetings were held. Receipts would be required. WASFAA
would reimburse up to the maximum limit for the meal or actual costs whichever is less. WASFAA could
adopt $10/$15/$30 for the maximum paid for breakfast, lunch and dinner, respectively. This policy
would begin May 1. We could develop a missing receipt affidavit.
Ashley Munro moved that we eliminate the GSA rate and have a per diem maximum for meals of $10 for
breakfast, $15 for lunch and $30 for dinner, with submission of receipts required and payment of the
value of the receipt or the maximum, whatever is less. A provision for the occasional lost receipt would
be allowed with a missing receipt affidavit. This new policy would begin May 1. As in the past, meal costs
will only be covered when a meal is not already provided by WASFAA. MOTION CARRIED
Nichole Doering suggested that for the Sister Dale Brown Summer Institute 2013, in addition to offering
the intermediate and beginners track, there would be a track for clock hour schools as well. At least 235
schools in the WASFAA region offer training in clock hours. That means that over 22% of the WASFAA
region schools with Title IV funding are clock hour schools. This additional offering would increase our
membership and meet a known need for this population. There will be accreditation training in
December by the Dept of Education for clock hour schools; Nichole could promote the training and
WASFAA there. CASFAA has a pre-conference meeting to help the clock hour schools get the training
that they need. Clock hour training is usually not as complete as it could be by the Dept of Education.
Employees want the Continuing Education Units (CEU) certification. It will be more of an intermediate
track, but overview sessions would be plenary. The site visit at Portland State University showed that
there would be plenty of space for an additional track. Steve Herndon will present this idea to the
executive council and ask that it be shared with the 2012-13 council. There will be lots of opportunities
for advertising this additional track. Jack Edwards will be able to advertise it at state meetings, but
Nichole Doering will do some networking to get the word out as well.
Summary of the Year’s Goals and Activities: These are reflected in the year-end report.
Steve Herndon commented that the year has been a challenge and the input of the committee was
appreciated. Wendy Olson thanked Steve Herndon for all his years of dedicated service and efforts to
keep WASFAA fiscally sound.
MOTION
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:18 after Adam Hatch moved for adjournment. MOTION
CARRIED.
_______________________________________ ____________________________
Secretary of WASFAA
Date of approval
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