PROCEEDINGS GRAND LODGE - Freemasons of Wisconsin

job of Secretary. They only had about two people come to meetings. We had to jumpstartit somewhere so I took Secretary. I discovered that they hadn’t sent out duesnotices in four years. In fact, we are still paying per capita tax on a couple of dead guy,because nobody has kept tract of where they are. There was no systematic collectionof dues, it was very lackadaisical. Dues have not kept up with inflation. I want to askyou, did anyone here come by horse and buggy? So you all came by vehicle, right. Didyou notice that gas cost more this year than last year? Your heating bill went up,everything has gone up. Our dues must reflect that inflation because we are notimmune from it. It’s unfortunate but our membership understands. There is a wayof handling dues increase that keeps your members. It is called small increments andregular increases with explanation. But you have to raise because we are not livingin the 1950s, Things cost a whole lot more, in fact, if there is no budget, there is nofinancial planning.”The solution is to develop a plan, develop a dues structure, and put together abalanced budget. A balance budget means we have an idea what it is going to cost usfor the year and we live within our means. Too many lodges that I go to have the ideathat looking means making sure that they can meet next month. If you are notplanning ahead for repairs on your building, you are going to hurt. Eventually youare going to have to replace the roof, heating system, plumbing, and carpet. Evenrobes need replacing. We have too many of our lodges that have robes that are 100years old and are literally falling apart because of age and usage. Those things mustbe replaced over time.”The hidden money is more of a problem because the members become lazy, theydon’t want anybody coming into the organization to spend it they are distrustful ofone another or nobody knows it’s there. Let me tell you something else that you shouldbe aware of, if you have not done a complete audit, you better be doing it. I have beenin ministry now for about 16 years. In the Methodist Church I was a Bishop’s troubleshooter.I went into churches in trouble and have dealt with four embezzlingtreasurers in a twelve-year period. In masonry we have had similar problems, in fact,I have run across in one jurisdiction, two Past Grands who were embezzling fromtheir own organizations. One of them, who is in trouble with the law, and of the threesigners for the stocks and bonds, the other two were dead. He was the only signer, sohe cashed them out, $30,000 worth and took off for Mexico to hide from the law. Theywere bonded. They got $5,000 from the bonding company. They are out $25,000 andthey will never get it back because they will never prosecute him. He died of leadpoisoning about a year ago. He got down to Nicaragua and at the wrong end of amachine gun. Another one, she got laid-off from her job and they had lots of moneyin this particular organization and so she simply took a loan. The only way theydiscovered it was when they wrote a check to the DeMolay for $100, the check bounced.They thought they had $18,000, but they only had $3.22. That could happen and ifyou are not auditing every year then at a dying organization that is where these typesof problems crop up. If I am a treasurer, I want to be audited every year. Why? So noone can ever point a finger at me and say that I stole something. An audit protects allthe members. It’s important and it’s important that you know what your finances areand where things are at.”Another problem that I ran into is that all of these CDs and stocks are kept insomeone’s personal safe at home. No! Put them in a safe-deposit box because membersdie. We’ve had situations where a man dies and his wife did not like the Masons. Shecalls up and says you have a half an hour to get the stuff because it is on the street84