Leadership Horizons Newsletter-October 2004  

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Inside this issue: Are Your Council Operations Thriving or at Risk? Why Do We Care About the Land-Grant Mission? New Light Shed on the Sunshine Law  4-H Foundation Partnership Has Worked for 55 Years Time Worked IS  Time Worked, and Council Would Have to Pay Guess This County…. Council Leadership Development Committee

Tony DeLong                                                                 University of Missouri

County Council Coordinator                                            Extension Regions

c/o Tri-Lakes TCRC

P.O. Box 718

Reeds Spring, MO 65737

 

        Phone: 417-272-8707

        Cell:  417-337-0605

        Fax: 417-272-8397

        E-mail: delongt@missouri.edu

Are Your Council Operations Thriving or at Risk?

By Tony DeLong 

Unless you are in a first class county, the time to submit councils’ budgets for the year 2005 is just around the corner.  There will be updated guidelines for local funding sent out very soon and every council and CPD should review the guidelines carefully to see if your county council is thriving. These guidelines are to help ensure that each council has a business plan and a budget that meets the programmatic needs of county citizens.

             Livingston County budget thrives with doughnut sales….$6,000 raised! 

Every business has a business plan, some are very detailed and some are not.  So how do we stay in business? It is by ensuring that each council has the funding necessary to support the program needs of the citizens. If the business plan is not detailed and cash flow is lacking, then the business might fail.  Citizens do not want waste; they want a very professional approach to programs and services. 

With the economic challenge every local government faces, the request for an increased budget will be tougher than ever. It is the programs that Extension conducts that save the taxpayers future dollars.

Extension education programs can increase citizens’ capacity to meet his/her needs in today’s changing society.  However, it is hard to measure the dollars saved tomorrow from the knowledge a particular program provides.

County councils must have information they can share with the stakeholders showing the difference programs are making or could be making in the county.  

We have the greatest councils anywhere in the world! We also have information that can help councils get a greater piece of the local pie. I ask that you view your request to the county commission as, “What would I want to know about Extension programs if I were giving out the money and knew very little about Extension?” and “What makes the dollars given to Extension more valuable than dollars used in other areas?”

Since programs are making a difference in peoples’ lives in your county, we should let everyone know how they are making that difference. 

It is my sincere wish that every county Extension Council thrives this year!

Why Do We Care About the Land-Grant Mission?

By Tony DeLong

I have heard some ask this question, “If Extension went away tomorrow, who would miss us?”

The real question for councils to ask themselves is, “If programs were not given by Extension in this county tomorrow, what would be the cost to citizens in the future?”

This is a long-term question.  Think for a minute. Today, the money to support Extension programs is minor compared with the long-term cost of not having such programs. What if we did not have the Ag programs? The farmer would have to seek information from someone selling something. That in itself is a big cost. What if we did not have 4-H Youth Development programs? Where would our youth look to find leadership models?  From the street or maybe reality television? That is not research–based!

The land-grant mission was formulated to give all citizens a chance to develop knowledge from research-based information. This information was to increase ordinary people’s ability to contribute to the social, economic, and environmental growth of this nation.

We in Missouri have been blessed to have had and currently have leadership that truly can see “farther than our eyes can see,” as the late C. Brice Ratchford, director of extension, said.  We do not know what lies ahead. We do, however, have the greatest resource possible to address today’s challenges – our Human Resources -- the nearly 2,000 council members across the state, who on a monthly basis come together to address the issues they face in their counties.

To meet the funding needs of the coming years, we all need to convey to stakeholders -- private citizens and elected officials -- what extension is doing to improve people’s lives and increase citizens’ capacity to contribute to a better society. We all need to look to a “built-in” public awareness program or process.

What resources exist to assist with some of this?  State and national data is available about the cost society bears due to juvenile crime rates, the lack of developing communities and the cost of businesses that fail due to lack of proper planning.  We will share some of this data with you in future newsletters.

This newsletter is designed to help county council members, faculty, staff and administration broaden their HORIZON for leadership.   This is a team project, and we need your feedback.

Please send me your ideas for newsletter articles and for ways we can collaborate statewide to improve people’s lives.

New Light Shed on the Sunshine Law

Every council and member of the council should get a copy of the booklet, The Sunshine Law:  Missouri’s Open Meetings and Records Law…’

Revisions to the Sunshine Law took effect Aug. 28, 2004.  It is no longer enough that public bodies keep records of their meetings. Sunshine Law revisions now make records more accessible to the public—regardless of their format.  Whether records are on paper, in audio or video, the law states that the public shall have access to records in whatever form they were recorded.  Members of the public can receive a copy of records by request for a small fee. 

One of the Sunshine Law changes ensures that e-mails exchanged among a majority of members in a public body (four or more) are open to the public unless covered by specific exceptions. 

What is very important is that the governing body, and possibly the individual, can be charged more fines now than in the past if it willingly violates the law. 

As a volunteer, one could say, “I am here to do my best and make decisions for what is in the best interest of the citizens I serve.”   

 While that is true, volunteers still must be careful to comply with the Sunshine Law. As a public servant under the Sunshine Law, you have to provide reasonable access for the public to hear those decisions and know who made them.

