A couple meetings ago Jim, Craig, Jon, and I were discussing how to go about spending Hive funds to purchase tools for the Hive. The conversation was sparked for a number of reasons; We need to replace the Tenma soldering station, it would be nice to have Hive supplies provided by the Hive (Solder, screws, nuts bolts, LEDs, paper towels, etc…) and finally we have funds available to purchase new tools. We also want to make sure that everyone is involved and informed of the purchases before we commit group funds, however we do not want to be too bogged down in bureaucracy when looking to buy new tools for the space.
The procedure we are proposing is as follows:
Person A decides they want to buy item X.
Person A emails the mailing list at least a couple of days before the next Tuesday meeting, describing or linking to the item they want to purchase.
At the next Tuesday meeting members present can discuss the purchase and perform a simple majority vote on the procurement of the item.
If the item is approved, Person A can purchase the item and submit their receipt to the Treasurer (Craig) for re-embursement.
The COO could also be given a monthly budget to procure common supplies (Solder, screws, nuts, bolts, LEDs, Paper Towels)
Does this sound acceptable to everyone? Any suggestions?
I think we need to go one step further. Specifically, what I mean is that we should agree on “services” that the Hive wants to keep and maintain available at the space. We would need to keep a list of these, probably on the wiki. An example of a “Service” would be a desoldering and soldering station. Once it is agreed on that this is a service that the Hive will have, the COO/other officers have discretionary spending up to a limit($250?) in order to keep this service operational. Larger expenses (say, the laser cutter catches fire and melts) would still need membership discussion and approval. Spending can be accomplished by either a PO request to the treasurer or a reimbursement request to the treasurer, of course along with documentation about the service being repaired.
I’ve been spending a lot of my own/my company money on hive stuff lately. I’m not angry about this, but it’s not going to continue at current spending levels forever. There needs to be streamlined procedures for keeping services that we deem to be important functioning. The hive is no longer scraping by to pay its bills. Let’s try to turn the corner and maintain the site’s usefulness so that we can attract more people interested in getting stuff done instead of frustrating people with a bunch of half working equipment and poorly stocked supplies.
This model would work for things that fall under the CTO’s jurisdiction as well as the COO. For example, the hive is almost out of CAT5/CAT6 UTP cable. There is ONE jack end for terminating connections left that I can find. In order to run any more drops we’re going to need more jacks and (soon) more cable. I’ll probably just end up buying what we need and donating it (next fiscal year) but it would still be nice to have a procedure in place for me to get reimbursed for these “routine” expenses.
Having “available network connections” as a service that we offer at the hive and implementing my suggestion would cover this, as well as the soldering station issues Paul has highlighted.
I agree with Dave on the idea of suggesting a “service” we would like to see implemented and not necessarily picking out specific model numbers to be voted on. If I suggested that we should have a sheet metal shear and brake to cut out and form simple project enclosures, I don’t know that I could pick out a particular model or that the people voting on it would have any input as to whether it was a good/bad model to purchase. Is there a dedicated person(s) that that responsibility would fall to? If a service gets voted in, they would research and purchase a particular model or present 2-3 to be voted on by the membership? Basically instead of relying on whatever I think is a good model, we rely on the person we voted in as a whole to do the due diligence of researching a procuring the items needed to provide the “service.”
Although I like you taking my idea and running with it, I was envisioning the “service” concept to be applied more towards the maintenance and supplies for existing equipment at the hive. I think we really, really, really need to expedite and streamline the process for keeping what we already have and have decided is important to the space operational.
I feel that the acquisition of new equipment should remain under more serious review and discussion rather than be extremely streamlined, per my suggestion.
Side note: I think a brake/shear would be awesome to have. If we wanted to approve getting one and then give someone knowledgeable discretionary budget to do so, I’d be fine with that. I still think that new acquisitions need to have a more thorough discussion and review process.
Person A emails the mailing list at least a couple of days before the next Tuesday meeting, describing or linking to the item they want to purchase.
At the next Tuesday meeting members present can discuss the purchase and perform a simple majority vote on the procurement of the item.
If the item is approved, Person A can purchase the item and submit their receipt to the Treasurer (Craig) for re-embursement.
The COO is allocated $100/mo to purchase things for the hive. This is in addition to soda purchases. And can cover solder, network jacks, basic tools, arduinos, etc. Up to the COO to discretion and budget according to the immediate needs of the space.
Any item over $250 goes to the mailing list and is up for a full vote. We can make exceptions for known upcoming expenses such as the laser tube, since the model for that service is self-fulfilling (we charge minutes to cover these known expenses). So there is no need for a waiting/voting period on those repairs unless the laser cutter is totally fubared and a new one needs to be purchased.
I would say it is also fair game to use the $250 rules to buy something a bit more expensive if you wish to cover the cost yourself. For instance if you want want to buy something that is $300 you can go with the quick vote rules if you are donating $50 yourself or people have pitched in the difference.
I will dissent and still insist that we should move towards a model where the COO/CTO/officers can replace/repair existing equipment deemed to be a necessary service without any vote, up to a certain dollar value.
-Dave B.
I completely agree that we don’t need to vote on buying toilet paper, soldier, or other daily essentials that we need for the hive to run properly. An idea for COO (who would maintain these supplies) is at the end of the month, it would be nice to send out an email with a spreadsheet or a breakdown of the items bought with a total price for the month.
As far as buying new equiptment or other items NOT necessary for operations or convenience (such as screws, paper, saw blades, etc) with hive funds should have to go through a simple process such as the one described already.
I would think the COO could also buy those basic supplies as well: screws, paper, saw blades, etc. It’s not really equipment and I would think people in the shop would just request these items of the COO and it is the COO’s job to know what people need. A spreadsheet is fine but it’s extra work for the COO. I’m also OK with the concept of rolling over money. Say if only $75 bucks was spent one month then the additional $25 could be used for the following month. It’s just considered a monthly expense for the Hive and something that the COO can handle themselves. The COO ideally is intimately involved with the space and the spaces needs so it makes sense to me that they would also have responsibility over this budget item.
If we wanted to approve getting one and then give someone knowledgeable discretionary budget to do so, I’d be fine with that. I still think that new acquisitions need to have a more thorough discussion and review process.