BUSINESSENTERPRISEPROGRAM OF OREGON

BECCEMERGENCY MEETING

Date: Thursday January 26, 2017

Time: 2:00 p.m.

OREGONCOMMISSIONFOR THE BLIND

535 SE 12thAvenue(Portlandoffice)

Conferenceline:404-443-6397

Participantcode: 943611#

Agenda

* Any of theagenda itemslisted belowmaybecome anaction item.

* Any of these items may be a conflict of interest.

1.Call toOrder

2.PublicComment-allow before, during business, and as well during opencomment

3. Non-Issuance of some 2017 Operating Agreements by OCBs Administration including accounting issues provided by OCB administration just last week to some Licensed Blind Managers.

4.OpenDiscussion

5.NextMeeting Immediately following this meeting, on January 26, 2017, at 3:00 p.m.

6.Adjournment

VERBATIM

[00:00:00]

Hauth: Okay. Well, lets go ahead and start this meeting, everybody. Wanted to call this meeting to order. And, again, like Commissioner Jeanne-Marie had stated, if you could mute your phone it would be greatly appreciated. I know teleconference meetings are hard, at best, because everybody tries to, you know, un-mute and get their comments in and, you know, so forth and so on. But to do your best would be wonderful. So, we called this meeting into order, so I would like to start by taking roll call of the Board and Ill work out into the membership and audience. So, Art Stevenson, are you here?

StevensonA: Here.

Hauth: Derrick Stevenson, are you here? [Silence.] Derrick Stevenson, are you here? [Silence.] Okay, Jerry Bird, are you here?

Bird: Here.

Hauth: Okay. Steve Gordon, are you here?

Gordon: Here.

Hauth: Steve Jackson, are you here?

Jackson: Im right here. Steve Jackson.

Hauth: Okay. And I am here, Randy Hauth. I am here. We do have a quorum. Ill call on Derrick Stevenson again. Derrick, are you here? [Silence.] Okay. Then well move into the membership. Lin Jaynes, are you present?

Jaynes: Yes. Present.

Hauth: Okay. Cathy Colley-Dominique, are you present? [Silence.] Cathy Colley-Dominique, are you present? [Silence.] Okay. Char Mckinzie-Hawkins, are you present? [Silence.] Okay, Char Mckinzie-Hawkins, are you present? [Silence.] All right. Harold Young, are you present?

Young: Yes, Im here.

Hauth: Okay. Salvador Barraza, are you present? [Silence.] Salvador Barraza, are you present? [Silence.] Tessa Brown, are you present?

Brown: I am.

Hauth: Thank you. And Carole Kinney, are you present?

Kinney: Yes, Im here.

Hauth: Okay. And Lewanda Miranda, are you present?

Miranda: Present.

Hauth: Have I left anybody out? [Silence.] Okay. Has anybody from the Board, B.E.C.C. and/or managers joined in that I have not called on? [Silence.] Okay. Audience, is there anybody that would like to announce their presence?

Moore: Well, Im Jeanne-Marie. Im here.

Hauth: Jeanne-Marie, welcome.

Moore: By invitation.

Edwards: And James Edwards is on.

Hauth: Hey, James. Welcome. Welcome. Anybody else? [Silence.] Okay. So lets go ahead and call this Well, weve called the meeting already to order. And thank you everybody for joining us. I know this is going to be a meeting that discusses primarily the issues that recently came up so we called this emergency meeting and then our regularly scheduled meeting will start at 3:00. Ive projected this meeting to last an hour. It may not go that long. And for those of you on the line, hope to continue on. If we end up hanging up I hope to have you call back in at 3:00. I do want to start this out by saying that November 15th, during a B.E.C.C. meeting, close to the end of the meeting, I had discussions with Eric, Director Eric Morris, about the operating agreement, knowing that the operating agreement was just right around the corner, wanted to make sure we werent going to run into the situation that weve appeared to run into now. And so I asked Eric at that time if everybody would be sent an operating agreement and that was, I think, verbatim, I said, So I know Eric is running for the bus, but Id like to get an answer. So, Eric, will you be sending the operating agreement to all managers? And in December, like you have each year, Eric Morris said, Yes. So, Im not sure whats changed between then and now, but I have been contacted by at least four licensed blind vendors, I believe it was five, excuse me, licensed blind vendors sharing concerns about their operating agreement being withheld. And I know it had provided a lot of stress and strain on these people because your operating agreement is closely connected with our livelihoods. And so, you know, I was requested to conduct call for a special meeting. So, hopefully, we can get the issues resolved that were brought forward and understand why why the issues are here. I do know that some of the some of the charges that are being, you know, levied go back to as far as 2011. So the thought would be, you know, if these are for 2011, why now are the licensed blind vendors operating agreements being held hostage? So, from 2014, again, the same question. So, Eric, I would welcome you to, if youd like to at this time, to overview I know that you mentioned yesterday you had talked to everybody that the agency claims owes past due set-aside and that the agency is withholding operating agreements on. So, can you overview the membership on, you know, what happened from November, when you said everybody would be receiving their operating agreement to now, where some arent? And can you, without identifying by name, can you tell us how many operating agreements are not being are being withheld?

