[nfbmi-talk] Questions About MCB Board Correspondence

Wed Sep 1 18:43:32 UTC 2010

Elizabeth,
I think that your supposition is right on.  
 I would imagine that, if your correspondence is addressed to Pat Cannon,
then Sue Luzenski sees it and logs it in as an official Board
correspondence.  It would also be proper for members of the Board to forward
or copy their correspondence to this same Board support person but again,
that person most certainly should not be the executive secretary for the
Commission Director.  

So what is the answer?  
Well, you could send a letter to the Commission Chair, indicating that you
would like to be able to send some correspondence directly to members of the
Board, and/or to her as Chair of that board, without the necessity of
copying the current MCB Director.  You could go on to say that at the
present time, it appears that whenever you do this, your communication does
not go on to become part of the official board correspondence.  You could
then respectfully request that, henceforth, any and all correspondence that
is received by the Chair of the Board and/or any member's) should become
part of the official record of Board correspondence, as is the case with any
Board or Commission.  

This would be worth a try.  You could send a CC to the other 4 members of
the Board just as further emphasis.   

Warm Regards,
Christine

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 9:17 PM
To: NFB Michigan
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Questions About MCB Board Correspondence

Hello Christine,

It is this checks and balances thing that has me a bit concerned. I noticed
that during the Commission meeting that they acknowledged the email that was
sent as part of the college policy committee including Pat Cannon as Board
correspondence. However, none of the other emails that were exchanged as
part of this committee were designated as Board correspondence, nor was the
official Board correspondence that I sent strictly to the Commission Board. 

I found it rather odd that the Board was willing to acknowledge an email I
sent just a few short days prior to the meeting, and yet at the same time
they failed to acknowledge and email I sent just a few days after the March
meeting. Then it dawned on me as to why this may have taken place. It seems
to me that when I send Board correspondence strictly to the Board then it is
not recognized at the meeting. However, if Pat Cannon is included as a
recipient of the correspondence, then it is recognized at the meeting. I
believe this observation could serve as evidence that Pat Cannon is
undermining the integrity of the Commission Board.

Elizabeth

 > From: Christine_Boone at comcast.net
> To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:28:48 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Questions About MCB Board Correspondence
> 
> Elizabeth,
> Board correspondence is most certainly public record. 
> It should be kept on file in a dedicated filing cabinet (accessible by 
> the Board Chair, other Board members and the Agency staff person who 
> serves as support staff for the Board.
> Note, the staff support person for the Board of Commissioners should 
> most certainly Not be the same staff person who acts as executive 
> assistant to the director. This situation effectively overshadows any 
> checks and balances that are presumed to be put in place by the Board 
> of Commissioners who are supposed to monitor and evaluate the performance
of the Director.
> 
> After 3 years, the Board's files can be put into more permanent 
> storage if necessary for space concerns. However, it is best if they 
> can continue to be accessible for a full 7 years, which is the period 
> required by state law for the maintenance of state files.
> 
> This is general information that is consistent with sound business
practice.
> I am sure that there is some more precise information contained in 
> state administrative statutes somewhere. It is just that my poor old 
> computer is having a very hard time managing the big wide world of the 
> internet lately, so this is the best I can do for now.
> 
> Christine
> From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Elizabeth
> Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 10:41 AM
> To: NFB Michigan
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Questions About MCB Board Correspondence
> 
> 
> Hello List,
> 
> Does anyone know what rules, regulations, or laws speak on the issue 
> about the Board correspondence that is acknowledged during the 
> Commission Board meeting, or where I might be able to find such rules, 
> regulations, and laws regarding Board correspondence? I have noticed 
> something interesting regarding Board correspondence, and I would like 
> to know what any rules, regulations, or laws have to say about this issue.
> 
> Also, does anyone know if Board correspondence is public record and 
> could be obtained through a Freedom of Information request? If Board 
> correspondence is a matter of public record, then it is possible that 
> I might be interested in obtaining copies of this correspondence as it 
> was sent to the Commission Board. I do not wish to share my 
> observations publicly at this point in time, but I am interested to know
what others have to say on this matter.
> 
> Thanks,
> Elizabeth
> 
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