treasury procedures
for our Merrimack valley gathering of seekers

initial procedures noted 8 June 2003
editing to wording, adding concerns 8 July 2003
added resolution to donate to hosts 16 July 2003

In order to have a viable and sustaining gathering, with a stable structure, it is suggested that we develop a procedure for handling our funds that inspires member confidence in our stewardship of the assets of our gathering. The following are treasury procedures adopted by our council:

Treasurer to be selected by council	® adopted 8 June 2003
Treasurer to note all revenues in ledger	® adopted 8 June 2003
Treasurer to keep all monies safe	® adopted 8 June 2003
Council to vote on all disbursements (unanimous assent required)	® adopted 8 June 2003
Treasurer to make disbursements and note in ledger. Councillors to initial the line in the ledger that shows the disbursement.	® adopted 8 June 2003
Treasurer to disburse our agreed-upon amount of donation to our host mid-month of each month	® adopted 16 July 2003

Concerns:

One suggested approach (4 Aug 03):

• when treasury goes over $200, begin using a metal lock box;

• when treasury goes over $1000, begin using a fireproof box, safely hidden;

• when treasury goes over $2500, go to safe that is bolted down;

• when treasury goes over $10,000, go to a floor safe cast in concrete, and begin distributing treasury into other repositories;

• a "distributed" system could be developed that keeps the assets safe in multiple locations, with checks and safeties to ensure the integrity of each location, monitored by a senior member. The additional safety of this system is that it reduces risk of loss by distributing the risk (no "single point risk" of total loss).