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National Legislative Program Evaluation Society
Executive Committee Minutes
September 18, 2007
The Executive Committee met on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, at the Charleston Town Center Marriott in Charleston, West Virginia.
Members present at the meeting were: James Barber, Trish Bishop, Joe Lawhon, Ken Levine, Kathy McGuire, Leslie McGuire, Tim Osterstock, Scott Sager, Gerry Schwandt, Perry Simpson, and Jan Yamane. Member absent was: Rakesh Mohan. Others present included: Bob Boerner (NCSL staff); John Sylvia, Michael Midkiff, and Gail Higgins (West Virginia Legislative Auditor’s Office); and, Kerry Fitzgerald and Mike Battle (Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office).
Call to Order
Tim Osterstock (Chair) called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. and announced that subcommittees would convene for work.
Approval of Minutes
After the Executive Committee reconvened, Tim Osterstock began the general business portion of the meeting. Upon a motion by Perry Simpson and a second by James Barber, the Executive Committee approved its August 6, 2007 meeting minutes. Upon a motion by Joe Lawhon and a second by Jan Yamane, the Executive Committee approved its August 7, 2007 meeting minutes.
Subcommittee Reports
Annual Meeting: Joe Lawhon (chair) reported that the subcommittee was considering the following topics for NLPES-sponsored sessions during the 2008 Annual Meeting in New Orleans: 1) charter schools, and 2) how legislators use evaluation/audit reports. Ken Levine suggested that the subcommittee also consider a session on detecting fraud. Subcommittee members plan on checking with NCSL Standing Committees to determine whether there will be opportunities to co-sponsor sessions. Joe said that the subcommittee planned on offering “non-technical” sessions in an effort to appeal to a broader range of Annual Meeting attendees. Joe also said that the subcommittee planned on asking Executive Committee members to evaluate each NLPES-sponsored session using a checklist as a point of reference.
Awards: Leslie McGuire (chair) reported that the subcommittee has the following initiatives for the upcoming year: 1) designing a method to publicize award winners, such as posting winning submissions on the NLPES website and offering discussions and/or sessions during the Fall Training Conference; 2) developing a process to recognize retirees, such as announcing the names of recent retirees during the Fall Training Conference luncheon and including information about retirees in the newsletter; and, 3) revisiting and clarifying the criteria for the methodology award and developing an evaluation form for use by judges.
Communications and Technology: Trish Bishop (chair) reported that the subcommittee had plans to revise the NLPES website and ensure that information on the website was current and updated on a regular basis. Trish said that the subcommittee was in the process of identifying other training opportunities and means of providing the training such as the following: 1) placing the Max Arinder/Jim Pellegrini basic skills training on the website [James Barber and Kathy McGuire will assist with this effort]; 2) developing a means of exchanging training opportunities among member offices; 3) exploring additional opportunities for podcasting; 4) enlisting authors for newsletter articles; 5) assisting Joel Alter with developing questions for the “Question of the Month” feature; and ,6) exploring the possibility of videocasting key sessions from the Fall Training Conference.
Elections: Ken Levine (chair) reported that the subcommittee had considered a proposal to increase the number of individuals on the Executive Committee but chose not to offer the proposal. Ken also stated that the subcommittee was considering a proposal to lengthen terms of Executive Committee members from two to three years. Tim asked Executive Committee members to contact their key contacts to determine whether individuals would be able to make a commitment for an additional year in a term. Ken also reported that the subcommittee believed that a new officer position should be established on the Executive Committee to provide continuity of professional development and training efforts. After a discussion of the proposal by the full Executive Committee, Ken Levine moved and Joe Lawhon seconded a motion to make the Executive Committee vice-chair responsible for coordinating professional development and training efforts. The motion carried. The final discussion item for the subcommittee was a proposal to have Executive Committee officers assume their new positions during the Fall Training Conference. The Executive Committee took the proposal under advisement.
