June 30, 2014 Quarterly General Meeting Minutes

The quarterly general membership business meeting of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on June 30, 2014 at 7:09 PM.

23 members were present.

Minutes from the March 31, 2014 quarterly meeting were read and approved.

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. Welcome

  • President Frankenfeld welcomed members.

II. Constitution Revision Committee Recognition:

  • President Paul Frankenfeld gave a brief review of the work done by the Constitution Review Committee. The work began in 2010 with Mimi Sinclair as Chair. The work was intense and scheduling was a consistent challenge. President Frankenfeld praised Mimi for her efficiency and dedication in running the meetings. The document was filled with ancient and archaic language. Lively discussions were had over many sections throughout the course of the revision process.
  • Steve Hoskins transitioned to Chair when Mimi Sinclair returned to graduate school.
  • Once the revision process had been completed the document was handed to the Board for review. The Board took great care to discuss several items for clarity and consistency. The Board then checked with the AFM National Office and legal council.
  • The process for ratification was also reviewed by the AFM Legal Council. Ballots were sent to each member. Members were asked to vote on each individual section. Members could either read the document online or request a hard copy from the office. Each section needed a simple majority to pass.
  • President Frankenfeld thanked Mimi for her dedication and hard work on this lengthy and challenging job. A heartfelt round of applause was given from the members present. President Frankenfeld added that Barbara Owen, AFM Legal Council, was astounded at the speed at which the process was done.
  • The Board had discussed at length, several options for saying ‘Thank You’ to the members of the Constitution Revision Committee. It was decided that a gift card in the amount of $250 was to be given to each member of the Revision Committee.
  • President Frankenfeld recognized members of the Revision Committee that were present. Mimi Sinclair, Barbara Lambert, Elizabeth Motter, and Joe Gaudio.

III. Pension Fund Update

  • President Frankenfeld gave a brief synopsis of the Pension Fund background.
  • According to current definitions the fund is still in the red zone even though it could pay all of its obligations through the year 2045.
  • There is a plan in action to rehabilitate the fund and how it is invested. Create more diversity is just one of the actions taken.
  • It is very close to reaching the 2 billion dollar mark and when it does it will move into the yellow zone.
  • The current multiplier is still at $1 but when the fund moves to the yellow zone the multiplier can increase.
  • President Frankenfeld encouraged all members to create their own password on the pension site. It has a calculator that you can use to project your pension. All members get a mailing, usually in August, and it should be checked for any discrepancies. If a problem is detected it is recommended to contact the Pension Fund Office. They have excellent customer support.
  • President Frankenfeld entertained questions from the floor. Q: If you are getting and still contributing is it true they can reduce what you are receiving? A: Yes. The formula is very confusing. Paul explained that there is usually a need for a three-month hiatus in employment before working and contributing again.
  • President Frankenfeld also encourage members to update their beneficiaries as survivor benefits have also changed. You must select either 50% or 75% for the survivor rates.

 

NEW BUSINESS/COMMENTS:

  • Mimi Sinclair asked if there was a treasurer’s report. President Frankenfeld responded that the annual audit was currently in progress and that the results will be shared in the September meeting. He added that the financial status is solid. The auditors have actually merged with another company and as such the process has become even tighter.
  • Elizabeth Motter commented that the conversation at the last meeting was very nuanced. Perhaps more than what the minutes reflected as read.
  • Joe Gaudio urged everyone present to reach out to members that have not attended meetings lately. He urged everyone to come and voice any concerns. Nothing is held against individuals.
  • Office Manager, Rhonda Gillum, reminded members that we have had a lot of members pass away. Please check your beneficiary. If it needs to be updated please contact the office for help.

 

Mimi Sinclair motioned that the meeting be adjourned. Joe Gaudio gave the second.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 7:48PM

/by

September 3, 2014

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors’ of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on September 3, 2014 at 3:43PM.

All members were present.

The minutes of the August 4, 2014 meeting were tabled until the next meeting.

NEW MEMBERS:

Matthew Ernst  Trumpet   7/30/14

Alan Ludwig    Cello

GOOD STANDING FROM OTHER LOCALS

NEW MEMBERS:

None

REINSTATE:

None

DECEASED:

None

RESIGNED:

Matt Ransom    Bassoon   8/5/14

ERASED:

As of 8/7/14 the following names were erased from the rolls of the Federation.

