FROM OUR IAFF TRUSTEE | TONY MEJIA, IAFF Trustee & CPF Trustee Emeritus

Evolving the Role of Trustees

The days of electing Trustees and having them participate once a year to inspect the finances of an organization are gone. If you have Trustees and are not engaging them in all union business, it is time to rethink their roles and responsibilities.

In the past, it was common for Trustees to visit their organization's headquarters, where they would be put in a room for some time with boxes of financial records or access to their filing cabinets to identify any discrepancies. Today's Trustees should not be occasional visitors but active participants in their local – starting with attending all board meetings and executive sessions.

Almost every decision made in the boardroom deals with money. There is a cost to running a local – whether it is renting space, paying for staffing, board members’ salaries, office supplies, training conferences, convention costs, PAC spending, attorney representation, and more. The list of these costs only gets longer with the size and activity level of the local. That is why the Trustees need to be more active as well and be in all board meetings to witness the discussions that take place before decisions are made. Trustees need to be present to confirm the board's due diligence on behalf of the membership, taking into account all aspects entailed in their decision.

It is important for Trustees to be elected by the membership and independent of the Executive Board and Directors. Being an independent body and elected at large means the Trustees answer directly to the membership. Knowing that independent Trustees are looking out for their best interests can provide additional comfort to members. Also important is the Trustees' ability to choose the accounting firm to perform the audit of the finances of the organization. This avoids an organization “shopping” for an audit result.

The IAFF, under the leadership of General President Edward A. Kelly and General Secretary-Treasurer Frank Lima, has embraced the active role of the Trustees. IAFF Trustees attend all board meetings, as well as executive sessions and major IAFF events, so the members have access to Trustees, as well as, ask questions. The Trustees also have full access to all financial documents. President Kelly and GST Lima have an open-door policy that allows the Trustees to easily request additional information and financial documents or go over quarterly financial reports on a regular basis.

Presidents and Treasurers need not fret over the additional eyes and activity to watch over the financial well-being of their organization but should embrace this fact. The old adage remains true, “There’s safety in numbers.”