Minutes for the regular National Finance Committee meeting March 27, 2012.<br />
<br />
Meeting convened at 8:36 PM (ET) a quorum being present, the Chair and<br />
Secretary being present.<br />
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Attending: Ken Aaron, Jim Boyd, Bill Crosier, Marcus Jetter, Campbell<br />
Johnson, Kim Kaufman, R. Paul Martin, Tracy Rosenberg, Barbara Whipperman,<br />
Lavarn Williams, also attending was Executive Director Arlene Englehardt.<br />
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Agenda:<br />
<br />
1.	Roll Call<br />
2.	Approve Draft Agenda<br />
3.	Approve pending minutes<br />
4.	Brief Planning Discussion Re: WPFW<br />
5.	Brief Planning Discussion Re: KPFK<br />
6.	Financial transparency discussion<br />
7.	Houston budget question<br />
8.	BAI Review<br />
9.	Confidentiality Recommendation<br />
<br />
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<br />
Motion: (Ken Aaron) "To adopt the agenda." (Passed without objection) 8:46<br />
PM (ET)<br />
<br />
Approve pending minutes 8:46 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
Motion: (Kim Kaufman) "To approve the minutes of the February 28, 2012,<br />
meeting as amended" (Passed without objection)<br />
<br />
There were some corrections made to the draft minutes without objection.<br />
<br />
Brief Planning Discussion Re: WPFW 8:52 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The Chair announced that over the next couple of weeks we'll be migrating<br />
the NFC mailing list and files to the KPFTX.ORG server. There will also be<br />
a backup of the existing NFC archives. People will get passwords to access<br />
things on KPFTX.ORG. The NFC is one of the bigger committee archives to<br />
move.<br />
<br />
The Chair said that with regard to budgetary shortfalls the NFC needs to be<br />
involved in putting together recommendations about the shortfall.<br />
Implementation at the stations is not what the NFC will do. The NFC will be<br />
able to put together strong recommendations and fairly strong instructions.<br />
She said that the committee should do WPFW first and KPFK second because of<br />
WPFW's need to move.<br />
<br />
The committee briefly discussed this topic and it will come up at the next<br />
meeting, who will be attending from WPFW was discussed.<br />
<br />
Brief Planning Discussion re: KPFK 9:04 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The committee discussed planning for a discussion about how to improve<br />
KPFK's second quarter results and whom to invite from the station to attend<br />
that NFC meeting. There was no objection to having the KPFK review on April<br />
17, and not meeting on April 24, the next meeting after that would be on<br />
May 8.<br />
<br />
Financial transparency discussion 9:15 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The committee discussed transparency and the difficulties some Treasurers<br />
have had in acquiring financial information. Current Pacifica policies and<br />
the possibility of the NFC coming up with new policies were discussed.<br />
<br />
Houston budget question 9:48 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The KPFT Treasurer reported that the KPFT FY12 budget that was approved by<br />
the PNB was not the same as the budget approved by the NFC. The CFO said<br />
that there appeared to have been a typo in the spreadsheet. She said that<br />
she'd send a corrected spreadsheet.<br />
<br />
BAI Review 9:57 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The WBAI Treasurer reported that he'd asked questions of the WBAI General<br />
Manager about some of the problems seen for the station's first quarter.<br />
Listener Support was off by $13,607. The General Manager said that the Fall<br />
on-air fund raiser was off by $42,000 and the December on-air fund raiser<br />
was also short. Donations were short by $31,641 and the General Manager<br />
chalked that up to "hard times." The Community Events/Crafts Fair line,<br />
which includes a Saturday morning program that uses Broadway theater<br />
tickets as a premium was short by $25,555 because the person doing the show<br />
had been away for some weeks. Also fewer Community Events were done than<br />
had been planned. Administrative Expenses were about $40,000 higher than<br />
budgeted due to consultants being converted to Paid Staff. Telephone<br />
expenses were $5,000 higher than expected because WBAI is still using two<br />
telephone systems. Tower Rent was $28,000 higher than expected because the<br />
station had paid outstanding bills from last year and the amount of the<br />
increase in tower rent, at the Empire State building, was higher than<br />
projected. All in all, WBAI continues to improve, but the Treasurer does<br />
not think that it's improving fast enough. At this rate the station will<br />
not become self sustaining and able to pay its share of shared expenses in<br />
full until some years from now. The Treasurer suggested that Pacifica could<br />
save money overall by having the National Office pay WBAI's tower rent on<br />
time and so avoid large, cumulative late penalties.<br />
<br />
The committee discussed the report, including an assertion on a Web-based<br />
bulletin board that someone had threatened to bring complaints about claims<br />
made for some "health premiums" during WBAI's recent on-air fund raiser to<br />
the F.C.C. There was a discussion of WBAI's premiums. The CFO said that the<br />
National Office does not have the reserves to pay WBAI's tower rent,<br />
Democracy Now! is currently owed about $1,000,000 and any reserves would<br />
have to go to pay payroll first, including WBAI's payroll.<br />
<br />
Confidentiality Recommendation 10:30 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The committee reopened the discussion it had previously had about the<br />
confidentiality of executive sessions. It was agreed to take the discussion<br />
to executive session.<br />
<br />
Motion: (Kim Kaufman) "To adjourn to executive session." (Passed without<br />
objection)<br />
<br />
Adjourned 10:39 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
Submitted by R. Paul Martin, Secretary.<br />