{news} minutes Sept 2004 SCC meeting,part 2 of 3

Mon Oct 18 17:13:59 EDT 2004

6. Proposal from Women's Caucus on rotating location of SCC meetings (Appendix 6).  Elizabeth Brancato read the proposal.  Eddie Friend said that a drive from Fairfield County to Middletown is 1 hour, 45 minutes;  a drive from Fairfield County to a meeting in the Northeast corner of the state would be much longer;  there could be problems reaching a quorum unless SCC meetings were held in central CT.  Andy said that a drive from New London to an SCC meeting in the northwest corner of the state could be longer than 2 hours.  Karin said that rotating meeting sites would let Greens in different parts of the state meet each other;  limited rotation could be done during the summer.  David Bedell suggested rotation among central locations (Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, and New Haven).  The drive from Fairfield County to New Haven is easier than the drive to Middletown.  Francis suggested rotating among Congressional Districts.  It was noted that CT is a "short" (not "tall") state in the sense that I-91 runs north and south.

     Karin noted that the proposal says that the location must be announced at least one month before the SCC meeting.  She suggested that there be a central default location, in case no location was announced by one month before.

     The Women's Caucus withdrew the proposal and will rework it in view of the above input.

7. Proposal from Steve Krevisky and others on endorsing the Nov. 20 "Where do we go from here?" conference (Appendix 7).  Steve passed out additional preliminary information on the conference:  it will be "A day long statewide forum designed to allow activists to share assessments of the elections and plot strategies to go forward in the building of a movement to end the occupation of Iraq and to bring the troops home."  It will be Saturday, November 20, 2004 at Central Connecticut State University.  The initiating group is CT United for Peace;  the host is CCSU Peace Studies.  There will be "Celebrity keynote speaker, representatives from 4 national antiwar coalitions, workshops, and a general strategy 'plenary' session.  Recognition of leading CT activists.  Time to report on your victories and mix it up with folks from around the state."

     There will be a planning meeting Sunday October 24 [new date from September date originally announced], 2pm, Church of Holy Trinity, Main St., Middletown.  Bring proposals for statewide spring activities, also ...."

     By consensus the SCC endorsed this conference.

8. Proposal from Women's Caucus on unreimbursed expenditures of Chris Reilly (Appendix 8)  Elizabeth Brancato read the proposal.  Ed DuBrule said that his minutes of the August 2004 SCC meeting included an explanation by Chris of the expenditures, and that Chris had said that that section of the minutes is accurate.  Ed said that former treasurer Bruce Crowder had given e-mail comments on that section of the minutes, also.  Ed said that Chris had submitted to the Executive Committee a complete listing (in the form of an Excel spreadsheet) of the unreimbursed expenditures.

     Justine said that the proposal proposes (1) an audit of CTGP finances related to the unreimbursed expenditures;  (2) that " Bruce Crowder and Chris Reilly appear before the SCC at the next meeting in order to explain the history of the current GPC debt related to the Hartford office".  Audrey said that she could do the audit.

     Due to the lateness of the hour, it was decided by consensus to defer further discussion of this proposal to the October SCC meeting.

C. REPORTS  

1. Treasurer's report (read by Elizabeth Brancato).

"The finances for the CT Green Party are looking up this month. In the past month we took in $1,781.00 and paid out 973.42. Our receipts were $1,291 from fundraising events, a $260 contribution from the Green Party of the United States, and $230 in monthly and other contributions. Our expenses were 661.68 for the Green Party office in Hartford (these included past due bills we couldn't pay before). $265.26 in Fundraising expenses, $38 for the post office box (this is for 6 months), $6 in bank checking account charges and $ 2.58 for the CT Green Party toll free number.

"In addition we received $250 from the Green Party of the United States for the Joyce Chen for State Rep. campaign. A check is on its way to the Joyce Chen for State Rep. campaign. This is a contribution from the National party that we are just facilitating. We also had a contribution for an insurance rider of $ 332.8. for the DNC2RNC event.

"Currently we have a balance of $1,152.46. We hope to use this money for a large fundraising mailing. We have paid up all our recent debt, but if we subtract the debt from Chris Reilly our balance would be - $2,388.36.

"I also want to point out that we have $837.96 so far this year in, in-kind" contributions. I don't think everyone is aware that we need to report In-kind contributions in the filing to the state. Additionally it is important for budgeting to be aware of how these expenses are being paid.

"As always please consider being involved in the Fundraising and Budget Committees.

"For more information on the CT Green Party Finances you can call me at 860 379-0632, email me at green at spazmo.com or look at this webpage: http://www.kirajoy.com/CTGP/CTGP_Treasurer.html"

     One attendee commented on the part of the treasurer's report which reads "but if we subtract the debt from Chris Reilly our balance would be -$2,388.36".  She said that the SCC hasn't acknowledged this as a debt to Chris.

Reports from committees, campaigns, and chapters were not given, due to lack of time.

Fundraising letter information.  Mike reported that the Executive Committee plans to do a large fundraising mailing ( to approximately 2,000 people).  He distributed a sheet containing information he had obtained from American Mailing Services on the details of that mailing (Appendix 9).  Amounts on the sheet include $420 for postage (21 cents per piece) (payable up front), $200 to $300 for Xerox one page plus supply return envelope, and $235 for downloading our database/compare addresses to postal service database/sort/tray/etc., for a total cost of $855 to $955.  Mike said that it is hoped that this mailing will bring in at least $3,000 in donations.  He asked that chapters discuss this plan.

