* Individual MCC houses may also borrow money from MCC. These loans will have a specific decision-making/loan approval process. These loans will be classified as "miscellaneous loans" to be specifically used to enhance the operation or long-term livability of an MCC house through specific house projects or home improvements. * All individual house loans are to be decided by the Finance Committee after the house has approved the loan and project/improvement at their own house meeting. * The Finance Committee shall be provided a copy of the current year-to-date financial statements (Balance Sheet and Income and Expense Statements); a copy of the current yearﾒs operational budget; actual monthly cash flow projections; and the last few bank statements. The purpose of this information is to evaluate if a house can afford the additional cash outlay of making loan payments. If the Finance Committee doesnﾒt approve a loan, then they should provide the house with specific information on what is required to approve a loan request in the future. * The Finance Committee may send house project or home improvement ideas to the Maintenance Committee for their approval before deciding on a house loan. * House loans are to be limited to one MCC house payment (larger houses should be able to afford larger loan amounts). Specific Loan amounts and their repayment schedules shall be determined at the Finance Committee meeting. * Loan payments will be billed directly through the MCC monthly house billing sheets. Loan payments will be due at the same date the houseﾒs monthly billing payment is due. Loans shall be repaid within one to two years. * The house borrowing the money agrees to reimburse MCC the principal, any interest charges and any staff time needed to prepare and make the loan. The Finance Coordinator will decide if the loan will be made from current cash reserves or if moneys should be borrowed from our line of credit. The interest rate to be charged the houses is defined as the interest rate MCC would have earned if the moneys remained in cash reserves. * MCC will not lend more than $18,000 per year under this category of loans. This amount should be shared as much as possible amongst all houses. Loans shall be decided in the order they arrive to the Finance Committee

The Finance Committee, the Board of Directors and the General Membership shall receive the following information along with a proposed MCC budget.

1) Current vacancies and averaged vacancies beginning on august 15 of the previous year to current, compared with a 5% vacancy expense and what the house budgeted for vacancies. 2) Current past member debt and expected bad debt to the house in dollar amount and as a percentage of average room charges. 3) Last three months average of total accounts receivable/current from current members as compared to the houseﾒs MCC payment. 4) An assessment of any other problems in house operations that constitute a clear qualifier on MCCﾒs apparent financial health at the cusp of the fiscal year, including budget overruns.

This information shall be compiled in a timely way by the Treasurer and Finance Coordinator for the Finance Committee, and approved by the Finance Committee as it forms its projections for the upcoming fiscal year.

o Our first response to groups wishing to borrow money will be to suggest they consider working with existing groups that specialize in making loans to co-ops, like the National Cooperative Bank and the North Country Development Fund. MCC will ask groups for documentation of rejection for loans from traditional lenders.

o MCC will provide a basic information sheet that tells interested groups what information we want in order to process this loan, what the decision-making/loan approval process is like, what costs are likely to be, including the requested rate of interest.

o MCC has two categories of loans--Real Estate and Miscellaneous--which will be treated differently in terms of collateral, interest, etc. Furthermore, MCC will never have more than 15% of its equity loaned out at any time and will loan only to other cooperatives: A) Real Estate Loans: o A loan for the purchase or partial purchase of a co-op house. o Must be secured by a first lien on a property of at least equivalent value to the one being purchased. o Loan is not to exceed 70% of the appraised value of the collateral. * The co-op must be inclusive. To receive a loan of $5,000 or more, unless in special circumstances when the Board waives this requirement, the co-op must sign an agreement that, through the life of the loan, there will be included in their bylaws (or superior governing rules) the following assurances: "(co-op name) will enact a plan to be affordable compared to the rents and inclusive compared to the diversity of city ("region" if in a rural area), act persistently on the plan, and take actions to ensure that people of color and low income persons are included as co-op members." o MCC will charge the borrower one point above the weighted average of MCCﾒs aggregate debt (i.e. one percentage point above the average interest rate we pay to our banks). If the housing is in Wisconsin or in a neighborhood made up of high numbers of people in a group that is underrepresented in co-ops, MCC may choose to charge the borrower equal to the weighted average of MCCﾒs aggregate debt. * The borrower agrees that, if MCC should ever be informed that the assurance of inclusiveness or another loan condition has been violated by the borrower then, at MCCﾒs discretion, the borrowerﾒs rate increases to two or three points above the weighted average of MCCﾒs aggregate debt for the life of the loan. B) Miscellaneous Loans: o A loan for the purchase of miscellaneous items to enhance the operation of a cooperative. o MCC will not lend more that $10,000 per year under this category. o Must be secured by collateral valued at least two thirds of the amount of the loan. o MCC will charge the borrower three points above the weighted average of MCCﾒs aggregate debt.

