[Kzyxtalk] questions
David
uw at kzyx.org
Wed Mar 18 18:02:58 PDT 2015
Would you please provide the FCC regulation dealing with the creation and
function of committees?
I'd appreciate the help.
David
David Steffen
KZYX Business Development
(707) 895-2324 office
(707) 322-9895 cell
(707) 895-2451 fax
_____
From: kzyxtalk-bounces at lists.mcn.org [mailto:kzyxtalk-bounces at lists.mcn.org]
On Behalf Of Dennis OBrien
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2015 4:49 PM
To: Kzyxtalk
Subject: Re: [Kzyxtalk] questions
I believe that Sheila and others were forced to appeal to the FCC because of
a failure of governance. There is a standing board committee, the Personnel
Committee, that is supposed to hear such complaints: "The Personnel
Committee will hear and recommend action on personnel grievances that are
not resolved at staff level." The refusal to implement the committees is a
failure of the current board and general manager, as it is their joint
responsibility.
I have copied the current committee policies below. Note that the policy
for the Personnel Committee was changed in March 2006, the same time that
the general manager was given hiring and firing authority. It is a
check-and-balance that has never been honored.
Elsewhere in the policies, it states that each board member should be on at
least one committee and no more than two. It also recommends that
volunteers be named to the committees, not just board and staff.
The two committees I would choose to be on are the Personnel Committee and
the Equipment and Construction Committee, these days known as the
Infrastructure Committee. I imagine Doug has an interest in Finance and
Programming. (Ah, but then there's Long Range Planning!) Having directors
on these committees who are committed to oversight of the organization and
engaging with the members would at least start the process of decentralizing
power.
I share Sheila's concerns about how officers are chosen, as the Executive
Committee "shall have the power of the Board in matters related to policy
implementation". And the President gets to choose who sits on what
committees. How are these decisions, or any other decision, made between
the time the election results are announced and the meeting in May? I don't
think the "old" board can make any decisions without a meeting, and the next
meeting must start with the seating of the newly-elected directors.
In short, it is the failure to implement the committee policies and
procedures that has led to the concentration of power in the hands of the
general manager without any checks, balances, oversight, or engagement with
the members/community. Implementing these policies is not "anarchy", as
some have suggested, but just good governance.
Hopefully, the results will help clarify all of this. Give us a mandate!
Please vote!
Thanks,
Denny
6 COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD
6.1 Standing Committees:
Standing committees of the Board shall consist of but not be limited to the
following: Nominating
& Elections, Finance, Fundraising/membership, Personnel, Long range
planning, Programming,
Equipment & Construction, and Executive.
6.2 Ad Hoc Committees:
Ad Hoc committees may be appointed from time to time by the President and
the General Manager.
6.3 Executive Committee:
The Executive committee shall have the power of the Board in matters related
to policy
implementation. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers ofthe
corporation and the
General Manager, who shall not vote as a committee member. The Executive
Committee will meet only when necessary. The president of the Board, in
consultation with the General Manager, will call the Executive Committee
into session.
6.4 Membership on Committees:
It is expected that each Board member will serve on at least one and no more
than two committees.
6.5 Qualifications:
Committees are open to all, however, one member must be a Board member and
one member should be a staff member.
6.6 Appointive Process:
The President shall appoint committee assignments as set forth in the
Division of Authority, in
the Board of Directors section.
6.7 Authority:
All policy recommendations shall be reviewed at committee level before an
action may take place.
The chair of the committee will be chosen by the President. The President,
in consultation with
the General Manager, shall set the date for the first committee meeting.
The committee shall set
subsequent meeting date(s). It shall be the responsibility of the chair of
each committee to lead
the discussion, demonstrate knowledge of committee work, and to present
accurately the views and work of the committee to the Board. The chair
shall be responsible for preparing and presenting the report(s) of the
committee.
6.8 Reports:
Recommendations will be presented in writing to the Board and the General
Manager by the fifteenth day of the month preceding the quarterly Board
meeting and shall consist of a simple statement of what the assignment was,
what was considered, and what action is recommended for the Board.
6.9 Agendas:
Business will be arranged so that recommendations are made in the most
logical order. Written
agendas (including reports and other attachments) shall be sent to committee
members well in
advance of the meeting, but in no case less than 7 days in advance of any
meeting which
recommendation shall take place. Agendas will include the presenter name,
item and outcome needed, and the time allowed for discussion.
6.10 Notification:
The chair of the committee, in consultation with the General Manager, will
set the time and place
of committee meetings. Members will be notified either in writing or orally
by the chair.
Committee meetings will also be noticed on-air at least 5 days in advance of
said meeting. A
written notice of a committee meeting will be posted at least 7 days in
advance of said meeting at
the station.
6.11 Decisions Implementing Policy:
Board committees will make recommendations as to priorities for implementing
new policies after
study of the issues affecting adoption of policies are reviewed.
6.12 Day-to-Day Decisions:
Within the guidelines of the MCPB policies and procedures, day-to-day
operational decisions are the responsibility of the General Manager.