Morris: Yeah, Randy, I can speak to that. Hang on one second, just trying to take a drink real quick. So, I dont recall the November 15th meeting, I havent went back and looked at that verbatim but Ill Ill take your word on it. Before right on the on the before the last meeting, I think the 10th, on the 12th on 12/30 I sent a note out to you guys as part of my Directors Report, saying, Hey, heres In fact, if you look at that Directors Report and I Im assuming everybodys reading it so, it talks about how and Ill go back and answer your question in a second it talks about how were gonna get set-aside taken care of. Cause, you know, over the years since Ive been here, from the very beginning and all throughout the time Ive been here, past due set-aside has been a major bone of contention with specific people and and different Boards that, you know, different Boards that have been in place since Ive been here. So, weve been trying the agencys been trying to get our hands wrapped around this so that we can have accurate accounting and accurate transparency to the managers. Because all along Ive said its really important that you get a statement I mean, cause you guys get invoiced every month, but that doesnt really tell you, did we get your check, did your check not get here, did it never gave any of that information. So, in December, accounting was finally able to get the monthly statements ready for prime time. And so, I think thats probably the difference between the middle of November and December. And so, thats why I put that in my Directors Report, that Id be contacting people as we head into the New Year and as people get their compliance stuff in place, to try and go back through it. And some of the stuff is really old. Now, thats its super Im not happy about that in any way, shape or form, but it is it is accurate. And thats what were trying to ensure, is that what our records reflect is what the managers records reflect. And I know we had originally eight people that I talked to and since then weve sent out two operating agreements from those eight people. I think three, four people have requested an itemized breakdown of reports theyve sent, invoices theyve been sent, or reports theyve sent to us, invoices weve sent to them and how they were applied to their account. So, accounting is diligently working on compiling that, and thats a lot of information going back a long ways. But I understand the need to show that to people. Because, you know, if you think youre in good standing and theres all of a sudden youre owing either small amounts or big amounts, then you want to be able to see that and wrap your head around it. So, accountings working on that. Theyre theres a lot of big piles of documents forming up. Theyre going to get sent out as soon as possible. And so, that thats kind of where were at right this second. I mean, the the focus on past due set-aside I know thats important to a lot of people and the Elected Committee has said over and over and over again that we need to get that fixed and get it taken care of. So, by going through getting these statements in place, where everybody will get a new a monthly statement each month showing what theyve sent, whats been applied to their account, whats been invoiced to their account. Getting that statement each every single month is gonna be the the pathway to getting this straightened out and getting people either to reconcile their accounts or to show us the documentation that reconciles their account or get into a repayment agreement, is whats gonna move us forward.

Hauth: Well, what I would Thank you, Eric. What I would share is, on January 10th, when we asked about the status of our operating agreements and I believe Derrick Stevenson actually asked specifically about his operating agreement, I believe at that time you said you didnt know. And so, again, its its concerning its concerning I think you said you didnt have an update at that time. So, its concerning, like, again, some of these balances the agency is claiming are from 2011. You know, I would I would hope that the agency reconciled their books quarterly or, you know, at least annually. Some are from 2011, 2014, 2015. And in November you say, yeah, everybodys receiving their operating agreements and in January when we asked you said you didnt know, you didnt have an update. There was no involvement on this matter from the B.E.C.C. that I know of. I feel the communication was really limited to none and so you could probably understand why people may be extremely upset, distraught, concerned about this. And so thats why were here in a meeting and I know were going to hear from others on the line. But, wouldnt it have been better to communicate this? I do know that on December 16th, I believe December 16th, one of the documents that we had seen, where this was rearing raising its head wouldnt it have been better to maybe not not necessarily withhold operating agreements but to provide the documentation to those managers who are claimed to be past due on set-aside and say, Hey, lookit, our records are indicating that you owe this. And also, along with that, the agency lending supporting evidence that shows and supports the claims Cause what Ive seen its basically like, Hey, you owe us some money. Send it in or youre not getting an operating agreement. And Im just summarizing that, but wouldnt it have been better to provide that information and give people a chance to respond and provide their supporting documentation and not wait till the last minute, where people are being, you know kept their operating agreement from? You know, so thats I guess thats my concern. And, you know, how long was the how long was the agency aware or working on the new invoice that I think you identified that finally flushed out all this information?

[00:13:32]

Morris: Yeah, Randy, I dont know a specific time frame on the invoice itself. The the as you know, weve had some changes in our accounting department over the last couple of years and our new CFO has been in place for I think shes been here about a year and a half now. And they went through last year and basically reconstructed, from the ground up, all of the B.E. set-aside records. So, that was a long process unto itself. The actual development of the statement, thats been in place for actually a couple months, two, three months at least. So, you know, I I think its easy to go back and Monday morning quarterback it and say, you know, You shouldve done this, you shouldve done that. The Elected Committees been saying, Collect this money for years. So, at some point, you have to tear the Band Aid off and say, Heres where were at. Heres what were gonna do. And, when I talked to each of these people, I Im sure theyre going to talk about it when we talk today, I didnt call anybody up and say, Hey, Im pulling your operating agreement unless you pay this money right away. Im like, Hey, Im gonna send you a statement thats showing our records. Compare it to yours and then lets talk about it. And so, thats thats where were at. I didnt threaten anybody in that sense. So.

