|
|
|
News at a Glanceby Nancy Ellegate The HWFC Board of Directors met on Wednesday, February 26. The Annual Budget Meeting was held on Sunday, February 9. February 26th Board Meeting Member Labor The Membership committee presented a set of recommendations for improving the member labor program. The Management Team also provided a report showing paid staff and member labor for each department. Member labor is low in HABA and produce, and declining in the front end of the store. Recommendations to improve the situation stressed emphasizing cooperative values in all paid staff job postings and job interviews; developing member-centered training for all new staff; setting storewide goals for the use of member labor; having department managers write job descriptions for member labor positions in their departments; providing more follow-up with new members just beginning to work in the store; and promoting discussion among managers on successful recruitment, training, and supervision of member workers. Finance The Finance ommittee has decided that an ATM card for a petty cash account will be issued to the Produce Manager. Previously, she was using her own money to buy produce from the Menands market. No fees will be charged on the petty cash account as long as the Coop maintains the required balance. The account will be replenished as the Produce Manager submits invoices for products. There was also a discussion about credit cards issued to staff in the past. Several credit and ATM cards from the past are missing, but all cards have been cancelled. It was noted that several staff should have credit cards to use for Coop business. The Finance committee is working on a credit card user agreement explaining terms of usage to all staff who will be issued cards. A motion was passed stating that no Board members shall have access to any Coop ATM card. Management Team Report Trainings on customer service and insurance was to take place in March. The Coop's website is moving from www.hwfc.com to www.honestweight.coop. Both are currently operational and both contain the same information. An advertising policy and plan is being prepared. The Coop has or will participate in a number of outreach events, such as the Guilderland YMCA Health Fair, the St. Patrick's Day Food Festival at the Empire State Plaza, and the Hunger Action Network's Hunger Awareness Day. In addition, the HABA Manager appeared on TV ch.10 noon news on January 30 to discuss foods, supplements, and stress. Feedback on this appearance has been very positive. A former staff person pledged $2,000 as a donation to a coop that is being started in Northampton (Mass.). The staff is divided about what to do about this. While part of the Coop's mission is to support other coops, this is a large sum of money and much more than currently allowed under the donation policy. This policy was passed in 1995, but had not been strictly implemented in the last few years; however, it has recently been re-acknowledged and re-implemented. The policy limits donations to no more than $100 per organization per year. Personnel The new Operations and Administrative Coordinator (OAC) has been hired and was to start in March. A job description is being prepared for the Collective Management Team. The Board will evaluate the team as a whole annually. Individual members of the team will be evaluated by other members of the team. Board Business Craig Willis has resigned from the Board of Directors. George Broekx will take his place as the liaison to the newly reformed Bylaws committee. Board members will now be credited for the actual hours they have worked on Coop business, rather than the 12-16 hours per month that has been standard. Members will be submitting records of their Board-related work hours covering the period from one Board meeting to the next. Annual Meeting A portion of the meeting was devoted to preparations for the Annual Membership Meeting in April. This meeting had originally been announced for Sunday, April 13. This is Palm Sunday, and a number of members said they could not make it that day. So the Board rescheduled the meeting for Monday, April 14. Executive Session The Board met in executive session at the end of the meeting. Minutes Minutes of all meetings are available at the Coop. Minutes of the most recent meeting are posted on the bulletin board. Meetings Board meetings are scheduled for the Wednesdays, April 30 and May 28. Meetings are currently held at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Avenue. Meetings begin at 6:30 pm. Anyone planning to attend a meeting should confirm date, time and location closer to the meeting date, as these are subject to change. February 9th Budget Meeting Collective Management Structure The Board President discussed the Coop's new management structure, which went into effect on January 27. Budget Discussion The Coop's certified public accountant presented the 2003 budget. A 7% rate of growth is projected. In discussion, it was noted that several items have gone up: health insurance rates, the staff training budget, and travel (as a result of attending more training meetings). The Coop is also paying dues to the Cooperative Grocer's Association North East, a trade association for Coop managers, and for the administration of the Cooperative Advantage Program. Bank fees in the budget are mainly fees resulting from credit card use; 60% of Coop sales come from credit cards. Capital expenses in the budget are not for a reset (i.e., a major reorganization of store space), as any reset must be voted on by the membership. The capital expenses are for equipment replacements and upgrades, such as the grocery department freezer. The membership voted to approve the budget. |
CoopScoop
Home |