Joyce R. Billups     No specific instrument listed

Jennifer Broome No specific instrument listed

Jeffrey Scott Carwile     Clarinet

Benjamin Clymer No specific instrument listed

Leanne Day     No specific instrument listed

Andrew Duncan        No specific instrument listed

James E. Evans       No specific instrument listed

Eric Kim             Cello

Sarah J. Kim         Cello

Cecilia C. Kozlowski No specific instrument listed

Kym Layne            No specific instrument listed

Andrew Peoples       No specific instrument listed

John Scaggs          No specific instrument listed

Donald A. Stephenson No specific instrument listed

Scott Alan Williams       No specific instrument listed

Scot Woolley               Piano

 

 

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. President’s Report

  • President Frankenfeld announced that both Carol Dunevant and Barb Lambert would represent the Local at the MAC conference in Cleveland. The Board gave approval for a rental car. This move would actually represent a cost savings over the government mileage reimbursement.
  • President Frankenfeld reported on the latest ICSOM media committee conference call. It appears that bargaining has come to an impasse. AFM President Ray Hair is considering options. Good news is that a new video game agreement has been completed.
  • President Frankenfeld reported on the ICSOM conference that was held last week. He was impressed by the age diversity and is encouraged at the number of younger members. During the conference there was a mock negotiation. The healthcare negotiation section was especially appreciated as it may impact the CSO negotiations in a few years.
  • Labor Day Picnic at Coney Island. Paul Wagner’s band played at the picnic. There were a record number of attendees. President Frankenfeld stopped in at the picnic on his way to the BAMSO concert in Blue Ash.
  • Stacey Woolley performed the Korngold Violin Concerto with BAMSO on their Labor Day concert. Current scale for the group is $55 for rehearsal and $75 for a performance. President Frankenfeld reminded the Board that it was time to look at their fee structure.
  • Every six months we are responsible for erasing those members in serious arrears. The Local has usually been more lenient giving people as much as 2 years to correct the outstanding balance owed in dues. We are not allowed to charge more than 6 months plus the current year.

II. CSO

  • Agreements have been reached for both the Maya Angelou Memorial performance and Lumenocity.
  • The quartet that performed for the Memorial Service was compensated at the local cable rate.
  • Lumenocity was mostly covered under the national media agreement. All three performances were taped and had to have the PBS stamp. A local broadcast commercial rate also applied. Players were compensated accordingly.
  • The position of Assistant Concert Master has had another change for Rebecca Culnan’s leave of absence. Eric Bates has asked to move back to his permanent position (4th chair). Options that were presented were to bring in a small group for audition or move Kathryn Woolley into the position. It was agreed to put Kathryn Woolley into the chair and have guest concertmasters for Tim Lee’s scheduled absences.
  • There are a number of openings in the offices at the CSO. Anne Cushing-Reid has resigned to take a similar position with CCM; Margo Bennish in HR has resigned and is relocating to the Chicago area; there is an opening for a Development Director, and Scott Mozlin has resigned as assistant personnel director

NEW BUSINESS:

I. President Frankenfeld reminded everyone that John Layne will be at the quarterly meeting and there is usually the 50-year recognition.

THE FOLLOWING VOUCHERS WERE ORDERED PAID:

See attached B 24730-24760

Next meeting scheduled for September 15, 2014 at 3:30PM and Monday, September 22, 2014 at 5:30PM followed by the quarterly meeting at 7PM.

 

Meeting adjourned at 4:34PM.

/by

August 4, 2014

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors’ of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on August 4, 2014 at 12:09PM.

All members were present. John Layne was present as a guest.

The minutes of the July 14, 2014 meeting were approved as amended: In the President’s Report – Manami White will be succeeding Lenore Hatfield as contractor for Musica Sacra and that Paul would be talking with Manami White, in general, about church scale.

The minutes from the July 28 meeting were approved as written.