Bird: Randy?

[Womans voice]: May I say something?

Hauth: Yeah. Hold on, hold on. Hold on just a second. I do want to say, you know, Eric, I dont, you know Why wasnt the Committee involved in the development of the new financial report or the monthly reporting? I think

Morris: Well, Randy

Hauth: thats one concern. Thats what I would like to hear. And then the second thing is, you know, you keep I think four or five times this meeting youve said, The Elected Committee wants past due set-aside paid. The Elected Committee has always said this. Well, thats true. We do. The Elected Committee says a lot of things and we want a lot for this program. So, for the agency to focus on that and not other issues and concerns we bring forward is concerning. But, again, it falls back on the agency being responsible. The agency should never let anybody get so far behind on set-aside and they should never have let past dues from 2011 or 2014 exist. So, thats my concern. But going back to and then well move forward with the meeting and and public comments. But, going back here, why wasnt the Elected Committee involved in the development of the form would be helpful for everybody to hear.

Morris: Well, Randy, I sent you guys a copy of that in December. And then when I asked you guys to weigh in on it last meeting, you guys voted it down. So, Im not sure what kind of process you want to do around development of it or modifying it but thats Im gonna kick it right back to you.

Hauth: Well, it was already developed when we received it, so

Morris: Yeah, but its an Excel spreadsheet. You can change it in about three seconds. And you guys said, Nah, were gonna vote that down. So, I Im a little confused by the process, I guess.

Hauth: Well, I think the communication, just from my and you can hear from others its just that, where I come from, during a meeting, during a previous meeting the communication should be a little bit more interactive and you as Director should say, Hey, lookit, theres some issues here. Weve all we all know they exist and lets work together to find a way to resolve these. Heres an idea: lets develop some new monthly reporting spreadsheets because the other ones, apparently, arent doing their jobs. So, I think thats how you start it out. I dont believe that you just create a form, you know, send it to somebody and then thats active participation. But were going to go ahead and thank you, Eric, for answering were going to go ahead and ask for any public comment. And then well move forward with the meeting. Is there any public comment> Anybody like to make a comment?

Moore: Id like to make a comment.

Hauth: Yes, Jeanne-Marie.

Moore: Okay. Well, Randy, I have to say, and its a very uncomfortable position for me to be in, but I have sat through meetings where you yourself have been very, very disappointed in Eric for not, you know, not being on top of collecting set-aside and, you know, four other people that I could name them cause I took notes and, you know, his style of communication may may not be exactly what you had in mind but he sent you a form and you you, on one level, were asked to participate because he sent it to you as opposed to just sending it to you saying, We decided this. And I understand you guys arent getting the exact active participation you want. But it seems like there are steps being made, a little bit here, a little bit there. And, you know, there isnt anything that I can think of where Ive heard you guys tell Eric and Im not, you know, necessarily in agreement with what Eric does all the time, by any means. But Ive never heard this Committee say yes to anything hes presented you. And I think thats a tough position to be in. Ill just say that. And this set-aside thing has been an issue from before I was even a Commissioner, you guys were talking about it. So, theres got to be some way to get everybodys attention and get everybody on the same page. And, apparently, things werent done the way they needed to be done and now theyre starting to get done and theyre theyre not doing it right, now, either. And I just dont know how productive this is gonna be.

Hauth: All right. Thank you. Is there any other public comment?

Bird: Jerry Bird.

Hauth: Yeah, Jerry.

Bird: Yeah, I just want to say a quick one. On the form, Eric did send it to us and it did say in there this form was going to be take active the following month. Once again, youre right: the way Eric does stuff to us has been dictating-ship and thats why we kind of have a little defense set up around us because of this procedure. He didnt come to us and say, Lets set one up. Lets lets get together and sit down and write one. He writes it, he sends it to us, and then we kind of have a its hard for us to believe, because some of the actions, on just whats going on. I dont seem to get that Erics really for our program. Now, the other point of the operating agreement is, Erick knows the operating agreement end at the end of December. He waited till after that. He shouldve been asking for this information months before. Its kind of like your insurance policy, you know? It ends at December 31st. Well, January 1st, you dont get that redone and signed and agreed on, you have no insurance. So youre left hanging. And, another thing is, Im really disappointed with the agencys way they handle bookkeeping. For them to have something that was that old and then come back after this long These people had their operating agreements signed last year, mustve owed the money. The year before they got signed, mustve owed the money. I have been I have forgot a check before to put it in there. By dang, they get a hold of me and say, You missed this. For them to go over a month, I mean, and not see that it didnt come and then notify the blind vendor to find out is it did it get stuck in the mail, did you forget to send it. Nothing happens till right at midnight, the eleventh hour of our set-aside of our operating agreement, Eric uses them as [inaudible]. You know, to me, its incompetence for bookkeeping and then, at the end, its our fault. You know, its a simple thing of notifying people each month. If you dont get nothing from the Blind Commission, you sent everything in. They want to blame everything on us that is us not doing it, when it its just not that way. We just seem to get keep getting badgered and badgered and everythings, you know, Did you guys pay that dime of set-aside? You know, I have a problem with this program has lost sight of their focus on the intent of this program. So I believe its time that we recognize that Eric states its their fault for not getting a hold of this. Why do people have to keep waiting? Why [inaudible] set-aside for four years. You know, they couldntve bid on anything. So that affects all our livelihoods and its just just mismanagement. They have five people working for us; we have less less management than we did before, when we only had two. Thank you.

