Meeting Minutes - LANC Board of Directors
December 10, 2004
Site/Location: Wyndham Garden Hotel,
4620 South Miami Boulevard
Durham, NC 27703
Call to Order and Welcome
Leo Allison, Chair of the Board of Directors, called the meeting to order at
10:25 a.m. and welcomed all in attendance.
Members Present:
|
Reid C. Adams |
Mary Flowers |
Frank Queen |
|
Leo L. Allison |
Hada V. Haulsee |
Robert Riddle |
|
Glenn Barfield |
Allen Johnson |
Rhonda Shepherd |
|
Michael Colombo |
Scott Lewis |
Saketta Spivey |
|
Leto Copeley |
Jim Maxwell |
John Vernon |
|
Burton Craige |
Pender McElroy |
Charles Ward |
|
Sarah Davis |
Pearl Nealey |
Willis Williams |
|
Willie Dawson |
Ray Owens |
|
Members Absent With Prior Notification:
|
David Daggett |
L. Lynnette Fuller-Andrews |
|
Richard Fay |
Olga Gomez |
Administrative Office Staff:
Arlene Glasco, Benefits Specialist
Ted Fillette, Deputy Director
George R. Hausen, Jr., LANC Executive Director
Dock Kornegay, Director, Public Relations & Communications
Bernetta Johnsson, Finance Director
Chris Marks, Assistant Director of Finance & Administration
Celia Pistolis, Assistant Director of Advocacy & Compliance
Tonya Pruitt-Lyons, Administrative Assistant
LANC Staff Members:
Victor Boone, Senior Managing Attorney, LANC-Raleigh Office, &
Regional Manager, Triangle Region
Mary Hedgepeth, Clients Council Coordinator
Richard Klein, Senior Managing Attorney, LANC-Wilmington, &
Regional Manager Southeast Region
Jim Wall, LANC Wilmington, Senior Managing Attorney
LANC Affiliated Attendees:
Michelle Cofield, North Carolina Bar Association
Sharon Greigg, North Carolina Clients Council
Nellie Kearney, North Carolina Clients Council
Evelyn Pursley, Executive Director, IOLTA
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Allison directed the Board’s attention to the Board of Directors
general business meeting minutes of September 17, 2004. On page 4 under
the President’s report the minutes reflect that George Hausen stated that the
American Civil Liberties Union will present the Steven Edelstein Award to Burton
Craige. The change in the minutes should reflect that the ACLU will
present Steven Edelstein and Burton Craige with the W.W. Finlater Award.
Following review and discussion of the minutes, a motion was made, duly
seconded, and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the minutes with the changes
noted.
Chairman’s Report
Chairman Allison described the Board Retreat held in September as
well-organized and extremely productive. He hoped that some of the suggestions
generated at the Retreat would be adopted for use by the organization. Also, he
had made a presentation to the NC Bar Association Board of Governors about the
state of Legal Aid of North Carolina and asked for its continued support to increase LANC
resources. Allison and Allen Johnson, Chair of the LANC Clients Council,
had participated on a panel discussion during the NC Pro Bono Coordinator’s
meeting held at the NC Bar Center in November. The panel addressed issues
related to pro se representation such as the Client’s Council role as well as
legal services role in training individuals to represent themselves.
President’s Report
Chairman Allison recognized George Hausen to give the President’s Report.
Mr. Hausen directed the Board’s attention to his response to the LSC Program
Evaluation, that was included in the Board Notebook. Also, the LSC OIG PAI Audit
had been completed and that report was also provided to the Board. Hausen
updated the Board that on start-up meetings for the various practice groups.
He is continuing to visit various individual offices, meeting with all
staff in those offices as well as meeting with the respective Local Advisory
Councils.
The Mortgage Foreclosure Project has been refunded by Z Smith Reynolds even
without submitting a new grant request. This project has three full time
attorneys and Hazel Mack Hilliard is the project manager. The attorneys are
scattered throughout the eastern part of the state and represent clients to stop
foreclosures as well as act as a resource for less experienced staff attorneys
handling such cases. Within the first six months of this project’s
existence, more than four million in equity has been saved and the project now
has about 90 pending cases involving predatory lending.
IOLTA fully funded the LANC grant request for general services and pro bono
services. Hausen recognized Evelyn Pursley, Executive Director of IOLTA and
expressed thanks to her and the IOLTA Board for its efforts to provide this much
needed funding to LANC.