 

NEW MEMBERS:

Joseph Merchant Bassoon   7/31/14

GOOD STANDING FROM OTHER LOCALS

NEW MEMBERS:

None

REINSTATE:

None

DECEASED:

None

RESIGNED:

Rob Reichhardt Bassoon   6/30/14

Sheri Lee Violin    6/30/14

Alexander Kienle     Horn/Piano 6/30/14

ERASED:

None

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. President’s Report

  • President Frankenfeld welcomed John Layne. John presented a corrected final financial statement to the Board. He explained the minor correction that was found in the ‘Receivables’ in May. The corrected 990s will be sent immediately to the IRS. John will be attending the Quarterly General Membership meeting in September to address any questions from the membership.
  • At the Labor Council meeting Pete McClendon replaced Douglas Sizemore. Joe Zimmer announced that he would be stepping down so that position needs to be filled. It was also discovered that Local #1 had been paying an incorrect per capita. We were informed that we had only been paying for 200 members, not the full 619 members. The Board was asked to consider correcting the error. Vice President Barb Lambert asked how much the correction would cost per quarter. Paul will find out and report back before the Board takes action.

NEW BUSINESS:

I. Price List

  • The Board began its examination of the price list. It is President Frankenfeld’s desire to make the price list electronic.
  • The Local has made significant strides with the price list over the past several years so the Board did not feel any major changes were necessary. However, changes were made to the following:
  1. Broadway Performances in a +700 seat venue. Currently scale is set at $156 plus $10 for transportation. The proposed change would be an increase of $4 for the total of $160 plus transportation then an increase of $5 every year for three years. This would put scale at $170 plus transportation by 2016.
  2. Since the length of rehearsals can vary it was proposed to eliminate the 2 hour rehearsal option and start with the 2.5 hour rehearsal and increase to $130. The 3-hour rehearsal would be $160 and over time would continue at $30 per 30-minute or fraction, thereof, up to 5 hours. Then overtime would bump to $40 per half hour for any rehearsal going over 5 hours on the day of a performance.
  3. Broadway Performances in a <700 seat venue. Performances tend to be a minimum of 3 hours. Currently the rate is $100 for 2-hours and $125 for 3-hours with $25 per 30 minutes, or fraction thereof. The suggested revision was to increase the 2-hour performance rate to $120 and 3-hour performances to $145 with overtime continuing at $25 per half hour, or fraction thereof.
  4. Rehearsals for venues under 700 will increase to $75 for 2 hours and $90 for 2.5 hours. Overtime will continue at $25 per half hour, or fraction thereof.
  • The motion to accept all changes and revisions was given by Carol Dunevant and the second provided by Lynne Scott. The motion passed.

 

THE FOLLOWING VOUCHERS WERE ORDERED PAID:

See attached B 24712-24729

Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 3 at 3:30PM. It was decided that the following dates also be scheduled for meetings: Monday, September 15 at 3:30 and Monday, September 22 at 5:30 followed by the quarterly General Membership meeting at 7PM.

Meeting adjourned at 2:12PM.

/by

July 28, 2014

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors’ of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on July 28, 2014 at 9:29AM.

Mike Andres was absent.

The minutes of the July 14, 2014 meeting were tabled until the next meeting.

Guests: John Layne from Kelley, Galloway & Co. and Rhonda Gillum, Officer Manager

NEW MEMBERS:

None

GOOD STANDING FROM OTHER LOCALS

NEW MEMBERS:

None

REINSTATE:

None

DECEASED:

None

RESIGNED:

None

ERASED:

None

 

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. President’s Report

  • President Frankenfeld reported that he had met with members of the Musica Sacra Board. They will provide their personnel needs for the next season so that Paul can apply for MPTF funds. Manami White will be doing their contracting in the future.
  • It was reported that the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra did a free, volunteer concert in Washington Park. President Frankenfeld has not heard back from either Mike Cioffi or Jennifer Funk at this date.
  • President Frankenfeld will be going through the membership roster with Lynne to identify individuals who may be in arrears. There may be some members erased following the examination.

II. Bravo Music

  • Don Hurd reported that Bravo has been able to renew its registration with the Secretary of State. Now that it is officially registered it is up to the Board to decide what direction it will take.