Hauth: Thank you, Jerry. Is there any other public comment?

Haseman: Linda Haseman.

Hauth: Go ahead, Linda.

Haseman: Yeah, I just want to say a couple of things. The roll-out, and maybe this speaks to Commissioner Moores issues, I worked, as many of you know, and I hate to reference it often, but its very clear I worked with unions and I can tell you what: had I not issued teacher contracts, but the day that they had to start, and actually re-issued them in the summer. However, if I had not issued them to them, or at least some of them, because they lacked their licensure for certification, and I suspect Eric can follow this because he used to be on the school board, I wouldve worked with the union ahead of time and the participated staff member ahead of time, giving them multiple and multiple and multiple notices before I ever wouldve withheld issuing their teaching contract for the beginning of the year, at which point there were some teacher contracts had to be withheld. At that point, after theyd been noticed and we tried to resolve it and we tried to problem-solve and everybody was brought along through the process. And I know it takes more time, but it didnt cause an issue when I then didnt issue the teacher contract because everybody had been brought along and communicated with and that teacher was then noticed and actually had to go to the city superintendent. I can tell you what: the very next day we had everything that we didnt what we were missing and I was able to issue the teacher contract. But the roll-out was different. There was not an upswellling of the union. There was and teachers unions, as if some of youve ever dealt with them, can be very, very powerful. There was not an upswellling because they had been brought along; it wasnt just an immediate and no one knew. And thats what Im seeing here, is almost a fire situation, where gasoline just got poured and people are all going, Whats going on? There had been questions about our operating agreements being issued and they were told, yes. They were they were questioned, Eric Morris was questioned at the beginning of January, at a meeting, asking the status. He didnt have an update. Now, all of a sudden, were actually, Randy and I, are being impacted by the number of calls were getting, and I dont mean it in a negative way. I feel bad for these people, a hundred percent. But Im having to go through, one person in particular, they have a significant illness situation going on in their family. This is adding more stress to them. And Im sorry, but the spreadsheet that they were originally given, the new invoice, when we tracked down the information and handed him cancelled checks from what the spreadsheet, the new invoice said, nope, that wasnt actually correct information. It wasnt that they wanted the 2014/15 information that was on the spreadsheet, they wanted what was back to 2011, that wasnt on the spreadsheet. So now were on a different different hunt for information. So, what I can share with you is, dont take that invoice as gospel. If youre one of the eight that arent receiving your operating agreement, you need to be asking for information because whats on there, accounting for what you owe, may not be actually listed correctly for what you owe. Get your cancelled checks and then you might be adjusted to a new date and time of the amount you owe, which is exactly what happened with the person I helped. So, rollout is important.

[00:27:03]

Hauth: Thank you. Is there any other comment?

Jaynes: Chairman Hauth?

Hauth: Yes. Who is this? Lin?

Jaynes: This is Lin.

Hauth: Yeah, Lin, go ahead.

Jaynes: Yeah, is there gonna be a special time when the actual managers involved speak or is that under the public agenda?

Hauth: You can speak whenever youd like to.