o The group borrowing the money agrees at the time of the formal loan request that they will reimburse MCC for all title/financing statement searches and filing fees, and all legal costs associated with preparing and making the loan, even if the loan is not made.

o The group borrowing the money agrees to reimburse us for the staff time needed to prepare and make the loan, at current staff salaries (on an hourly basis), even if the loan is not made.

o That MCC not make any loan without properly secured collateral (collateral has no prior liens against it, or if so, there exists a clear 'interest', or portion of the collateral that we can use to secure our loan.)

o The borrower will pay for all work needed to establish and insure that they have a clear and unencumbered interest in the property that they offer as collateral: title searches and/or title insurance, other research necessary to establish that no prior claims (e.g. financing statements) have been made against their property.

o That MCC will always file a Financing Statement, or register the mortgage, which specifies the collateral securing the loan, with the County and State, as is appropriate, within 5 days of closing the loan.

Outline of Loan Making Process (time estimates given are minimums)

Work To Be Done: Who Does It Time Needed

Preliminary Evaluation of Loan App. Fin. Coord. and Treas. 1-2 weeks

Consideration by MCC Finance Comm. Fin. Comm. 2 meetings

Final Approval by Board MCC Board 1 meeting

Information We'd Like to Have From "Established" Groups (those which have been around for 3 years or more)

First, we'd like to ask you a few questions about who you are: your quest (mission or purpose as an organization), how you are organized, and why you would like to borrow money from us:

o Name of your group, what you do, how you are organized (partnership, cooperative corporation, etc.). In particular, we'd like to know how your group makes decisions in general, who makes financial decisions in your group, and what person or legal entity will be liable for the loan? o Primary contact person for your group in the loan process. o Your loan request (how much do you want to borrow, when would you begin making payments, what rate of interest would you like to pay). o Why do you need the loan? If this is for a cash flow problem, what do you think caused the problem (is it seasonal, do you expect it to recur? What plans do you have to prevent this problem from happening again?) If you will use the money to finance a major equipment purchase or other long-term capital improvement, how long will it take for this expenditure to pay for itself in savings (payback period)? o What alternatives do you have for borrowing this money (what other groups have you already contacted? What interest have they shown in making a loan? Would you mind if we contact them? What other groups do you plan to talk to? o What would the consequences for you be if MCC decided not to loan? o How soon do you need to have this money? Are there any dire consequences if you don't get it by then? o After reading over our expectations of you in the loan process, including costs you'd have to cover, the information we need to make a decision, and the time it will take for various groups to consider your request, do you have any questions or concerns you'd like to share? Does the timeframe we've outlined for MCC's process seem reasonable to you? And now, we'd like to get some cold, hard numbers from you: o Previous 3 years year-end Financial Statements (Balance Sheets and Income and Expense Statements) o Most recent quarter's Financial Statements - if different from most recent year-end statement. o Current year's Operating Budget (with supporting schedules, if any, e.g. Sales/Income Projections, Accounts Receivable Projections) o Cash flow projections (on monthly/quarterly basis) for the coming year, including loan payments you propose to make the MCC and any other new financial obligations upcoming. o What collateral you propose to give for the loan, including whether it currently secures any other loans and your estimate of the market value of the collateral (include how you arrived at your valuation). o Do you currently have any other loans you are paying off? If you don't mind my asking, who are those loans from? How are those loans secured? Do you mind if we speak to the folks who made those loans to you?