NEW BUSINESS:

I. Audit

  • President Frankenfeld yielded the floor to John Layne.
  • Layne reviewed the results of the audit with the Board. The report is that the financial health of the organization is good but provided the following suggestions so that the Board can be more effective in financial oversight: a) The Board may wish to look at the Insurance Reserve monies for possible ways to increase the returns. He suggested the Board seek information regarding reinvestment opportunities; b) The inter-fund balances need to be corrected so that any outstanding payments can be completed; c) The Board should receive a monthly statement that should be broken down to report what jobs has been paid, what jobs need to be paid, and what jobs have been worked but payment has not been made. Along with this report the Board should be receiving a report every 6 months from Promo showing the number of jobs being done over that time frame using the same format as the monthly statement. There were many questions from the Board and Office Manager, Rhonda Gillum. John Layne will work with Rhonda to create the type of documentation needed. d) The final suggestion was for the Board to consider terminating Accent Music. The ability to book jobs for members will still be provided but the booking agency would be dissolved. Any decision would need to be made prior to the end of the fiscal year for Accent which would be March 31, 2015.
  • The suggestions presented by John Layne provide ways for the Board to continue with its responsibility of monitoring and oversight of finances in order to keep up with ways fraud can occur. As technology improves so must the means of oversight.
  • Based on the findings of the audit the recommendation from the office of Kelley, Galloway & Company is as follows: We recommend that management and the board of Trustees evaluate the audit. Management and the Board of Trustees should consider the current capabilities of employees and what additional expenses are needed to produce proper financial statements, including footnote disclosures.
  • Based on the review of the audit findings the official response of the Board is as follows: The Board of Trustees has discussed the options concerning the Union obtaining the capabilities of preparing financial statements that would not require significant changes by the auditor. The Board has decided that it would not be cost beneficial to change its current practice. The Board believes it is in the best interest of the Union to continue to retain the auditing firm to prepare its financial statements in conjunction with the year-end audit. However, management will review and approve adjusting entries, if any. Additionally, management will review and approve the Form 990 and Form LM-2 before they are filed.  

THE FOLLOWING VOUCHERS WERE ORDERED PAID:

See attached B24700-24711

 

Next meeting scheduled for Monday, August 4 at noon.

Meeting adjourned at 11:40AM.

/by

July 14, 2014

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors’ of the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association was called to order on July 14, 2014 at 12:15PM.

Carol Dunevant was absent.

The minutes of the June 30,2014 meeting were approved as amended: “a change to the schedule of the CSO to move a rehearsal and add a day to vacation” is still pending.

NEW MEMBERS:

None

GOOD STANDING FROM OTHER LOCALS

NEW MEMBERS:

None

REINSTATE:

None

DECEASED:

None

RESIGNED:

None

ERASED:

None

OLD/CURRENT BUSINESS:

I. President’s Report

  • The office has received a PIN for the debit card to allow access to online banking. Debit card as not arrived yet.
  • President Frankenfeld reminded the Board that it is time to address the Price List. Office Manager, Rhonda Gillum, made some suggestions regarding formatting for easier reading. There was an omission in the last printing that caused a pagination error and that will be corrected.
  • A preliminary discussion began concerning the Price List.
  1. Mike Andres proposed a $4 increase for the Broadway shows. The Board might want to consider a 3-year plan for incremental increases similar to the last Price List was printed.
  2. It was suggested that President Frankenfeld consult with Manami White about church scale. Manami has recently replaced Lenore Hatfield as contractor due to change of management for Musica Sacra. Musica Sacra has a special memorandum of agreement for scale with the Local. They have depended heavily on the MPTF in the past. The Fund has little or no available funds and Musica Sacra has been advised to seek alternate funding.
  3. There was a suggestion to consider an increase in single engagements.
  4. There was a suggestion to work towards an increase in the Ballet scale for rehearsals now that performance scale is at an acceptable level.
  5. President Frankenfeld mentioned that BAMSO might be up for a re-negotiation on scale.
  • President Frankenfeld was questioned about collecting work dues from musicians travelling through the region. He responded that although we don’t go after them to collect their agents generally volunteer to pay the work dues.

NEW BUSINESS:

II. Financial Report

  • John Layne has been invited to attend the next quarterly General Membership Business meeting to answer questions and present the financial report.
  • It has been advised that the office create a budget or treasurer’s report to present at the Quarterly Meeting. There have been some requests for this type of document. It would increase transparency.
  • The CMA does have liability insurance coverage in case of financial problems.

II. MAC conference

  • Vice President Barb Lambert has served as representative for the last two conferences. The next one will be held September 19-21 in Cleveland. It was approved to send to representatives (Barb Lambert and Carol Dunevant)

 

THE FOLLOWING VOUCHERS WERE ORDERED PAID:

See attached B 24683 – 24699

Next meeting scheduled for July 28 at 9:00AM

Minutes submitted by Barbara Lambert, substituting for Carol Dunevant who is out of town.

/by