8/9/2019 Open Letter - DC ANC 5D Security Fund - January 2015

1/1

January 27, 2015

Dear Neighbor,

On Friday, January 23, 2015, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 5D held a special meeting concerning our participation in

the ANC Security Fund (referred to as the Fund throughout document). ANCs are allocated taxpayer dollars in order to issue local

grants, purchase office supplies and copies, hire staff, and other activities that support the needs of the ANC and our community.

DC law requires that ANCs be bonded (insured) annually in order to spend those dollars. Bonding helps protect the ANCs finances

from unauthorized expenditures. Typically, ANCs choose to meet this requirement by participating in the Fund. As of December

2014, ANC 5D had approximately $48,000 in its account , according to the Treasurers report for that month.

At the January 23rdspecial meeting, the Commission voted against participating in the Fund at this time. The motion to participate

failed, with 2 members voting yes, 3 members voting no, and 2 members absent. Below you will find more information about

why the Commissioners voted the way they did.

Why did the ANC 5D Commissioners vote AGAINST participating in the ANC Security Fund at this time?

The Commissioners who took action and voted against the motion at this time did so because key documentation, such as financial

reports, bank statements, and meeting minutes have not been available to the Commission. Commissioners have made multiple

requests since December 2014 for such documents, which are presumably stored in Commissioner Kathy Hendersons home.

Additionally, financial records have not been transitioned from the former Treasurer (Commissioner Henderson) to the newly

elected Treasurer (Commissioner Keisha Shropshire).

Participation in the fund requires the Chairperson and Treasurer to each agree, on the same form, to be personally liable to the

[Security] Fund for any sums paid out by the Fund as a result of wrongful misappropriation or negligent loss of ANC monies.ANC

5D Treasurer, Commissioner Shropshire, takes this role and responsibility very seriously and prefers to have full disclosure and all

financial documentation turned over before establishing the Fund and agreeing to take on this liability. Similarly, we insist on having

our own opportunity to review and perform independent due-diligence on these documents prior to participating in the Fund, and

ultimately before beginning to spend ANC money.

What happens now?

The ANC Commission may elect to join in the ANC Security Fund at any time, including after January 30th. We do intend to

participate in the Fund, as we believe it is the most cost-effective bonding method. We clearly understand the importance and

fiduciary responsibility of participating in the Fund. However, we are not comfortable approving our participation in it under thecurrent circumstances.

In the immediate term, we will continue to hold our monthly public meetings and the non-financial business of the ANC will continue

full speed ahead. However, until we receive access to these financial documents, have had sufficient opportunity to understand

ANC 5Dscurrent financial status, and until the ANCs finances have been fully transitioned to the new Treasurer, we will not act on

the Fund. In parallel, several Commissioners are actively exploring available options to make the Commissions business and

finances much more transparent to you, our constituents.

If you have any questions or suggestions about any of this, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to us individually

or join us at our next monthly public meeting, February 10, 2015. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the

Fifth District Police Station, 1805 Bladensburg Road NE.

In collaboration,

Keisha L. Shropshire, ANC 5D02

Adam Roberts, ANC 5D03

Bernice S. Blacknell, ANC 5D04

H. Yvonne Buggs, ANC 5D06