Hausen reported that LANC staff and Board members raised $1500 towards the
burial expenses of Susan Cole. Her family expressed its appreciation to LANC.
Hausen ended his report by introducing Arlene Glasco as the benefits specialist
for LANC.
Local Program Report
Chairman Allison recognized Victor Boone, Senior Managing Attorney and
Regional Manager for the Triangle Region to give the local program and regional
report. Mr. Boone reported that staff is representing clients with a
myriad of problems including domestic violence, housing and consumer matters.
Mr. Boone informed the Board that Kilpatrick Stockton had “loaned” one of its
talented associates, Chris Jackson, to the Raleigh Office for six months.
Jackson has proven to be an asset, and the Raleigh Office is very appreciative
of Kilpatrick Stockton’s generosity. In closing, Mr. Boone indicated that the
need for legal services continues to increase and that his small staff cannot
possibly represent all those who need representation.
Client’s Council Report
Chairman Allison recognized Allen Johnson to give the Client’s Council report.
Mr. Johnson reported that the Client’s Council held their quarterly meeting on
December 9th in Durham, and thanked Gina and George for their
attendance. The Clients Council is working on developing a Resource Manual as
well as recruiting client members on local advisory councils and to have those
client members be involved with the Clients Council.
Committee Reports:
Client Affairs Committee:
Chairman Allison recognized Pearl Nealey to give the Client Affairs report.
Ms. Nealey reported that the Client Affairs committee met and discussed the
issues of the intake procedure being handled by the Boone office. The Board
discussed this issue and suggested that Nealey discuss these concerns with the
Executive Director.
Nominating Committee/Client Eligibility Ad Hoc Committee:
Chairman Allison recognized Burton Craige and Pender McElroy to give these
two reports. Mr. Craige reported that the committee continues to examine
its process for nominating client members to the LANC Board. Mr. McElroy
also reported on the efforts of the ad-hoc committee whom have been charged with
addressing four issues: Client confidentiality, client nominations, client
income eligibility and client members and board member relations. This
committee will present its recommendations to the Board at its
February 2005 meeting.
Finance Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Leto Copeley to give the Finance Committee
Report. Ms. Copeley reported that the Finance Committee met and discussed
the 2005 budget. IOLTA funding which had been projected as being
drastically reduced was awarded to LANC at the same rate as the 2004 grant.
IOLTA did provide a $2,000 increase for the Clifton Everett Fellowship so that
the fellowship is consistent with the starting salary for a new attorney. The
Chair expressed the Board’s appreciation to IOLTA for its generosity in these
tight financial times. Following discussion, a motion was made, duly
seconded, and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve and adopt the 2005 budget.
Personnel Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Scott Lewis to give the report of the Personnel
Committee. Mr. Lewis reported that the Personnel committee did meet to
discuss the current status of the health benefits. The Health Committee
which is comprised of LANC staff on all levels met and discussed the health plan
and the increase in health premiums. Because LANC is self-insured, there
was an overall savings in health costs that should be used to maintain the
current plan. In addition, LANC should become self insured for its dental plan.
The Personnel Committee echoed the recommendations of the Health Committee to
maintain the current health plan with no change in benefits and to review the
plan mid year to determine if any adjustments should be made as well as to self
insure the dental plan. Following discussion, a motion was made, duly
seconded, and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to adopt the Personnel Committee
recommendations for the Health benefits plan.
Operations Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Allen Johnson to give the report of the
Operations Committee. Mr. Johnson discussed the Report on Program
Integrity, the Priorities and the Asset limits for client eligibility. The
Operations Committee recommended that the Priorities as revised be adopted, that
the Asset limits for client eligibility be maintained and that the Board Chair
certify LANC compliance with Program Integrity as required by LSC Regulation
1610. Following discussion, a motion was made, duly seconded, and
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to adopt the
Operations
Committee's recommendations. NOTE: Click
here to view a full list of the
Operations Committee's recommendations.
Strategic Planning Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Glenn Barfield, Chair of the Strategic Planning
Committee, to give the Strategic Planning Committee Report. Mr. Barfield
reported that the Committee had not met and discussed the difficulties of moving
the work of this Committee forward without a facilitator. A discussion about the
cost of a facilitator and the benefits of using a facilitator followed. This
committee will continue to conduct its meetings in person even if that presents
difficulties with attendance.