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Appendix 1  Budget proposal  [e-mail from Bob Eaton 7/12/04]

      item#
               item
     annual

      amount
     monthly

      amount

      (cents omitted)
     comments (added by Secretary)

     --------Expenses---------

      Exp1
     Hartford office rent
     $1,200
     $100
     $100 per month from CT Green Party (decrease from current $250 per month;  Hartford chapter pays rest)

      Exp2
     Hartford office utilities
     $1,200
      100
     $100 per month from CT Green Party (this would approximately cover the entire utility bills)

      Exp3
     Fundraising events
     $1,000
       83
     Expenses to hold fundraisers

      Exp4
     Fundraising mailings
     $3,000
      250
     Postage etc.

      Exp5
     Money for candidates
          600
       50

      Exp6
     Insurance
          830
       69
     Liability insurance.  New Haven chapter closing its office.

      Exp7
     Printed handouts
          750
       62
     Literature (brochures, flyers)

      Exp8
     Internal elections/annual meeting
     $1,500
      125
     Postage, printing

      Exp9
     Buttons/bumper stickers
          500
       41

      Exp10
     Other expenses
          400
       33
     Domain name registration, etc.

      Exp11
     Reimbursement to Chris Reilly
          900
       75
     Spending by Chris for office rent, postage/printing/envelopes for September 2003 fundraising mailing, and CTGP website domain name.  This is partial re-payment;  balance to be repaid in future budget years.

     -------Expenses total-----
     11,880
      990

     -------Revenues---------

      Rev1
     Monthly Friends contributions
     $2,400 per year
     $200
     People who donate monthly to the CT Green Party

      Rev2
     Telephone solicitations for contributions
     $2,400
      200

      Rev3
     Fundraising from mailings
     $4,000
      333

      Rev4
     Four events
     $2,400
      200
     Four fundraising events

      Rev5
     Ad Hoc contributions
     $1,200
      100
     Examples:  website visitors donate, donations included in annual elections mailing

     -------Revenues total---
     12,400
     1033

     Balance
          520

     Revenues exceed expenses by $520

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Appendix 2  Proposed bylaws changes from BRPP committee (bylaws, rules, policies and procedures)  [From e-mail received from Tom  6/22/04;  submitted by New London chapter per e-mail of 9/13/04 from Andy.]

4-1. CHAPTERS

4-1-A. A local chapter shall consist of Green Party members from towns and municipalities within a contiguous geographic region. No chapter shall be larger than a County and none smaller than a single town with the exception of Campus Green organizations.  

4-1-B. A local chapter may petition for affiliation with the State Central Committee upon having at least three meetings with five or more Green Party members in attendance at each of the three meetings. 
4-1-C.   A chapter may be declared inactive by a majority vote of the State Central Committee (SCC) if it has not met within the past three months.  A chapter will automatically be declared inactive if it has not sent chapter representatives to the State Central Committee meeting for three months in a row. Inactive status will begin as of the third meeting.  

4-1-D.   The State Central Committee may vote to revoke a chapter's affiliation with the CTGP if that chapter has not met within the past 6 months.

4-1-E.  An inactive chapter will be declared active again if it hold two consecutive monthly meetings monthly meetings with at least five members present and sends representatives to two successive state meetings.

4-1-F.  Chapters that have had their affiliation revoked must re-petition the State Central Committee for affiliation once the requirements detailed in 4.1.B are met.

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Appendix 3  Proposed bylaws changes from BRPP Committee (bylaws, rules, policies and procedures). [From e-mail received from Tom 7/26/04;  revised per 9/13/04 e-mail from Andy.]

4-2  STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE

4-2-A. The State Central Committee (SCC) shall be the final decision making body of the Green Party of Connecticut, and shall consist of democratically elected representatives from each affiliated local chapter. 

4-2-B. Local chapters of the CTGP shall be represented at State Central Committee meetings accordingly : up to 99 registered Greens, the chapter is entitled to 2 voting representatives; from 100 to 499 registered Greens, the chapter is entitled to 3 voting representatives; above 500 registered Greens, the chapter is entitled to 4 voting representatives.   Each chapter is entitled to two voting representatives, and is also entitled to an additional representative for each 100 registered Greens residing in the chapter.  Voter lists from an appropriate authority (either a town clerk or the Secretary of State) will be the final source in determining the count of a chapter's membership. If these are not obtainable the chapter shall be entitled to two voting representatives.

4-2-C.  Caucuses for under-represented groups shall be entitled to one voting representative on the State Central Committee.  Under-represented groups are defined as any grouping of Greens that has historically failed to gain adequate access to power in society at-large (i.e., women, African-Americans, youth, etc.).  Caucuses shall be established by the State Central Committee.  An individual attending an SCC meeting may cast multiple votes--one vote as a chapter representative and one as a caucus representative.

4-2-D. Representatives to the State Central Committee are responsible for disseminating information to their respective local chapters. They are also responsible for following the mandates of the local chapters they represent. 
4-2-E. The modified consensus process will be used at State Central Committee meetings. In the event consensus cannot be reached, a vote will be taken with a simple majority being needed for passage of the proposal. Changes to the bylaws need a 66% majority for passage.   

4-2-F. Quorum shall be required for votes taken at the State Central Committee meeting. Quorum shall be defined as representation (by at least one voting representative) of at least two-thirds of all active CTGP chapters, excepting Campus Green chapters and inactive chapters.
4-2-G. Chapters shall elect their representatives to the SCC once a year.  Representatives shall be eligible for re-election.

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Appendix 4.  Proposal from Hamden chapter on formation of an IT (information technology) committee
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