DO NOT SEND MONEY TO THE LEOFF I COALITION
- By Jerry Taylor
- Published 08/4/2011
- Stuff
They don’t need it.
The Coalition has just circulated their 2010-2011 Annual Report. Unfortunately the report does not provide much information. Rather it is fund raising campaign. In fact, they even included a nice return envelope for returning money.
Dave Perry is the principal writer for this publication and his article does provide a nice review of the recent HB 2097. He properly credits the response of LEOFF 1 members in contacting their legislators in opposition to the bill as a major factor in blocking its passage.
The report fails to provide any substantive information to justify their request for donations.
Why you should not donate to the LEOFF 1 Coalition
There are a number of reasons.
First, the Coalition really does not represent anyone except the ten members of the board. In fact, those then members comprise the total membership of the Coalition. Unless you are one of the ten, you are not a member of the Coalition and you have no vote. Seven of the ten are “At Large Members”. That means they are appointed by the Coalition president. No one votes for them, so they are responsible to no one except the president. The other three nominally represent an organization. In theory that organization could send anyone they want to server on the Coalition Board. However, the Coalition Board has the right to reject anyone they do not want. Hence, if you are on the Coalition Board and you do not agree with the other board members, you can be removed regardless of what your organization says.
The bottom line is they are a private club and do not really represent anyone except themselves.
Second, they are spending money that was donated by LEOFF 1 members and refuse to produce an accounting of their finances. They are spending your money and they will not tell you what they are doing with it. In my judgment, they have a fiduciary responsibility to all of those who have donated money to them over the years and they are not honoring that responsibility. Legally, they probably do not have to report their finances, after all they are a private club, but morally they should because it is your money they are spending.
Over the years they have had about $350,000 of income. At least that is my calculation based of information I had available when I served on the board. According to their Vice President Don Daniels they have about $100,000 left. That means they have spent a quarter of a million dollars and they won’t tell you where the money went.
Third, there is currently nothing happening that requires large amounts of money. They have hired Joe Fischnaller to do some legal research. His fees will be reasonable and they should have plenty of money to pay him. The only time a large amount of money will be needed is if it becomes necessary to sue the state. The probability of that happening is small and it is a long way off in any case. There will be plenty of time to raise money when it is needed. We know that LEOFF 1 members step to the plate when the need is there.
Finally, until the Coalition become transparent about their finances and until they provide a way for the folks that are providing the money to choose the board membership no one should ever donate funds to the Coalition.
The Coalition has just circulated their 2010-2011 Annual Report. Unfortunately the report does not provide much information. Rather it is fund raising campaign. In fact, they even included a nice return envelope for returning money.
Dave Perry is the principal writer for this publication and his article does provide a nice review of the recent HB 2097. He properly credits the response of LEOFF 1 members in contacting their legislators in opposition to the bill as a major factor in blocking its passage.
The report fails to provide any substantive information to justify their request for donations.
Why you should not donate to the LEOFF 1 Coalition
There are a number of reasons.
First, the Coalition really does not represent anyone except the ten members of the board. In fact, those then members comprise the total membership of the Coalition. Unless you are one of the ten, you are not a member of the Coalition and you have no vote. Seven of the ten are “At Large Members”. That means they are appointed by the Coalition president. No one votes for them, so they are responsible to no one except the president. The other three nominally represent an organization. In theory that organization could send anyone they want to server on the Coalition Board. However, the Coalition Board has the right to reject anyone they do not want. Hence, if you are on the Coalition Board and you do not agree with the other board members, you can be removed regardless of what your organization says.
The bottom line is they are a private club and do not really represent anyone except themselves.
Second, they are spending money that was donated by LEOFF 1 members and refuse to produce an accounting of their finances. They are spending your money and they will not tell you what they are doing with it. In my judgment, they have a fiduciary responsibility to all of those who have donated money to them over the years and they are not honoring that responsibility. Legally, they probably do not have to report their finances, after all they are a private club, but morally they should because it is your money they are spending.
Over the years they have had about $350,000 of income. At least that is my calculation based of information I had available when I served on the board. According to their Vice President Don Daniels they have about $100,000 left. That means they have spent a quarter of a million dollars and they won’t tell you where the money went.
Third, there is currently nothing happening that requires large amounts of money. They have hired Joe Fischnaller to do some legal research. His fees will be reasonable and they should have plenty of money to pay him. The only time a large amount of money will be needed is if it becomes necessary to sue the state. The probability of that happening is small and it is a long way off in any case. There will be plenty of time to raise money when it is needed. We know that LEOFF 1 members step to the plate when the need is there.
Finally, until the Coalition become transparent about their finances and until they provide a way for the folks that are providing the money to choose the board membership no one should ever donate funds to the Coalition.
Spread The Word
4 Responses to "DO NOT SEND MONEY TO THE LEOFF I COALITION" 
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said this on 05 Aug 2011 5:05:00 PM PDT
Yoy hit the nail on the head with this one. I have been aware of the makeup of the LEOFF I coalition for years. There was a former of the coalition that I once worked with here in SW Washington who told me about several junkets that he and other board members at had made at no expense to then selves utilizing the fund of the Coalition to pay the entire bill - lodgeing, travel expenses food and drink.
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said this on 06 Aug 2011 11:28:35 AM PDT
Thanks for the much needed update. We erroneously thought they were "US" ~ we will only listen to you guys from now on. Of course, we would never support an organization that doesn't supply financial data.
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said this on 10 Aug 2011 9:22:01 AM PDT
Thanks for the information. Just got their donation request in the mail. It makes me regret having sent them money in the past. It won't happen again.
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said this on 25 Aug 2011 5:04:20 PM PDT
The fancy report I received with the donation envelope ... but no financial accounting was enough for me to place the donation envelope in the recycle bin. I belive the coalition could be a strong voice for our members but only if we can trust, but verify that they are working for us. To be effective the LEOFF 1 Coalitoin needs to have elections (just like our local LEOFF I boards), transparent financial reports (just like any charitable or government organization) and they need to publish policies that show the controls the organization places on the board and public representatives. While the LEOFF I boards intentions may be good and honorable we will not know unless we fellow LEOFF I contributors can see what our money is really buying.
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