Jaynes: Okay. First off, Id just like to say good afternoon to everybody thats attending from the O.C.B. staff to the B.E.C.C. Board, as well as any of the licensed blind managers who actually attended this emergency meeting. Id like to briefly start with a little background and try and take you through the last days of my of my life and my familys life. This started when I contacted Mr. Riesmeyer at the O.C.B. agency, I believe it was a little over nine days, mayve been ten days ago now. I actually called him to find out why I hadnt received my 2017 operating agreement and he stated that the office had been closed for a few days over the snow, which of course we all knew and were going through ourselves. Anyway, he stated, in addition to that hed been sick a couple of days. So, with that being said, I wasnt at that time overly concerned. But then several days passed again and I still didnt get my operating agreement so I contacted Mark again and he stated that Director Morris had, in fact, sent out some email notification to all the managers who had past due set-aside. I commented, Well, that has nothing to do with me. And, as an afterthought, I never received any notice from Director Morris about any late set-aside at that point in time. Then Mark informed me that, in fact, he said, Lin, you do show some past due set-aside. Oh, well, you couldve knocked me over with a feather. He then told me that my o.p. would not be released to me, as the Director had informed him not to release it to me. Okay, thats kind of how this began. And then I went to my voice mail the next day and I had a call from Director Morris, that he wished me to call him. So I did and we had a pretty nice discussion, but I did dispute the fact that I owed any set-aside and I still do. I have since then sent numerous emails to Director Morris, copying Mark Riesmeyer and also c.c.ing Administrator Johnson on one or two of them. I not only showed my checks, my amounts, my dates of set-aside that Id paid, but I never did receive any acknowledgement of those emails and/or documentation at that time. Then, the following day, or later that afternoon, after Id spoke with Mr. Morris, I got a spreadsheet that he actually sent me, showing that I am the manager, who actually owes for two months set-aside for 2014 and 15. Now, I provided that private information because Im not embarrassed by it, because I didnt owe it, and I proved I didnt owe it. I knew it was not factual, that it was just simply an error in their accounting department. You know, folks, were human. I mean, we all make mistakes, especially when youre dealing with money. And its my understanding, a lot of this was hand-written in before it became I dont even know if its generated now by computer or how, but at the time, back in 2014/15 it certainly wasnt. I decided after all of this Id go to the bank and Id get copies of the checks in question, again for 2014 and 15. Well, I did. They had been cashed and deposited in the U.S. Bank account of the Oregon Commission for the Blind with their account number on it, which I will not provide again. That is private. It was written on both the back of the check and I provided both front and back of both checks. I then faxed those to Director Morris. After I produced those cancelled checks, the following day I was sent another spreadsheet that showed that now I owed more that wasnt on the first spreadsheet, dating back to 2011 and 12. Now, you might remember, that was back when Director Walt Reyes was the Director back then. Anyway, to make a long story short and pull this together, my husbands deteriorating health and major life-threatening surgery, he had three of them this year, I am at a point where I simply could not take one more day of stress over trying to figure all this out. So I contacted Chairman Hauth. I asked him to personally deliver whatever money the Director said that I owed, that was showing on the accounting books, even though I disputed it then, and I still do. Even though I provided cancelled checks, I needed my operating agreement, and I certainly needed it then. I didnt need any more time delay while I went back to the bank again. As many of you some of you may not know, Bank of America closed down in Lincoln City last year. Were now Cascade Bank there, so I have to actually drive about 50 miles to get to a Bank of America to get these checks again. So, because of all that, I just decided to contact the Chairman. He so graciously went down and immediately paid what they said I was in arrears for. And I basically need, you know, the time to go ahead and research the other 2011 and 12 at my bank. Now, Id like to reiterate that, up until this last week, I was never notified of any of these set-asides. Its not a question always that a manager is behind on set-aside and hasnt paid it as much as it appears to be errors in the accounting department and/or whoever that doesnt send you a notification of this. And Id like to remind each and every one of you that this is January 2017. Why, in the name of heaven, did someone not send out notification that said, Dear So-and-so, you we are showing this in our records. Can you please check your records and get back to us? That did not happen with me until after I spoke with Director Morris when he called me again, been nine or ten days now, so it was about seven, maybe seven days ago when he called me. And I told him then, I said, Director Morris, I never received any notification, ever, for this. I would never put myself through additional stress while Im going on going through now with my husband for set-aside. So, I would like Id like everybody to be reminded of just this one last parting thing: You cant pay something you dont know you owe, if you arent told. Thank you for listening.

Hauth: Thank you, Lin. Is there anybody else would like to comment?

Gordon: Yeah, Mr. Chair? Steve Gordon.

Hauth: Yes, Steve Gordon.

Gordon: Yeah, Id like to comment on, basically, reiterate what Lin said. I know an individual back in the past, oh, approximately four years ago, that had gotten into a situation where they had to didnt pay set-aside a few months and then most of it had accumulated from what they said was up, due for rent and and, you know, other charges. Well, it built up and built up. So it finally they got to a point where the amount was just astronomical. And, from that point on, they finally got to the place where they made a settlement and then what I feel, if a persons made a settlement four years ago and that settlement has been being paid and not late, then why in the world would you get this kind of stuff, you know, years later and saying you owe this or that? I know numerous of times Ive called and they didnt receive my my set-aside or my checks or, you know, the monthly profit and loss sheet. And it happened over several different times. And I know previously, accountants one time, Mr. Bowers was looking for it and he turned over some things, I was there present, and he automatically then finds it under his blotter or whatever. I mean, this is just [inaudible]. This is a this is an agency that this is how they run business. I dont accept this kind of stuff. Its unacceptable and its just hogwash, to come back and then try to say somebody owes some. Thats like a funeral home calling up, Hey, old Charlie didnt pay the rest of his funeral. You know, well, Charlies gone. It just its just ridiculous and I know, understand the stress that people have. And myself is under a great duress and stress. And it, you know, in cases like this, you know, people should watch what theyre doing and be more professional about things.

Hauth: Thank you. Any other comments?

Gordon: That thats enough.

Hauth: Okay.

Hawkins: Chairman Hauth?

Hauth: Yes.

Hawkins: This is Char.

Hauth: Char.

Hawkins: I guess Ill just tell my story, too. I had owed quite a bit of back set-aside at one time and I wanted to get current; I wanted to bid on something. So I was given a spreadsheet and there were some things on it I didnt agree with. And, as we were looking at it, instead of deducting my set-aside it actually showed they added it.

Jaynes: Mm hm.

