I would like to clarify some of the discussion regarding about the "fiefdom". Here are some facts about the relationship between the NRP office and neighborhood associations with reference to the financial management function.
When the NRP program began several years ago, the city began by issuing a Request for Proposal inviting groups within neighborhoods to submit an application to facilitate NRP planning and implementation activities on behalf of the neighborhood. Each neighborhood group comprised of various stakeholders prepared a participation agreement outlining how they would conduct planning activities in the neighborhood. The participation agreement was presented to the full neighborhood for approval and the neighborhood group was given a vote of confidence by the community-at-large through neighborhood approval of the participation agreement. This agreement was reviewed and approved by the NRP Policy Board and the City Council prior to a neighborhood engaging in any NRP related activities. In some cases, the organization selected to facilitate NRP planning and implementation activities was already an organized neighborhood association. Many of these groups existed prior to NRP. In other cases, the neighborhood did not have a neighborhood association so concerned citizens set out to establish one or combined with other surrounding neighborhoods to form a group. There are 81 neighborhoods in Minneapolis. There are 67 neighborhood organizations contracted to conduct NRP activities. NRP staff provided substantial assistance (as requested) to help new neighborhood associations establish themselves as 501c3 corporations in the State of Minnesota. Existing neighborhood associations were also given substantial assistance from NRP staff as requested. Once the City Council approved the participation agreement, NRP entered into contract with the neighborhood association providing funds to assist the neighborhood to conduct planning activities. The funding helped pay for administrative staff and other material expenses incurred during the development of the plan. By signing the contract, the neighborhood association agreed to the terms and conditions of funding. One of those conditions was that the neighborhood would maintain financial records regarding expenditures and activities in the organization in conjunction with NRP funded activities. Some neighborhoods had existing financial management policies in place. Other neighborhoods did not have these systems in place. NRP staff provided assistance to these groups in an effort to help them establish financial management policies. NRP has provided several training classes to teach neighborhood association staff and volunteers how to manage the organizations finances. In addition, NRP staff has worked and continues to work in a wide variety of ways to help neighborhood associations struggling with financial management issues. Each neighborhood association needs to assess the capacity of the organization to manage finances. The Board can choose to hire staff people with financial management skills and/or the services of a contract bookkeeper or accountant to assist in this function. The group can also limit the amount of funds that flow directly into the neighborhood association and choose other agencies to provide services on behalf of the neighborhood. The Minnesota State Auditors perform audits annually for neighborhoods receiving in excess of $50,000. Any financial management issues are addressed during these audits. The neighborhood association submits a plan for resolving the audit findings and NRP staff work closely with the organization to address any issue brought forward during an audit. If the audit findings are not resolved satisfactorily, the NRP has cause to terminate the funding agreement with that particular organization. All contracted agencies receiving NRP funds in excess of $50,000 are required to have an audit and submit the completed audit reports to the appropriate contract manager. The bottom line here is that most of these neighborhood associations are corporations in the State of Minnesota. While many people who are elected to these neighborhood boards did not get involved to become CEO's or financial officers, the reality is that someone in the organization needs to occupy that role if funds are going to run through the neighborhood association. Most neighborhoods understand this and do a very good job managing the organization financially. Some just require more help. Occasionally, a group just implodes and generally it is about more than financial management issues. If you feel your neighborhood needs more help with this function, contact the NRP neighborhood specialist assigned to your neighborhood or Bob Miller. If you're interesting in a training class, call Robert Thompson at NRP. If you want to see how your neighborhood is spending NRP funds go to www.nrp.org and click into your neighborhood information. You can gather information regarding census data, funded strategies, contract information, spreadsheets, etc. There are links to training resources on a wide variety of areas including financial management materials. This website is a very helpful tool in gathering data about the neighborhood. If you need assistance maneuvering through the web-site, contact NRP at 673-5140. Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