Grievance Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Willie Dawson to give the Grievance Committee
report. Mr. Dawson reported that there are no grievances pending.
Resource Development Committee:
Chairman Allison recognized George Hausen to give the Resource Development
Committee report in the absence of Rick Fay who has been called into active duty
in Iraq. Prior to being called into active duty, Mr. Hausen reported that
Mr. Fay has worked extensively on LANC’s behalf with regard to resource
development and fundraising. Mr. Frank Queen also commented that the board
should recognize the efforts of Mr. Fay and thank him for his service on the
LANC board. A motion was made and UNAMIOUSLY APPROVED, that the board
present Fay with a Resolution of Appreciation for his service to LANC as well as
to the nation. Also, board members were asked to contact Fay via email or
through his APO mailing address to express their individual appreciation to him.
Because of Fay’s unexpected absence, Chair Leo Allison, indicated that the
Board will need to elect a new secretary and directed the Nominations Committee
to address this issue at the next Board meeting.
LSNC ("Legal Services of North Carolina")
Mr. Allison recognized Frank Queen to give an update on the status of LSNC.
Mr. Queen reported that while LSNC currently owns four buildings currently being
occupied by LANC for the delivery of legal services, the organization has no
resources or incoming funds for operation. He also reported that he had
met with the NCBA’s Board of Governors to select new board members and to
develop new bylaws. Mr. Queen stated that the LSNC board would meet and
have a report prepared for the board’s review at its February meeting.
Adjournment
Chairman Allison adjourned the meeting at 2:15 p.m.
__________________________________
Board Officer
#
#
#
ADDENDUM - OPERATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT (RECOMMENDATIONS)
Operations Committee Report (11/23/04; Allen Johnson, Chair)
The Operations Committee met three times by conference call to discuss
policies related to LANC operations as well as to develop 2005 statewide
priorities and to review the annual program integrity report.
Program Integrity Report:
The Committee reviewed and discussed the Program Integrity Report as
required by the LSC regulations. Copies of the Program integrity and the
Certification form to be signed by the Board Chair are attached.
Recommendation: The Committee unanimously recommends that LANC Board direct
the Chair to certify that LANC is in compliance with the program integrity
requirements.
Document Retention and Destruction Policy:
The Committee reviewed and discussed a Document Retention Policy that will
give direction to staff to be consistent with keeping and/or discarding
documents.
Recommendation: The Committee unanimously recommends that the LANC
Board approve the attached Document Retention and Destruction Policy.
"Safe Harbor" Provision:
The Fair Labor Standards Act and its new regulations related to overtime pay
allow employers who mistakenly make improper deductions from an employee's
salary a "safe harbor" if the employer has a written policy prohibiting
violations of the Act and a mechanism for receiving and responding to employee
concerns in that regard.
Recommendation: The Committee unanimously recommends that the LANC
Board approve the attached
Policy on Improper Salary Deductions.
Employee Complaints about LANC Policies or Practices:
The Committee wants to emphasize that LANC has an open door policy for
employees to raise concerns with management and that employees who make such
complaints will not suffer any retaliation.
Recommendation: The Committee unanimously recommends that the LANC
Board approve the attached policy related to
Employee Complaints about LANC Policies or Practices.
2005 Statewide Priorities:
Legal Services Corporation requires that the Board annually set priorities
statewide to direct the delivery of services to eligible clients. The
Committee reviewed the 2004 priorities along with census data related to
poverty, housing and employment in NC, closed case data from each office and
local case acceptance criteria approved by Local Advisory Councils. The
Committee sought input from the LANC Clients Council. The Client Council
Coordinator, Mary Hedgepeth, reported that client concerns were included within
the current LANC priorities and the Clients Councils did not recommend any
revisions to those priorities. The Operations Committee made two minor
revisions to the 2004 priorities and those revisions are in italics on pages 1
and 7 or the Priorities attached to this report.
Recommendation: The Operations Committee unanimously recommends that
the Board adopt the
Priorities as revised.
#
#
#
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website are for information and educational
purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Please contact your
Legal Aid of North Carolina office or a private attorney if you need to speak to
an attorney regarding your particular situation. See our complete
disclaimer.
Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.