I had said (on the blueboard, ListenerForums.net), "here's something
which might rescue one FTE, anyway."
One response was: "Actually this may be a good time for the use of
consultants. Consultants are as a rule cheaper than employees, as they
do not have all the costs associated with employees. Now may be the
time for us to get over our bias against consultants, and acknowlege
the fact that WBAI may have to rely on a combination of volunteers and
consultants during this period."
Part of my reply was: "Apparently you are not familiar with how this
works at WBAI. It is widely believed that the ability to distribute
money is one of the ways Bernard maintains his fiefdom, and by
protecting him the JUC is protecting their access to the teat.
Consider, for example, Bernard's working Ayo into a KNOWN job
opening (after squeezing Paul Ashby out): can you imagine what can be
done with "jobs" that are NOT SPECIFIED, filled by UNKNOWN
"consultants", for UNSPECIFIED SERVICES, for unknown AMOUNTS paid to
individuals?..."
My argument as to how examination of "consultants" might help rescue
one FTE from lay-off, in a message posted to the Finance Committee:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[1] As of May 31 (66% of the fiscal year), Consultant total was
$32,221, $24,221 more than had been budgeted for that period, with a
projection of $42,950 by end of fiscal year.
[2] If there were enough things identified that could have been done
by regular staff as part of their normal duties, this could provide a
basis for rescuing 1 FTE from lay-off if this habitual consultant line
runover (beyond projections) is avoided next year.
Could preparing such a list be done by anybody other than yourself?
By Indra or Yvonne, for example? By Bernard?
If nothing else, it might provide a basis for making a reduced budget
projection more plausible (to us and to the PNB). Are there objective
reasons for believing that the "consultant" expenses next year will
not greatly exceed what's budgeted, as they usually do? If so, what
would be the difference between next year's consultant needs and
consultant practices and those of prior years?
What are the chances that with reduced staff we will see MORE use of
"consultants" next year than this year?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a beginning of some history of our efforts to get past the
Iron Curtain and evaluate the extent to which the ideal practice
(advocated by the blueboard responder) is what's involved in the WBAI
version of this:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/48
DRAFT MINUTES OF 7-6-04 FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
EXERPT:
VII. A motion was made by Patty Heffley as stated below:
"There should be a disclosure of the names of consultants along
with the total expenses but not attached to the names."
a- A lengthy discussion was held on the Heffley motion.
VIII. A motion was made by Sharon T. Davis to table the Heffley
motion previously stated in item VII.
a- The motion passed by majority vote and the Heffley motion was
tabled.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/65
Wed Sep 1, 2004 3:43 am (Paul Surovel)
EXCERPT:
We are going to have to spend at least two hours of our review
process going over Budget lines that include consultants, part-time
and temporary workers, as well as paid staff. This aspect of the
process, and perhaps others, will have to be conducted in Executive
Session.
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/93
Mon Sep 13, 2004 1:44 am (Patty Heffley)
EXCERPT:
It would be good if you all could figure out how to welcome
volunteers again instead of paying everyone for things that people
would gladly do for free. Ask KPFT how they do it. And looking at
some of the consultant figures, i am shocked at the amounts of money
paid for things that if the place was volunteer-friendly and you
outsourced things that saved even more money, there might not be
lay-offs of regular paid staff.
Can you tell me if you plan to post all the new jobs that are going
into the salaries column? All the consultants that never had to go
through a hiring process i hope will have to go through the proper
channels of a job posting and an ARC? Or will they just slide over
there and perhaps a better person for the job may not be found?
---------------------------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/102
Mon Sep 13, 2004 4:13 am (Stephen M Brown)
EXCERPT:
There are many hard working and talented people at the station.
They should
certainly not be fired. But I would guess that there are also a
significant
number of "consultants" at the station who have no set jobs, no
set duties,
no benchmarks, no specific task required of them, and have
produced little
or nothing of use or value, but who nevertheless collectively earn
over a
hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year.
My suggestion is that you start cutting there.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/115
Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:26 am (paul_surovell)
EXCERPT:
I've attached an updated WBAI Budget Grid (in Excel) which
includes changes in several of the DESCRIPTIONS that relate to the
re-classification of jobs previously posted in the "Consultant" category.
------------------------------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/121
Fri Sep 17, 2004 11:23 pm (Berthold Reimers)
EXCERPT:
We have been asking for lots of documents from Management that
have not been forthcoming. Some documents were received only
recently. The problems we are having with the WBAI budget are
the following:
1. Job description of those employed
2. Job description of the consultants
3. Contracts between management and consultants
-----------------------------------------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/129
Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:02 am (Stephen M Brown)
EXCERPT:
But management prefers the unwise short-term "fix" of scheduling
more fundraising days, so that it will not have to kick the habit of
putting friends on the payroll (who are mysteriously listed as
"consultants," but seem to have no real jobs or specified duties to
perform). And so it can keep on generously paying many times the
market rate for goods and services to a select list of "friendly"
vendors (whose names and contact information management still refuses
to divulge)
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/132
Mon Sep 20, 2004 2:30 pm (Frank LeFever)
EXCERPT:
--- Stephen M Brown wrote:
"...What is scandalous about Don Rojas� budget is...all of
its mysterious "consultants" and high-priced vendors whose
invoices he will not show us..."
We have been warned repeatedly not to "micromanage"
anything (finances, management, programming, _anything_),
and have been denied the raw data we need in order to
determine whether any aspect of revenues or _expenditures_
needs micromanaging.
Details are not needed if we are to be a rubber-stamping
machine presented with a "take it or leave it" (or leave
WBAI) budget. Details are needed if we are to determine if
(1) staff lay-offs are truly the only way to meet a revenue
short-fall, and (2) we have a management that will not need
micromanaging in the future.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbailsbfinance/message/209
Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:06 am (R. Paul Martin)
EXCERPT:
paul4sure@... wrote:
>
> In recent days, a number of LSB members have suggested on the WBAI
> airwaves that the WBAI LSB has been denied access to financial
> information by WBAI management.
Good! I'm glad they're talking about it. I hope they're also talking
about the fact that "consultants," most of whom were illegal, were
getting hidden until September 7, and that the inventory was only made
available, in a very limited way, in October.
--------------------------------------------------------
I will try to present further excerpts from the SECRET ARCHIVES OF
THE FINANCE COMMITTEE in another installment.
--Frank LeFever