Information We'd Like to Have From New Groups (Less than 3 Years Old)

First, we'd like to ask you a few questions about who you are: your quest (mission or purpose as an organization), how you are organized, and why you would like to borrow money from us:

o Name of your group, what you do, how you are organized (partnership, cooperative corporation, etc.). In particular, we'd like to know how your group makes decisions in general, who makes financial decisions in your group, and what person or legal entity will be liable for the loan? o Primary contact person for your group in the loan process. o Your loan request (how much do you want to borrow, when would you begin making payments, what rate of interest would you like to pay). o Why do you need the loan? If this is for a cash flow problem, what do you think caused the problem (is it seasonal, do you expect it to recur? What plans do you have to prevent this problem from happening again?) o If you will use the money to finance a major equipment purchase or other long-term capital improvement, how long will it take for this expenditure to pay for itself in savings (payback period)? o What alternatives do you have for borrowing this money (what other groups have you already contacted? What interest have they shown in making a loan? Would you mind if we contact them? What other groups do you plan to talk to? o What would the consequences for you be if MCC decided not to loan? o How soon do you need to have this money? Are there any dire consequences if you don't get it by then? o After reading over our expectations of you in the loan process, including costs you'd have to cover, the information we need to make a decision, and the time it will take for various groups to consider your request, do you have any questions or concerns you'd like to share? Does the timeframe we've outlined for MCC's process seem reasonable to you?

Since you are a new, or relatively new business, we'd like to see:

o A copy of your Business Plan, including: Financing plan (all sources of funds, how much from each). How much money will folks involved in the business be putting up personally? If any, what kind of financial return will they be getting from the business? Resumes of folks in your group, outlining previous experience in running this kind of an operation. Management Plan, how will you structure and run the work of the business? Who will be the boss(es) and supervisor(s)? How will day-to-day decisions of running the business be made? Who will oversee the financial health of the business? If this person is not the same, who will keep the books? Who will our continuing contact within the organization be? Break-even analysis (at what point in time you think you'll start to make a profit/surplus).

Marketing plan (who will your customers be? What important sub-groups, or market segments make up your potential clientele? Include the results of a market survey, if one was done.) What products/services will you provide? How much will each product/service contribute to your overall margin? If the sub-groups that make up your target market differ significantly, how is your plan tailored to effectively serve them all simultaneously?

Advertising plan (how will you reach your intended members/customers to tell them about yourselves). If the sub-groups that make up your target market differ significantly, how is your plan tailored to effectively reach each one of them?

If you have already opened for business, would you briefly tell us how things are going. Are they proceeding according to plan? Will you have to make substantial modifications in the plans? Financial Information We'd Like to See:

o Previous 2 years year-end Financial Statements - or fewer, if you haven't been around that long. Include Balance Sheets and Income and Expense Statements. o Most recent quarter's Financial Statements - if different from most recent year-end statement. o Current year's Operating Budget and Capital Budget; include a projection for the year to follow if you have been in business for less than 2 years. Include supporting schedules, if any, e.g. Sales/Income Projections, Accounts Receivable Projections, employee compensation plans with projected pay and raises, etc.) o Cash flow projections for the current year on a monthly basis; give same on a quarterly basis for the year following if you have been open for business for less than 2 years. Include loan payments you propose to make to MCC and any other new financial obligations upcoming such as Bond Repayments, etc. o What collateral you propose to give for the loan, including whether it currently secures any other loans and your estimate of the market value of the collateral (include how you arrived at your valuation). o Do you currently have any other loans you are paying off? If you don't mind my asking, who are those loans from? How are those loans secured? Is it possible to speak to the folks who make those loans to you?

(MCC level only, not house treasury )

10-18-95 Composition of Finance Committee: All houses are required to send a representative to the Finance Committee.

4-9-86 Motion passed to divest MCC funds from Merrill Lynch.

6-15-88 Security Deposits: Increase the MCC deposit to $150 effective now for new members and as old members renew.

