Pacifica National Board
5 July 2018
This audio is divided into three sections:
Section One, From 0:00>7:18, Covers the iED’s Report
The iED appears to be making real progress with respect to the consolidation of vital housekeeping functions.
There is no indication as to any attempt to deal with programming, lack of listenership. or the accompanying financial crisis.
Section Two, From 7:18>28:19, Covers Debate Re Elections
In the course of this discussion/debate, at ~17:37, reference is made to some forthcoming donations: ‘some very large bequests have come in to us’.
This discussion/debate quickly becomes acrimonious, perhaps suggesting that a thin veneer of civility as to formalities lies over those longstanding disagreements, factionalization, and other divisions that have long characterized and defined Pacifica, leading to the present impasse and the present situation.
Section Three, From 28:19>33:44, Anita Sims of NETA
Ms Sims provides an overview of NETA and the planned approach to putting Pacifica’s troubled finances in order.
iED Livingston Report, Summary Points
New transmitter for WBAI installed.
New transmitter for WPFW installed
75% of Pacifica employees have completed sexual harassment training
New employee handbook has been completed
New accounting organization, NETA, has been retained
Reduces costs by about 50%
On 5 June notified by US Dept. of Labor of investigation into Pacifica’s pension funds
Legal representation has been retained
Extensive request for documentation
Third-party administrator must be hired
Two applications for National Election Supervisor received to date
Executive Director Search hopefully nearing completion
26 Candidates
Initial Review of 15 candidates completed
Video Interviews of 8 candidates next step
Final Interview of 3 candidates will be following step
Final Decision possible as soon as early August
Livingston judges candidate pool to be a strong one
Livingston hopes to complete assignment by end of August, or at latest by end of September
The IndigoPirate’s Closing Thoughts
In all, after a little over five months in the position, iED Livingston seems to have done a fine job with respect to making progress with respect to the extremely serious housekeeping issues Pacifica faced at the time of his taking position.
With respect to fundamentals, there is as yet no sign of progress, nor of approaching the fundamentals at all, other than some discussion as to their existence and unfocused revery and speculation as to ‘what might be done’.
These discussions, vaguely philosophical in encounter group fashion have to date shown no sign of development, evolution, or focus, remaining free form and free floating.
It’s difficult for an arrogant humble pirate, his feet planted firmly in midair somewhere above the roiling waves, to see anything of consequence or of substance coming from any of this free form flummery.
Perhaps it portends a miracle.
I have no idea.
Though this seems to me unlikely.
This bunch, this little gaggle of variegated left/leftist/‘progressives’ appears, still, to have no interest in radio, nor media, nor of art, nor of music, nor of education, nor of anything other than their own sad, solitary, onanistic endeavors and pursuits.
Perhaps critically, in a sense, not a one of them appears capable of accepting the authority of anyone, ever, each seeing her or himself as an independent sovereignty.
Such sovereignties founder and sink.
Though the heavens only know, given their inheritance, they’ve been able to sail on for one fuck of a long time.
A tedious and a tiresome voyage, with no listeners, no watchers, raising the ol’ ‘If a tree falls…’ truism.
Care to stay and watch?
Or are there other, better things to do with one’s time on planet?
I like these easy questions :)
I just sent this to the PNB and elsewhere:
ReplyDeleteHi all –
I have some follow up questions and comments from Thursday’s PNB meeting:
• Has the CA AG been asked for an extension of the FY2017 audit, which was due June 30, 2018? Because no one on the Audit Committee, or PNB, still seems to be aware of the Non-Profit Integrity Act of 2004 from the California Registry of Charitable Trusts, here is the relevant part:
► The audited financial statements must be made available for inspection by the Attorney General and the public no later than nine months after the close of the fiscal year covered by the financial statement.
I suggest someone, especially those on the Audit Committee, take the time to google this and read it. It’s not very long and is simple-to-understand-bullet points rather than the actual legislation. This is the bare minimum of what an Audit Committee should know about what it is supposed to do.
• Based on public statements, it seems there will be six new outsourced workers, including a senior controller, from NETA. The number of workers doing accounting will be doubled (from three to six), and the amount of work will be tripled (preparing for and overseeing the audit, plus updating the income statements for the network for ytd FY2018 and doing monthly reports going forward, plus the pension issues, which includes the actual pension issues plus the IRS/DoL investigation). This will supposedly be done for half the price ($15,000) of what was being spent before. How does this even make sense?
• Of those six new workers, Anita said four will be working on the pension issues, DoL/FBI investigation.
• That leaves one person plus a controller to do the rest.
• Does Tom understand what the responsibilities of a CFO is? Is he able to explain the job responsibilities and scope of work to the new accounting people?
• Has NETA put in writing what their scope of work includes and what it does not include? Has the PNB asked to see this?
• $15,000 per month, divided by six workers = $2,500 per month per worker or $30,000 per year per employee. This doesn’t sound like an A game of accountants.
• Based on Nancy Sorden’s comment, she has a fundamental lack of understanding what “internal controls” means. The problem here is Tom. He is iED/acting CFO and has hired the outside accounting staff who he has worked with before and who is dependent on him for their continued employment. There is no oversight of him. He can write his own checks for himself and his expenses with no independent oversight and he is virtually overseeing the audit himself. The NFC is presently non-functional. This demonstrates a serious lack of fiduciary duty on the part of the PNB. It cannot outsource oversight if it doesn’t want to be held personally liable for problems that arise from this situation.
• In a May 20 report from Grace Aaron to KPFK’s LSB, she wrote:
”A Request for Proposals (RFP) for a National Election Supervisor is being circulated and a number of very qualified candidates are already being reviewed by the iED.”
It was a surprise to hear Tom say that he has only two candidates and is going to extend the search to get more. This seems like a deliberate slow walk and delay of the election, allowing the Directors to extend their positions indefinitely while otherwise making it seem like they’re complying with the bylaws and CA Corp Code.
Kim
Your inquiring mind is much appreciated, Kim. The fact that such questions are valid at this point is troubling.
DeleteExcellent concise info, & writings here. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteConsidering how little factual info is available anywhere else in sightmor on air, we may presume that what seems focused on WBaI / NY pertains to other radio stations nationally too ?