Hawkins: So, yeah, it was it was quite clear. And then I called Eric and we went over it on the phone. He saw the same thing. We finally agreed, then got a new spreadsheet. It went from, like, five thousand to ten thousand or some crazy thing. Anyway, so we finally got the spreadsheet that we both agreed on and I paid that amount in a check that I had borrowed from somebody else. And, to my knowledge, after that I was current and I was paying my set-aside and everything was good. And when I bid on D.M.V. I did not owe set-aside. Eric even checked that I did not owe set-aside. Now Im given a a sheet of none of my payments but or even of the $5,000 I paid, but just the amounts that they found somewhere that I owed. One of them was a check that I had apparently written for two cents. Now, come on. I I wouldnt do that. There were dates there were unit numbers that I owed money for that I didnt even have that unit at that stage. I have asked for a spreadsheet totaling everything of my payments and set-aside. I havent received that yet. Im not talking about $200, Im talking about over $2,000 that has suddenly occurred. And, to be honest, Im busy. Im trying to take the Hadley Course. Now Im going to have to track down all of this and go to a bank where the accounts are closed and get checks and check numbers and all that.

Jaynes: Mm hm.

Hawkins: And I just, you know, Im totally overwhelmed. My one inclination at first was just to pay it and move on. And, after hearing some other stories, I just, you know, I cant believe this. I dont know. I dont know what to say, but I think Ive been active for two. And Ive asked for a meeting with whoever, Gail, and right now all theyre trying to do is compile some kind of spreadsheet. So, I do think I deserve a face-to-face meeting.

Hauth: Thank you very much.

Hawkins: Anyway, thank you.

Hauth: Char, thank you for sharing your story and [inaudible]

StevensonA: Chair Hauth?

Hauth: Chars in attendance. Yes, is this Art?

StevensonA: Yeah, its Art.

Hauth: Okay. Go ahead, Art.

StevensonA: So, anyways, in the state statutes it says the Oregon Commission for the Blind is supposed to keep an account, separate and distinct, and were getting these spreadsheets that are just partial and stuff and, you know, way, way after the fact. My situation was $153, nothing super major. I found, you know, that somehow Nikki had done the same invoice twice and paid a check that was a little under the amount assessed for the following month. But, my point being this: the state is supposed to be keeping accurate records and the state is supposed to show whether these checks have been deposited or not. And were supposed to come up with all the information to prove them wrong. I think the agency should definitely produce the documentation also cause I kind of question if we do have that account thats separate and distinct. And if we dont, it dang well should happen.

Hauth: Yeah, thank you very much, Art. And I just want to I think we have about 15 minutes here. But I did want to interject something. You know, I never hear the agency or Director Morris say, Hey, lookit, we failed our duties. Right? Weve left all these I mean, Eric, youve been there four years, Dacias been there in her capacity as four years or so. You guys dont come forth and say, You know what? We dropped the ball, we failed our duties. You know, we have trouble counting to three. However, at the end of the day, you guys are not getting your operating agreement and, no matter what stress or strain it causes you, we just write some figures on a spreadsheet and, until you pay us, you dont get your operating agreement. So, this is concerning. And, yeah, people are people are disappointed with that. Obviously, you heard the public testimony and the public comment relative to this. So, what do we do, right? How do we how do we get this worked out? I will share with those on the line, for what its worth, I will send out a [inaudible] request because, like Ms. Haseman said earlier, dont believe what the agency necessarily is telling you because it has proven not to be accurate in many instances. And instead of putting the onus of responsibility on you as a manager, ask them for all the information, for the supporting documents, for the check registry, for, you know, this, that and the other thing. If they just want to blatantly say You owe this money shouldnt it be shouldnt it be a little bit more detailed than that? So, for what its worth Ill send out this evening, for your consideration, any of those that want to, to make sure youre verifying that. And, you know, I do want to ask Eric I know there might be some other comment on here that Ill surely allow but before the meeting ends, Eric, food for thought: Howre we gonna howre we gonna resolve this? Howre we gonna get people their operating agreement and what what legal premise do you deny providing peoples operating agreement with? So Id like to hear that before we leave. Is there any other comment? Anybody else like to make a comment?

[00:43:53]

Jaynes: Chairman Hauth, can I make one comment real quick? This is Lin Jaynes again.

Hauth: Sure. Let me see if theres anybody else out there, Lin, before before we go to you a second time. Id be happy to. Is there anybody else out there?

Jackson: Chairman Hauth, can I talk? This is Steve.

Hauth: Yeah. Lin, would you would you hold off for just a little bit, please?

Jaynes: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Hauth: Okay. Okay. Go ahead, Steve.

Jackson: I just want to say that I I started a [inaudible] program about three years ago and I and the first, the initial reason I had to make a payment plan is cause Art Marshall decided on his own accord that one of my malfunctions on my espresso machine was a user error and he thought I had to pay the whole bill. That never got taken off and then stuff started adding to it. Anyways, I never got any phone calls for two years and, apparently, Ive missed about four payments per year and so now Im way behind when I thought I was trying to keep up. But no one ever told me. So I would just like a little more communication so that I know when Im late or forgot to pay so I dont fall so far behind. And to just what your question was to Eric about what can we do to fix this, Id really like Eric to think about assigning more vending to the managers so that they have more work to pay for these bills that he expects people to pay bills on time and and to be more, just on top of it. Thank you.