8/2395 Increase the MCC deposit to $200 for new members. Renewing members stay at $150. Begins summer of 1996.

4-26-78 The MCC Finance Committee is responsible for establishing house financial standards, for regularly reviewing house books, and for reporting to the MCC Board.

Finance Committee will hold a semi-annual review and workshop on houses finances, and a written report will be made to each house and the BOD on the adequacy of the financial records and in particular pointing up any budgetary or cash flow problems, or poor performance on any part of the treasurers and staff people. A summary should be published in the newsletter (or Board packet).

(amended on August 24, 1988 to current version)

The Board of Directors of MCC hereby enacts the following policy for the investment of its cash reserves:

o The Finance Coordinator shall research investments and fund transfers within the guidelines of this policy and propose them to the Finance Committee and Board for approval.

o These actions shall require prior written authorization by one of the current MCC officers entrusted as a custodian of the MCC cash accounts (Secretary, President or Treasurer).

o Investments which are not secured in one of the following ways will require discussion and approval by the Finance Committee and the MCC Board: Insured or guaranteed by the Federal Government or agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government, or collateralized by one of these groups; guaranteed by a municipality (said municipal issues must have a rating of 'A' or better); or insured by an insurance company (said investments must have an A.M. Best rating of 'A' or better).

The Finance Coordinator will make reports to the MCC Board of Directors twice a year, in October and March, on the shifts in investments over the preceding six months.

Each investment opportunity will be evaluated by the MCC Finance Coordinator according to the following criteria, and in the listed order of priority.

1) MCC's reserves will be invested in such a way as to minimize the risk of loss.

2) MCC's reserves will be invested in such a way that they are sufficiently liquid to meet planned and emergency needs that arise.

3) MCC's reserves will be invested in such a way that they will, as closely as possible, meet income budget requirements for the current budget year; and that will get the best possible rate of return, and thus keep to a minimum charges to members.

4) When choosing among those investment opportunities meeting the above criteria, MCC will give preference first to socially responsible investments, i.e. those which support individuals or groups working actively to promote positive social change; second to those which follow progressive practices within the mainstream economy; and third, when no better alternative is present, to the investment opportunities which pose the fewest moral and political qualms.

In particular, MCC will look to invest in groups that meet as many of the following criteria as possible (most of this has been liberally borrowed from the prospectus for the Calvert Social Investment Fund):

o They deliver safe products and services in ways that sustain our natural environment.

o They are managed with participation throughout the organization in defining and achieving objectives.

o They negotiate fairly with their workers, provide an environment supportive of their wellness, and provide opportunities for women, disadvantages minorities and others for whom equal opportunities have often been denied.

o They foster awareness of a commitment to human goals, such as creativity, productivity, self-respect, and responsibility, within the organization and the world, and continually recreate a context within which these goals can be realized.

o They foster local economic control and support community-oriented businesses.

o They do not support the military/industrial complex or the production of weapons.

o They do not support the production of electricity by means of nuclear power.

o They do not actively support repressive regimes, such as the present government of South Africa."

The MCC Board

1) Approves a loan of up to $75,000 to Campus Coop Development Corp. (CCDC) out of the total of $200,000 previously agreed upon, to be borrowed against MCC's equity in Mulberry Coop/102 East Gorham St., according to the Outline of Terms which follows;

2) Authorizes the MCC Finance Committee to finally approve the wording of all documents needed for the transaction, and

3) Authorizes MCC Officers Mike Hickey (Treasurer) and Michelle Wichman (Membership Chair/Secretary) to sign all official loan documents (both for the loan to be taken out against Mulberry Coop and the loan to CCDC) on behalf of MCC.

