Summary of George Rauscher’s Presentation at LMCC’s August 12, 2009 meeting.

You can also download his presentation as an audio file by clicking on this link. (6mb)

Sutton CC took a vote to accept money, not a grant that needed to be applied for. The Palin
administration gave communities $20,200 from Revenue Sharing funds. Filled in application for
nonprofit incorporation, decided who would be initiators. Filled in $50 paperwork for
incorporation, gathered ideas on how to spend the money.

Entire community can come to meetings, vote on half directors each year.

People wrote in and shared ideas, eliminated those that cost too much. Eight projects totaled
less than $20,200. Community voted to do each project and assigned a council member to be
in charge of each project. Cost of materials/labor estimates were obtained.

Process: Write letter to the borough and say you are incorporated and give the number. Wait
a few weeks. Borough comptroller Elizabeth Hartley will call and let you know your contract is
ready. You get the money in a lump sum.

They didn’t really care what we did with the money. These funds are for what your community
thought would benefit from the money.

Sutton Projects: Disc golf course, snow thrower for ice rink, re-seal hockey rink, neighborhood
watch program, Alpine historical park locks & road renovations, community hall renovation.
Once projects had dollar amount and a project manager, the itemized list, do the project, keep
the receipts that really went to tangible items, turn into borough and that’s all that we did.
If you have any questions, I’m not selling anything, I’m just sharing our experience.

Q: Is your community council still the community council, you didn’t create another
organization?
A: No the organization is the same, exact same directors and the only difference is that the
community council is now recognized by the State. The only thing you have to do is to turn in a
paper about your directors every two years. They need to know who to contact, who is
responsible. I put my name down, with approval. Nothing has changed in our community. We
did put some provisions in our incorporation—only voting shares, not monetary shares, and only
for the betterment of the community.

Q: You have special language especially not monetary?
A: In most corporations directors have shares, we decided we have only voting shares. People
who are voting from board don’t have ownership.

Q: Concern about adding another layer of government, additional paperwork?
A: No extra layer, we still do the same things. Getting it rolling takes a little time. It’s not
difficult. We were apprehensive at first. We asked others how they did it. Within about 4 days
we knew what we were doing. We filled out the form, got our number from the state then we
got our list of projects, and money.

Q: Would these projects get done faster than at the borough?
A: No.

Q: Is youriIce rink, part of school?
A: Work wasn’t getting done under NANA contract. When NANA left they took all the
equipment. Boro had sold our earlier equipment because it would be supplied by NANA. When
NANA left the equipment left. Ice rink is on school property, but it is not maintained by the
borough. Insured but not maintained.

Q: You already had needs that were not met by either volunteer or other government agency?
A: We are not a municipality.

Q: Why would you want to do this [incoroporation] instead of a municipality?
A: A municipality has to be self-sustaining. The number of people in Sutton couldn’t be self-
sustaining.

Q: If you can do an LCC, why would you go thru all the city bureaucracy, why would anyone
would be a town instead of an LCC? We’re residential here.
A: We cover Moose Creek to King’s River. We are a nonprofit corporation. An LCC would be
what a business would be.

Q: Main purpose of your incorporation is to take this State money?
A: We can channel any state money, not just the Revenue Sharing. We just have to report to
the state every two years and to the boro what we spent the Revenue Sharing funds on.

Q: Board has fiduciary responsibility, community votes, but you [the board] are ultimately
responsible?
A: Ultimately if the community doesn’t like what you’re doing you may be gone in two years.
But our community has regular elections. We invite the community and their input. People can
write letters emails, and public comments if they don’t want to talk with us. Then we use
majority rule at our community council.

Q: So you really haven’t changed anything?
A: No we have not changed a thing. It’s been working since 1959.

Q: Organizations like this form as nonprofit incorporations to limit liability?
A: All we do is take money and disburse it to projects, we aren’t a holding company.

Q: No board of directors insurance?
A: No we haven’t looked into that, we don’t make those kinds of mistakes because we are
aware of what we are doing. It holds you to some accountability when there’s no insurance out
there. If you’re in it for the community, you’ll be fine. We take accurate minutes, document
things and talk to everyone.

Q: Concerned about “free money” as reason to incorporate, what are strings?
A: It’s really slam dunk, it’s for your community. The borough isn’t making any money on this
they just want to get the money out the door for your community project. The borough is making
interest on your money if you aren’t using it. Once we got the money we’re making interest on
our money.
Extensions can be requested, as well as changes to contract. These are given to all
communities in the state not just us.

Q: State money that goes through the borough?
A: Yes, then you have to be incorporated/recognized by the State to received the pass through
funds.

Q: We are mostly residents. There are other ways for us to look at this in terms of fire
prevention or other community needs.
Q: Any thing to add?
A: There may be more money in this program. May not be the same amount. There may be
more money for communities to use.