7 COMMITTEE DESCRIPTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES
7.1 Nominating and Elections:
This committee will have overall responsibility for the election of Board
members according to the
By- laws and the established Policies & Procedures of the Board (see MCPB
Elections Policy in the
MCPB Policy Binder). It will recommend election procedures as necessary.
The nominating committee shall recommend to the Board candidates for all
vacancies to be filled on
the Board of Directors; will oversee the actual election process; and will
declare the winners.
Annual evaluations of current Board members will be conducted by this
committee. This committee will include the Secretary of the Corporation.
7.2 Finance:
This committee has responsibility for working with management on the annual
budget and
recommending it to the Board, according to the terms of these Policies &
Procedures. In creating
the annual budget and plan, the Finance Committee will work closely with the
Fund Raising Committee on the income plan: and with all appropriate
committees on the expense plan.
In addition, this committee will work with management and with the Long
Range Planning Committee to produce and update Three Year Budgets. It will
regularly review fiscal procedures and reports of the station, select the
independent auditor for the annual audit, and generally oversee the
finances of the corporation according to the By-laws and Policies and
Procedures of the corporation. The Treasurer will serve on the Finance
committee.
7.3 Fund Raising and Membership:
This committee is responsible for creating the annual income plans
incorporating all possible
aspects of producing income. It will produce Project Planning Proposals for
each income project,
participate where appropriate in the execution of the income projects, and
review the success of
the income projects. This committee will oversee Membership development
programs, including Public Relations, Marathons and the Program guide. The
Program Guide will be produced jointly by staff, this committee and the
Programming Committee.
7.4 Personnel:
Revisions adopted by the board in March 2006: This committee is responsible
for reviewing and
recommending personnel policies for the corporation, as well as
establishing evaluation
procedures for station staff. This committee will perform an annual
evaluation of the General
Manager. In addition, this committee will review staff employment contracts
and benefit packages. The General Manager Hiring Committee will include at
least one Board member from the Personnel Committee. The Personnel Committee
will hear and recommend action on personnel grievances that are not resolved
at staff level.
7.5 Long Range Planning:
This committee is responsible for creating and updating the 3-year Plan, in
coordination with the
Finance Committee. This committee will regularly consider long range issues
facing all aspects of
the station and prepare recommendations to the Board.
7.6 Programming:
This committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending all
programming policies and
guidelines to ensure fulfillment of the station mission.
7.7 Equipment and Construction:
This committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending policies,
procedures and projects
related to the maintenance and improvement of the corporation's physical
plant, including the
offices, studios, equipment, transmission capabilities, etc.
_____
From: Sheila Dawn <sheila.dawn50 at yahoo.com>
To: "kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org" <kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org>; Dennis OBrien
<dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2015 2:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Kzyxtalk] questions
I guess the fact that I have pointed out on several occasions needs to be
repeated once again. As part of the station's license renewal, the FCC asked
for input from the community on how the station did or did not meet the
needs of the community. This was announced by the station at less than
optimum listening times-- once at 7AM and once mid afternoon on Father's Day
& probably at other times that I didn't catch-- so it is not surprising that
few are aware of this fact. I did not ask for either Coate or Aigner's
resignation but I do not put limitations on others comments even if they are
Board members.
As I have told the Board, I clearly stated my intention to write to the
FCC at the Oct. 9th Board meeting due to my unhappiness with a Board
decision (without any input on my part) to not allow me to volunteer at the
station. The fact that my several efforts to resolve this situation were
ignored by the Board is what caused me to follow through. After reading
through the Board's Procedures & Policies Handbooks (which are available to
every member upon request--written if you want a response) I realized that
there were several areas which were not being followed by the past several
configurations of the Board and included these areas in my complaint.
I was factual in my points while in John Coate's and Eliane Herring's
declarations in response to the 'informal objections', there were several
inaccurate and demeaning statements about me that necessitate a response.
I have delayed in doing this because the problem of my being banned has
been at least temporarily resolved as I was allowed to volunteer at a
fundraising event in October. However, I am concerned about the Board's
support for Coate in saying it was appropriate for him to use the
programmer's list serve to make negative comments about a candidate. This is
a serious issue as I have pointed out in my recent AVA article, Seeds of
Change at KZYX--March 11th edition.
I am also concerned with the decision to use a new database for donors
prior to the election. I believe Coate has made several decisions to
maximize his position as sole decision maker which to me is contrary to the
mission statement of this public, member supported, community radio station.
I have seen several inaccuracies of letters stating that memberships had
expired, including my own, when they, in fact, had not. Upon speaking to the
Membership Coordinator, she attributed it to switching to a new database.
This is incompetence in a very critical area. There needs to be
accountability at all levels of the organization which, at present, is not
the case.
So I ask people to not have a knee jerk, defend management and staff
response without hearing all sides of the issues.
If you really want to be knowledgeable, take the time to attend a Board
meeting or two. The Annual Membership meeting is May 4th, Monday in Ukiah--
location TBA. Draw your own conclusions. Be especially attentive to how the
nominations for the Executive Committee of Officers are chosen.
Sheila Dawn Tracy
_____
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