BCS Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the Board for Communication Services provide a valuable background for the abrupt cancellation of Issues, Etc.  In the minutes of the November 17-18, 2007 meeting, the following report was issued by KFUO Financial Oversight Committee:

D. Report - KFUO Financial Oversight Committee - Garbe
The committee provided a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of the current status of the station’s financial condition (distributed at the meeting and appended to the protocol copy of the minutes). Report handouts included a historical overview of KFUO; a list of recent relevant studies and reports; the financial picture of the station in Feb. 2006; a progress report (Nov. 2007) from the station manager; the Jan. 2007 report of the KFUO Operational Audit Committee; a spread sheet providing financial comparisons of the station’s condition with and without the G&A and LCMS Foundation development obligations imposed in 2001. It was also noted that FM ad revenue, while recently rising steadily, has not yet fully recovered from the decrease that followed the events of 9/11/2001.

Discussion: How does one quantify the benefits of one ministry of the church vis a vis the benefits of other ministries? While some question continuing support of KFUO as a responsible use of available resources, radio ministry remains an effective means of proclamation and communication to the church’s publics, if one can judge by the number of religious stations and the interest expressed in the KFUO license. 

The underlying financial conditions resulting from the imposition of G&A and development charges persist. Although these charges have negatively affected KFUO operations, there have been some salutary effects in that the BCS and KFUO staff have been able to identify specific operational issues and economies that needed to be addressed in one way or another and have been dealing with them.

The committee states what has been repeatedly pointed out here, that KFUO is burdened with excessive general and administrative costs and development charges from the LCMS Foundation.  To underscore this fact, the committee prepared a spread sheet comparing KFUO financials "with and without the G&A and LCMS Foundation development obligations imposed in 2001."  It is clear that the BCS was quite concerned over the drain on KFUO resources by the Synod as a major contributing factor to KFUO's financial problems.

Later in the same meeting, the future of KFUO was discussed by the subcommittee on KFUO intervention:

Report - Subcommittee on KFUO Intervention - K.Vogts, J. Bush, C. Mueller
K. Vogts presented the current KFUO financial picture and action alternatives. Ca. 70% of KFUO’s budgeted expenditures relates to personnel (salary and benefits - 53%, synodical G&A assessments - 8%) and fund raising costs - 9%. The remaining 30% includes many relatively fixed costs, e.g, royalties, tower operation, utilities. The consensus of the committee is that little can be done to reduce expenditures in the current fiscal year. For example, any reductions in staff might be offset by severance packages. Flexible lines have already been adjusted down.

Revenue increases, however, have shown some favorable trends. Six alternative scenarios were presented, involving various combinations of the following, each with advantages and disadvantages: BCS continues to operate AM and FM; synodical subsidy continues; sell or lease FM license and use interest / revenue to subsidize AM; BCS (Synod) and Concordia Seminary jointly operate AM, i.e., seminary operates / Synod owns; sell FM and use earnings to subsidize AM and other communications efforts.

Consensus: No later than its next meeting, the board must be ready to propose a specific plan for fiscal year 2009. The chairman scheduled a brainstorming session on the matter for the next session.

Three items are noteworthy from this summary.  First, the synodical overhead and LCMS Foundation charges amounted to 17% of the total KFUO budget.  Second, the committee recognized that staff reductions would not have an impact in the current fiscal year due to severance packages which would offset any savings.  Third, six alternative scenarios to improve KFUO's financial condition were presented, including the sale of KFUO-FM to subsidize KFUO-AM.  Joint ventures with the St. Louis seminary were also proposed.  What was not proposed was cutting programming, specifically Issues, Etc.

The cancellation of Issues, Etc. for financial reasons was clearly not on the BCS table in November 2007.  At its next meeting in February 4-5, 2008, the BCS discussed KFUO in anticipation of an upcoming meeting with the synod's Board of Directors.  The BCS reached the following consensus points:

The BCS supports continuing
1. the 5-year moratorium on any talk of the sale of KFUO AM or FM radio licenses.*
2. discussion with Concordia Seminary regarding taking over the operation of the stations
3. the operation of KFUO AM & FM with the intent of providing radio ministry at little or no cost to the synod

Again, there is no mention of Issues, Etc or any other programming or personnel changes.  The general goal of operating KFUO at little or no cost to the synod is on the table, but this is an item for discussion with the BoD, not an item for action.

The available minutes of the BCS would indicate that the decision to cancel Issues, Etc. for financial reasons was made entirely outside the BCS, even though the BCS had subcommittees dealing with the viability of KFUO.  The question to ask is this:  What is the point of having synodical committees and subcommittees, and serving on them, when decisions are made unilaterally behind the back of the very boards and committees who are working to exercise oversight and provide workable solutions?  The unilateral action of the Executive Director in canceling Issues, Etc. for financial reasons subverts the purpose and effectiveness, if not the authority, of the Board for Communication Services.

Comments

[Adam E.]

The Synodical leadership doesn't recognize the any authority of its boards, so let's just do away with all of the boards and committees. Think of all the money Synod will save once we do away with the costs associated with having boards and committees meet. Let the President rule like a king and the LCMS will be a cost efficient well oiled machine. Of coarse if the king goes bad the Synod may end up in trouble, but the individual congregations aren't really subject to the king anyway so what does it matter? At least they aren't subject to a king yet.

[invinoveritas]

The truth is, the four-vote, Jesus First majority on the current B.C.S. is main reason David Strand knew that he would be able to get away with unilaterally canceling Issues and firing Wilken & Schwarz.

Strand acted, knowing that the majority of his own board would not hold him accountable. And he was right.

When a director of a synodical board can act unilaterally, knowing that his own board will look the other way, unaccountability has become part of the synodical culture.

It is bureaucracy at its worst.

Unaccountability is now, in Strand's parlance, the synod's way of doing "business."