Fall Training Conference: Perry Simpson (chair) reported that subcommittee members were of the opinion that planning for the Fall Training Conference was proceeding according to schedule. Perry reported that the nightly rate for the hotel was anticipated to be $124.
Professional Development and Training: James Barber (chair) reported that the subcommittee had the following initiatives for the upcoming year: 1) designing a peer review process for use by NLPES member offices; 2) updating the Ensuring the Public Trust survey and publishing a new booklet; and, 3) identifying training opportunities for NLPES member offices.
Upcoming Fall Training Conferences
Charleston, West Virginia: John Sylvia, Michael Midkiff, and Gail Higgins reported that there are 151 individuals registered for the conference. John stated that the budget appears to be “in the positive” at this point. For future conferences, John advised that Executive Committee members, especially the chair and vice-chair, should review the NCSL-negotiated contract with the hotel as early as possible. He noted that the agreement with the Marriott contracted for a block of seventy-five rooms with no provisions to increase the block size to accommodate additional attendees. As a result, some attendees of the West Virginia conference were staying at other hotels that necessitated the rental of a shuttle, an expense that was not included in the original conference budget. Tim thanked John Sylvia and his staff for their efforts in planning the 2007 Fall Training Conference.
Madison, Wisconsin: Scott Sager reported that the 2008 Fall Training Conference would be held in Madison, Wisconsin on September 24–27 (Wednesday through Saturday). Scott stated that the Executive Committee could meet on Tuesday prior to the beginning of the conference. He said that NCSL had negotiated a contract with the Concourse Hotel, which is located on Capitol Square with a nightly rate of $124. Scott reported that Kate Wade is spearheading the planning efforts and had established various committees, such as sessions, social, etc. Scott said that Kate and her planning staff would begin planning in earnest in November 2007 and anticipated having potential speakers identified by February 2008. Kate is coordinating her planning efforts with National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices (NALFO), another NCSL staff section that plans on co-locating with NLPES for the fall session.
Honolulu, Hawaii: Jan Yamane reported that the 2009 Fall Training Conference would be held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jan anticipates that the National Association of Legislative Information Technology (NALIT), another NCSL staff section, would co-locate with NLPES for the fall session and bring approximately 100 attendees. Jan also said that the Hawaii chapter of the Association of Government Accountants might join NLPES for the training session. Jan said that the conference would probably be held during October when there are better deals on airfares. She said that plans call for the conference to be held Monday through Wednesday to allow for a travel day on Sunday.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Kerry Fitzgerald and Mike Battle of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office made a proposal to the Executive Committee to host the 2010 NLPES Fall Training Conference. Kerry and Mike provided Executive Committee members with information from the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau. Kerry and Mike said that they had identified five possible hotels in which to hold the conference, with two of those hotels being in the downtown area. Upon a motion by Trish Bishop and a second by Joe Lawhon, the Executive Committee voted to accept the offer of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office to host the 2010 NLPES Fall Training Conference.
Other Business
Tim Osterstock noted that there would be a Government Program Evaluation and Performance Auditing meeting in Arlington, Virginia in October and the sponsoring organization offered one complimentary registration for an Executive Committee member interested in attending.
Tim announced that the spring 2008 Executive Committee meeting would be held on April 11 and 12 in Denver, Colorado at NCSL headquarters. The Executive Committee’s general business session would be held on April 11 and a discussion of the Fall Training Conference would occur on April 12. Tim stated that he, Trish Bishop, and anyone else from the Executive Committee who could plan to meet on April 10 to work on website revisions.
Tim asked Executive Committee members to contact their key contacts and provide updated information (names/mailing addresses/e-mail addresses) of the office director and an alternate to Bob Boerner.
Adjournment
Upon a motion of Scott Sager and a second by Perry Simpson, the Executive Committee adjourned its meeting at 12:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
James Barber, Secretary/Treasurer
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