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Minutes of the

Board of Directors

of the

Iowa Association of County Extension Councils

 

January 19, 2008

 

Those members present:  Sybil Soukup, Brian Waldstein, Denise Maier, Russ Kurth, Pat Griffin, Tom Ullrich, Connie Cannon, Scott Bahr, Rick Rosburg, Caroll Schreiber, and Ron Fransen.  Also present:  Jack Payne, Mary Holz-Claus, Don Nitchie, Alan Ladd, Sherry Glenn, Chuck Morris, Lois Hunt, Laurie Gustafson, Mark Settle, and Julie Baumler.

 

President Sybil Soukup called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.  Connie moved to add a discussion on “Relevance of the IACEC Board” to the agenda.  Brian moved to approve the agenda as amended.  Pat seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

Secretary Denise Maier noted that minutes from the Oct. 10 Board meeting and the October 25 Special Board meeting were in the folders, as well as the minutes from the executive committee teleconferences.  Pat moved to approve the minutes from the Oct. 10 and Oct. 25 board meetings.  Russ seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

The treasurer’s report was presented by Pat Griffin.  There is a balance on hand of $21,880.56.  Rick moved to approve the tresurer’s report and approve Checks #1056 through #1063 authorized by the executive committee for a total of $1,423.87.  Denise seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

Dues have been paid by 98 counties.  Polk and Franklin County did not pay dues for 2007-08.

 

Rick reported that he did an informal audit of the books.  He found them to be in excellent order with no need to do any further exploration of the finances.  A handout of the audit report was given to the board members.

 

Laurie Gustafson, Director of Budget and Finance presented an update of the ISUE budget.  Federal dollars have been essentially level since 2000 (making up a progressively smaller portion of the budget).  State dollars have decreased dollar-wise.  The county share has remained about level.  To make up the shortfall from federal and state funding, grants and user-fees have increased significantly.  Pat asked that Laurie send out an e-mail with handouts showing the actual dollar amounts labeled in addition to percentages of the budget.

 

Brian asked Laurie to send information before legislative day – how many of the grants are state and federal verses how many are private grants.

 

Laurie shared a comparison of county tax income as a percentage of total operating expenses for local extension districts.  In FY02 it was 91.3%.  In FY07, it was 84.1%.  Pat noted that county tax income varies greatly from county to county depending on valuations.  Some counties have been up against their maximum tax asking.

 

Laurie shared that the county fiscal policies are in the process of being revised.  The state auditor has reviewed it and made only minor changes.  She asked that the Board review the policy draft and get comments and questions back to Laurie within a month.  The policy is a template for all 100 ag extension districts.  There are some items that can be customized for your county, depending on the desire of the county and their needs.

 

Jack Payne, Vice President for Extension and Outreach, reported on the following topics:

­       Explaination of promotion and tenure process

­       Budget – we are now almost completely in the black.

­       Congrats – this is the 10th anniversary of IACEC.  From Jack’s perspective, it is nice to be able to meet with a board that represents the 900 council members. 

­       Thanks for help with the partnership agreement.  IACEC asked the hard questions, did the homework, and supported the decisions.

­       He appreciated the quick feedback and passionate response with regard to the proposed legislation exploration of changing council numbers from 9 to 5.  Thanks to the feedback, this is now a dead issue.

­       Continuing Education -- We’re now in the process of transferring credit courses out of extension and are now keeping the non-credit classes with extension.

­       Gifts – our development officer has moved on to another job.  We have to start over again.  We really want to grow that slice of the pie.

­       Working with Congress to educate them on the importance of the Land Grant system and issues for Coop Extension.

 

Chuck briefly introduced the new 4-H camping brochure.

 

Connie Cannon, on behalf of the Central area board members, raised questions about the relevance of IACEC to extension council members.  Specific concerns were about lack of participation in Central area conference calls and IACEC activities.  She inquired if this "lack of participation" was a concern in other areas?  The board members then discussed how IACEC Board is fulfilling our mission.  Discussion centered upon a needs assessment to determine how our current activities are meeting the needs of councils and how we can meet their needs into the future.  Rick moved to channel this activity to the executive committee.  Ron seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

Sybil reminded the board that we will be seeking nominations for the open spots on the board of directors.  The Executive Committee suggests that each area have a nominating committee of the two continuing board members and the AEED.  Nomination forms will be up on the website.  Nominations are due on March 15.

Scott Bahr reported for the Finance & Policy Committee.  The discussed dues for 2008 – 2009 and reinvestment of the CD.

 

Carroll Schreiber reported for the Legislative Committee.  The IACEC Legislative Day is set for March 12, 2008.  We will meet at the Wallace Building this year, as we can use it without cost and it is right across from the Capitol.  Sybil has been in contact with a Master Gardner who would like to coordinate a group of Master Gardners to join us that day.  Sybil will send a note to liaisons to start with the marketing of the event – including note of successes from the past.  At this point, our legislative agenda will be to support the governor’s budget proposal.

 

Russ Kurth reported for the Marketing Committee.  The committee received 9 mini-grant applications from three areas.  The selected the following:

NE Area – Bremer (What’s In the Backyard? program)

SE Area – Scott (Parent Education for Incarcerated Mothers program)

                  Louisa (Plazas Comunitarias program)

SW Area – Wayne County (Girl Talk program)

Brian moved to approve 4 mini-grants (2 in the Southeast area).  Russ seconded the motion.  The motion carried.  The recipients will be highlighted in the Network Newsletter.  The honorable mention recipients will be highlighted very briefly in the newsletter and more fully on the website.

 

The NETWORK newsletter will go out in February.  IACEC’s 10th Anniversary will be the focus of this newsletter.  Board members may be contacted for their ideas for the 10th anniversary story.  Please respond in a timely manner.

 

The IACEC Scholarship Program criteria/eligibility was reviewed.  No changes were made.  The IACEC Award Program was reviewed.  Again, no changes were made.

 

Denise is ordering pens to hand out at the legislative day.  Magnets are available for area council meetings and county visits.

 

Brian moved to invest $8,000 for 6 mos. at 4.45% with Home State Bank.  Rick seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

Jack clarified the system of federal funds being matched by the state.  He discussed ways that we can talk to congressmen about the value of Extension.  He will send out a message to the board with some specific wording related to the farm bill.

 

Pat moved to set the dues for $100.  Ron seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

Rick left the group with food for thought in the coming year…it is extremely important to balance the budget.  One-third of the total revenue from counties is spent on transportation.  This is something to think about.

 

Tom moved to approve board member travel expenses of $1,103.38.  Brian seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

The next meeting (with the newly elected board members) is set for June 7, 2008.

 

Connie moved to adjourn.  Brian seconded the motion.  The meeting was adjourned.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Denise Maier, Secretary

 

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