 Every council and member of the council should get a copy of the booklet, The Sunshine Law:  Missouri’s Open Meetings and Records Law, from the Missouri Attorney General’s office.

You can order this booklet via e-mail: karen.bagby@ago.mo.gov (Be sure to include name, mailing address and number of copies needed) or call toll free 1-800-392-8222.

As members of public bodies, it is important for county extension council members to understand and comply with the law. If you have questions please call Tony DeLong at 417-272-8707 or e-mail delongt@missouri.edu.

4-H Foundation Partnership Has Worked for 55 Years

‘Many of the leaders in society today received  their first exposure to leadership

while being part of a 4-H club.’ 

By Tony DeLong 

For more than 55 years, the Missouri 4-H Foundation has been an active partner with the Missouri 4-H Youth Development Program. 

Jo Turner, Missouri 4-H Youth Development program director, shared information with the University of Missouri Extension State Council members at their meeting, Aug. 13. Turner told the council members about some of the programs the foundation has supported with funds, including volunteer leader training, 4-H members’ incentives and awards, community service grants, college scholarships, and state contests.

While supporting program efforts, the 4-H Foundation  also is building a sound financial base for the future of Missouri 4-H. 

Many 4-H programs are Extension programs in nutrition, community development, business and industry, and agriculture — tailored to a youth audience. More than 1,200 rural and urban 4-H clubs exist across the state, but they all have one thing in common — “Leadership Development.”

 Leadership training is one of the more important opportunities we can give to youth in this state. Many of Missouri’s  leaders today received their first exposure to leadership while being part of a 4-H club.

We can all talk about the need to have members of the community serve on  the county extension council; but I suggest we look for those who have been in 4-H or served as a 4-H volunteer leader.

 For more information about 4-H, go to their Web site: http://mo4h.missouri.edu or call your local county extension office. 

Time Worked IS  Time Worked,

                and Council Would Have to Pay 

Changes have been made to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and it is important for all county councils to review and understand the impact this new law may have on programming or office operations. 

The act changes overtime provisions for hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.  As a result of changes made in April 2004, exempting positions from FLSA has become more difficult than it was in the past.  

County-paid clerical, receptionist, secretarial and bookkeeping positions are not exempt from FLSA and are considered eligible for overtime or compensatory time under the FLSA guidelines.  

“It takes a lot of workers to get things done, to make life better for everyone.”

                           ~Unknown 

This designation is not related to how and when the individual is paid (i.e., hourly, monthly).  Time worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek for non-exempt employees must be compensated by one of two options:

1.  Paid at rate of 1½  times regular rate over 40 hours;

2. Compensatory time accrued at 1½ times hours worked over 40 hours. 

Councils are encouraged to establish guidelines for the prior approval of overtime hours worked. Employees and supervisors should agree in advance to the method by which the employee will be compensated. However, the policy cannot contain language that prohibits overtime from being paid if it is not authorized in advance. The overtime requirements may not be waived by agreement between the employer and non-exempt employees. 

If an employee works more than 40 hours per workweek, councils are responsible and have to give overtime or compensatory time. 

To accurately account for hours worked, some timekeeping method should be established, such as a time clock, having a timekeeper keep track of employees’ work hours, or having employees write down their own time and sign the time worked report.

 More FLSA information can be found at: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/flsa/index.htm.

Note~

Excerpts from this article taken from a letter to councils from Rhonda Gibler, assistant vice provost for administrative management

Guess This County…. 

· This County was organized on March 4, 1861. 

· It is 267 square miles in size. 

· The University of Missouri Extension  office is housed in the basement of the courthouse. 

· This county ranked 66 of Missouri’s 114 counties in soybean production with 766,000 bushels produced in 1998 from 20,900 acres. 

· This county ranked 58^th in corn production from 13,700 acres for a total of 1,365,000 bushels. 

· The median household income for this county is $27,471 compared with the state average of $37,934. 

· Information found at the OSEDA Web site, states that the average age for a farmer in this county is 56.1 years. 

· The County Commission in this county has given huge support to Extension.  Commissioners have stated that the dollars allocated to Extension are a worthy investment  in programs that meet the needs of the citizens. 

The County Commission stated the dollars given to Extension is worth the investment for programs that meet the needs of the citizens.

Council Leadership Development Committee

The Council Leadership Development Committee (CLDC) has created an Excellence Award for county councils to receive upon completion of council leadership modules.  Currently, eight leadership modules are in place, and others are being developed and refined. 

Each county council will need to fill out the Completion of Modules form, documenting the number of modules completed and the number/percentage of council members attending the leadership development session.  Councils then should forward the form to Tony DeLong, county council coordinator. 

The award certificate recognizes mileposts councils have reached in completing and understanding their roles and responsibilities per state law concerning programs, governance and membership. 

The request for the Excellence Award should be filled out by either the council chair, CPD or a member of the Regional Council Leadership team, who has been involved in the training. 

The certificate will be signed by the director of Extension, director of off campus operations and the regional director. The CLDC recommends that certificates be awarded at a regional council meeting.

 Certificate forms are available by calling the Tri-Lakes TCRC at 417-272-8707 or by e-mailing the request to Tony DeLong at delongt@missouri.edu.

 The CLDC would like to thank those who have participated in the development of these modules as well as the county councils for their willingness to use the modules.