Hauth: All right. Thank you. Is there any other

Edwards: [inaudible]

Hauth: comment? Yeah, James, go ahead.

Edwards: Well, Im just Im just Im just absolutely surprised listening to these stories and shocked at the ineptness of the government agency, their record-keeping and book-keeping. I think thats the first thing that needs to be addressed, regardless of who owes set-aside. I think the the book-keeping and record-keeping of the governing body needs to be addressed, immediately. So.

Hauth: Okay. Thank you, James. Lin, hold your thought, Im gonna get to you. Is there anybody else out there that hasnt spoken yet that would like to speak? [Silence.] Okay, hearing none, Lin, if youd still like to speak, please do.

Jaynes: Yeah, Ill keep it really brief. I just wanted to reiterate that, you know, you need to send notification out to people and let them know that they owe set-aside before you can complain and say that the managers arent paying the set-aside. Its human error, not only in the accounting departments error, but also on the managements error. If we missed something, wrote a check incorrectly, or whatever, you know, notify us. Dont just let this grow for years. I mean, thats a little bit insane for any business. A business would go out of business if they conducted their book-keeping that way. The second thing I wanted to mention real briefly is, its pretty common and has been for years, that when I send a check in it sits sometimes 15 to 16 days before the state agency or its accounting department, rather actually banks my check. Now, small businesses dont generally, in our case, dont have a lot of funds in their in their account. So when youre sitting holding on to somebodys check for 15, 16 days before you even bank it, that seems a little bit lengthy to me. Especially when, if youre banking 16 days later and then you record it, youre gonna be showing that manager as late when theyre not late. The checks been sitting on somebodys desk. So I think that that the accounting department does need to start someone needs to start looking at the accounting department and say, Hey, this is our money, belongs to the state. You need to bank these checks within 24 to 48 hours, not 15 to 18 days later. Thank you.

Hauth: Thank you, Lin. Just to weigh in on this again, Janet LaBreck, Commissioner LaBreck, whos leaving R.S.A., her motto is inclusivity and progress. I see neither one of those here. Regardless of how it may be interpreted as negativity towards the agency, the agency as the administrative authority needs to do their job, right? It shouldnt be about the managers fault, it should be about whos the responsible person here, the responsible party. And, you know, lets lets do the job. Lets work together. So, before we before we go into our next meeting, Eric, you sit there and listen to this. What are your thoughts? How do we, you know, how do we take the stress and strain off of people? Obviously, the agency dropped the ball on this and you shouldnt really be holding peoples operating agreements that puts them in, you know, this kind of situation. So, what are your thoughts as the Director of this program? And what what premise do you withhold these persons operating agreements on?

Morris: Well, Randy, thanks for the question. I think Ive I said it earlier: the new statements will provide more transparency, not only to you guys but to us. And like like Lin said, we need to be notifying you guys. But I think the other piece is, too, when we start notifying you, Hey, your checks late, your reports are late and stuff, you know, people shouldnt be getting all bent out of shape about that as we move forward, too. So, we will do a better job of notifying people every month now, going forward, not only on set-aside reports, which weve been doing really good on that, set-aside payments and re-payment agreements. So, yeah.

Moore: Eric.

Morris: Yes.

Hauth: So what about what about Hold on. Hold on, Jeanne. Hold on just a second. Yeah, Jeanne-Marie, go ahead.

Moore: Well, what Im hearing from some of the people is that the information that they got was inaccurate and that theyve been able to prove that to you. So Im not sure

Morris: Commissioner?

Moore: Yeah.

Morris: I would say that thats probably still disputed right this second. And Im not gonna Im not gonna dive into every individual accounts and stuff, but thats Yeah, thats not accurate.

Moore: Oh.

Hauth: Okay. So, is there anything Okay, so before we leave we have open discussion. Is there anybody that would like to make a comment?

Haseman: Yes. This is Linda Haseman. Im going to counteract what Director Morris said. I know for a fact that the new spreadsheet and the new invoice did not reflect accurate information. Cancelled checks were provided and new information was now taken back to 2011, where the initial spreadsheet showed 14/15. So, at this point it is in dispute. And for Director Morris to say thats not accurate information I can prove it to anybody. So.

Hauth: Anything youd like to say on that, Eric?

Morris: Yeah. The information thatll be coming out to Miss Haseman and her, the person shes advocating for will tell the complete, detailed story cause weve been pulling the massive amount of records you guys wanted. And it, um it yeah.

Hauth: Well, just so you know, Eric, the reason people wanted that massive amount of records

Morris: I totally I totally understand. Yeah.

Hauth: Hold on. Let me talk, please. Dont interrupt.

Morris: Oh, sorry.

Hauth: is youre No problem. But the reason that people had been asking for that is because theyre very concerned that the agencys withheld their operating agreement. So, again, how are we going to remedy this?

Moore: Can the operating agreements be issued while this stuff is being disputed, because thats a pretty heavy impact

Morris: Well, Commissioner

Moore: for them not to have it.

