Monday, August 24, 2009
Quail’s Nest Arts Centre
9:30 a.m.
The agenda consists of two items of business, which will then be followed immediately by the usual Arts Jam! for the month. Attendance is encouraged as a quorum of 25% of the membership is required for any special general meeting. The chair will endeavour to keep the business meeting brief and follow it with some lively arts jamming.
Treasurer Jack Bennest has been hard at work this year streamlining the duties of treasurer to make the job more manageable. As a result, the Board proposes two changes that will spread the tasks of the treasurer more evenly throughout the year and potentially increase funding to the arts council.
The Special General Meeting is required for the following proposed amendments to the OCAC bylaws.
Currently, ByLaw 3: Fiscal Year reads:
“The Fiscal Year of the Society shall end on the 31st day of August in each and every year.”
With the fiscal year end on August 31, the preparation and audit of annual financial statements occurs in the middle of the busy programme season (between Music in the Park and the Fall Art Show) when both sides of the profit and loss sheet are very active. An annual statement at this time does not fairly assess the yearly cash flow. Also, financial preparation during the programme season is onerous for volunteers.
Granting bodies such as the BC Arts Council have received an unrealistically rosy picture of our cash flow, when revenue is high and the bills have not yet been paid. Some requests for funding have been challenged because of this misunderstanding. This affects whether we receive funding – or how much. Moving the fiscal year end to a quieter time of year when much of our annual resources have been spent will give granting bodies a clearer understanding of our need for funds.
As a corollary to this, the Board has proposed that the month of the AGM be changed.
Currently, Bylaw 7.1 Meetings reads:
“The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held in the month of October in each and every year, upon a date and at a time to be set by the Board of Directors.”
Changing the month from October to February will allow roughly six weeks from year end to prepare and audit the financial statements.
The two agencies which govern the arts council – the BC Arts Council and the Canada Revenue Agency – Charities branch have been informed of the arts council’s proposal to change the fiscal year end. Neither agency has expressed any objection to such a change.
To make the administration of this proposed change less onerous, our Treasurer has also recommended that the OCAC postpone their Annual General Meeting and run one long year of 16 months, rather than have two annual general meetings within four months of each other.
So, the proposed resolutions will read as follows:
ByLaw 3: Fiscal Year :
“The Fiscal Year of the Society shall end on the 31st day of December in each and every year.”
Bylaw 7.1 Meetings :
“The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held in the month of February in each and every year, upon a date and at a time to be set by the Board of Directors.”
Please join us for the meeting and stay on for arts news, discussion, and nibbles.
The Oliver Community Arts Council embraces the personality of its logo, the California quail. The bird is a common and endearing sight in Oliver. A quail’s nest can shelter as many as 18 eggs. A flock of quail is an active, noisy bunch that looks out for each other, occasionally scurrying off in their own directions, but always coming back to the flock. Just like the quail, the arts council believes there is strength in numbers!