After months of worsening conflicts between the board and staff of Olympia Film Society, volunteers Lisa Hurwitz and Marcy LaViollette petitioned the board to hold a special public meeting April 14. The meeting's purpose was to discuss these conflicts with OFS members, who would then vote on three proposals. First, members were asked whether they wanted to hire an executive director as per the board's staffing plan or hire a new development director to fill a vacant position. The second proposal would add the phrase "staff collective" to official bylaws of the organization, and the third codified the timeframe for annual meetings.
"The meeting started out really strong," says board president Isaac Overcast, "but I think after that, it got a bit confusing." Board and staff members agree the agenda and rushed schedule worked against both sides. Treasurer Frank Barber spent his entire time attempting to clarify aspects of OFS's finances, which suffered greatly in 2011.
Barber notes, however, that "the 2011 calendar year is completely useless for understanding the current situation." That's because a shift in the organization's fiscal year muddled bookkeeping. Barber feels the crisis has been overblown, in that existing reserves would be sufficient for all but improbable doomsday scenarios.
Overcast agrees. "I think ‘crisis' is not the appropriate word ... what we have is an identified shortfall for the last year ... composed of two one-time events: the vacancy in development, and staff overages," compensation for which was mandated by federal labor standards.
A vote to table the first and third proposals "failed by one vote," says LaViollette, "so in effect, the membership voted on three items. Only one passed by a two-thirds majority." That was the second, which now ensconces the staff collective in Article V of the organization's bylaws. "The third," LaViollette acknowledges, "was somewhat moot by the time we voted on it," in that elections were still to be held each May.
That left only the first. Since the required two-thirds majority wasn't reached by either side, the board has moved forward with its plan to hire an executive director. That's not as contentious a decision as it could have been, however, if the board and staff had not come together in the meantime on a clarifying Rules and Responsibilities document. That document, Overcast says, "was the result of several weeks of focused effort by a core group of staff and board members and members at large, with the help of Stu Henderson."
Some organization and community members were concerned by rumors that OFS would curtail live events.
"There's this perception in the community that the board wants to eliminate live events, which is ludicrous," says Overcast. "We know that's an important part of the mission of the organization ... (but) there's a lot of potential for reconfiguring how that works, to the advantage of the organization."
Barber thinks fewer live events should be handled in-house.
"Overall, rentals make more sense for us because they're less risk," he says.
Representatives of the staff collective say they remain skeptical of the decision to hire an executive director.
"We were given a week to decide whether or not we would continue our jobs under the new descriptions," says one staff member who asked to remain anonymous, "or to come to another plan we would have to produce. The staff collective has a long way to go to get everybody back on the bus. We're not sure where we stand anymore." As for the Roles and Responsibilities document, "That's only one document, but at least it was some common ground," the souce added.
There's still considerable disagreement over how to increase fundraising, a question which staffers say will fall squarely in the lap of the new executive director.
Staffers and current board members alike express enthusiasm for the upcoming elections, including a "Meet the Board" event set for 6 p.m. May 17 in the MIXX 96 conference room (119 Washington Ave. NE). Ballots for board positions have already been sent out, and the new executive director will be chosen within a few weeks.
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