Morris: Commissioner, that I think thats a little bit of a misnomer. Somebody doesnt have an operating agreement, they dont have a contract with the agency to run their facility. That doesnt mean their business is being impacted, doesnt mean theyre not earning income. So, once we get all the financial stuff sorted out with each of the individual managers, we will issue their operating agreements.

Hauth: So, Eric, why are you withholding

Haseman: Guilty until proven innocent.

Hauth: Hold on just a second. So, Eric, before we go, why are you withholding those then if theyre of non-consequence?

[Silence.]

StevensonA: Good question.

Morris: Well

Hauth: Eric

Morris: Well, Randy, I think the thing you have to think about with our program, too

Hauth: No, I Please please answer the question.

Morris: Im gonna answer the question. Theres very little to motivate people to cooperate in any of this stuff. Now, and thats Im not accusing anybody of that, but if we just say, Hey, we really need to work this out and, you know, come to an agreement and get this sorted out based on your records and our records a lot of people blow that off. And, so thats thats the way the process is running this year.

Hauth: Yeah, its been non-inclusive and, you know, thats I mean, youre

Gordon: Running or dictating?

Hauth: talking out both sides of your mouth, saying, Hey, lookit, the operating doesnt matter the operating agreement doesnt matter because people are still working. However, it does matter cause were holding it hostage until we make these people pay their bills. And clearly, the agency has dropped the ball when youre saying that people owe from 2011, 2014. Wouldnt it be more sensible to issue the agreements like Commissioner Moore had questioned or suggested or talked about? Wouldnt it be more sensible to make sure that people have their operating agreement? Because theyre supposed to be operating under an operating agreement in compliance with the with the rules of our program, state statutes, and so forth. So wouldnt that be more sensible and then take admission for dropping the ball and saying, Lookit, lets work this out together. Heres the records, lets see your records, work through that case-by-case, instead of holding that over peoples head like a hammer? Wouldnt that be a more sensible way?

Morris: I dont believe so.

Jaynes: Chairman Hauth, may I say something briefly?

StevensonA: Chair Hauth?

Hauth: Yes, Lin.

Jaynes: I just want to say that that, you know, this is a this is a very difficult position everyones in. But, you know, I personally do not believe that The managers that Ive met are professional business people, you know, theyre not deadbeats. I think they just simply want an accounting, to make sure that what the agency showing and what theyre showing are the same thing. I dont buy that you have to hold something over someone to get them to pay their bills. Were not children, were not deadbeats. Most of us have credit, own homes, are taxpayers. So, had I know about this, had I received a notification about this This is six years ago and if Id received any information about it I wouldve paid it. This is my job and my livelihood. Why would I threaten my only livelihood? Look at it logically. You dont have to hold something over someones head. This is what they pay their bills with. We lose our jobs, folks, at most of our ages, we cant get another job. So we definitely wouldve paid this, had we known about it, had the agency notified us. I wouldnt go through this kind of stress for any amount of money. Id go borrow it if I had to. So, no, I dont agree with that particular statement.

Hauth: So before we before we adjourn this meeting I do want to hear from Eric. Eric, what what premise do you withhold these peoples operating agreements under?

Morris: Randy, I think Ive explained myself pretty well to this point.

Hauth: Well, please tell me specifically, and those on the line who youre withholding their operating agreements, what legal premise you do that under.

Morris: I I cant quote a legal premise, Randy.

Hauth: So how do you make that decision?

[Silence.]

Morris: I dont know if I have a good answer for you. Thats the process were following.

Hauth: Who? When you say we when you say we

Morris: The agency.

Gordon: Oh, brother. You mean Dacia Johnson.

Hauth: Okay. So, anyway, is there anybody else that would like to comment before we adjourn this meeting and begin the new?

Bird: Jerry Bird. One quick one.

Hauth: Yeah, Jerry.

Bird: I just wanted to say a common denominator here is set-aside. I agree, you know, it is a mandated thing we all should pay and I agree with everything. However, when you look at our our RSA-15 Report, all of our set-aside does not go to any of the blind people. The agency spends it on themselves. Therefore, this is our money. Therefore, I wonder about the need for set-aside. Thank you.

Hauth: Thank you, Jerry. I would like to have a motion to adjourn this meeting. Do I have a motion to adjourn?

StevensonA: I so move.

Hauth: Okay. Second?

Bird: Second.

Hauth: Okay. Yay or nay, Jerry Bird.

Bird: Yes.

Hauth: Art Stevenson.

StevensonA: Yeah.

Hauth: Steve Jackson.

Jackson: Yes.

Hauth: Steve Gordon. [Silence.] Steve Gordon.

Gordon: Yes.

Hauth: And I as well. Okay. Were going to move into the next meeting. And I know this is going to be about three hours of meeting but, you know what? Obviously, you just heard from the testimony of people who this is negatively impacting their lives. So you heard the heart-wrenching stories so, obviously, it was an important meeting and I was honored to call that meeting for those who requested it.

[00:58:24]

[The regular B.E.C.C. meeting will be transcribed as a separate document.]

Transcription: Mark Riesmeyer