LOANS WE'VE MADE

CCDC LOAN TEXT Outline of Terms for loan to Campus Coop Development Corp. (CCDC):

MCC will lend up to $70,000 to CCDC for the purposes of student coop development according to the following basic terms: o The full amount of outstanding principal due MCC on the loan will be repaid within 5 years of the loan origination date. o CCDC will make monthly payments to MCC covering the full monthly payment MCC makes to its lender on the $75,000 of debt which will be incurred by MCC by borrowing these funds against its ownership equity in Mulberry Coop. o CCDC will provide security for MCC's loan by giving MCC a 2nd mortgage against the property known as House of Commons in Austin Texas. o CCDC or its associated organization NASCO Properties Inc. (NPI) will keep MCC informed on at least a quarterly basis of the operations of House of Commons as a means of our being informed of the status of our collateral. Any significant problems with the physical condition or operations of the property will be noted, and either addressed by University of Texas Intra Cooperative Council (the Austin coop, and managers of the property), or NPI, or in the worst case, MCC will have the right to designate a third party to take over the back-up functions of NPI and ensure that the property is properly cared for. o CCDC, through NPI. will ensure payment of property taxes and that sufficient property and liability insurance is bound for the House of Commons. o CCDC's payments to MCC will be adjusted on an annual basis to cover adjustments to MCC's interest rate by its lender. o Any costs incurred by MCC as a result of early payment by CCDC will be reimbursed by CCDC. o All the costs of setting up this loan will be paid for by CCDC. o All costs of MCC's recent refinancing of Mulberry Coop, which enabled MCC to borrow against the property for this project, will be reimbursed by CCDC.

Passed by the MCC Board August 2, 1989, Amended by the MCC Board July 15, 2009

#1 Checks should only be counter-signed after they are completely filled out.

#2 The MCC Finance Coordinator will provide the MCC Treasurer with a copy of the monthly bank statement reconciliation and a print-out of the Cash Disbursements journal each month.

#3 Each Coordinator will provide their committee with copies of their work log summaries, detailing hours worked, overtime, paid Holidays and vacation, and sick days, on a quarterly basis. Staff shall include written explanations with their work log summaries any time time-and-a-half is given for overtime worked.

#4 The Finance Coordinator will provide the Finance Committee with copies of the Payroll Journals on a quarterly basis.

#5 All Investment Accounts holding MCC reserves shall be set up so that funds may be transferred out of the account only to another investment with the same firm or to the MCC checking account.

#6 The MCC Board will review annual Financial Statements provided by the Finance Coordinator, as time permits. If the Board does not review these statements, the Finance Committee shall do so, and report their findings to the Board.

1) Someone comes to us asking to buy or trade for one of our houses, or people in a house ask that we look for a different house for them. The MCC Finance Coordinator will let the house know that an outside group has expressed interest, suggest that the house discuss the matter at a house meeting (with or without the interested parties), and provide support for the house's discussion as requested. The Finance Coordinator will provide the house with a copy of this policy so that the house is aware of the further steps in any potential trade discussion. If outsiders only want to buy our house, they will be asked to find us a suitable replacement.

2) Get a brief overview of the house, including snapshots, size and structural info, and past years operating budget (they should have all this on hand anyway).

3) All the preliminary info will be taken to the house, presented in a neutral fashion with the question, "Do you think it's worth looking into further?" A copy of this policy will accompany the question so the house understands what subsequent steps might be.

4) If a majority of the house expresses interest, get a detailed overview of any house offered, including interior and exterior photographs, recent maintenance appraisal by a paid professional, realtor's appraisal of current value (one from their realtor, one from ours), and other such objective impressions. Description of neighbors and neighborhood should be included (esp. on Langdon).

5) When this info is received, MCC Coordinating Committee discusses briefly whether there is any feasibility to the project.

6) If it does look feasible, the Coordinating Committee takes all the detailed info to the MCC house in question, preferably at a house meeting. In keeping the atmosphere objective, no Coordinating Committee member should make arguments in favor or against the trade. After presenting all available info, Coordinating Committee people leave to allow the house members to discuss it.

7) At the next or subsequent board meeting, reps from the house inform the board as to whether the house wants to continue the process. If so, dates for scheduled tours can be arranged for both the MCC house and the other house. Tour times should be well posted and pre-arranged. MCC house input is a must at this point.

8) After the tours, the MCC house may decide at a house meeting whether to cast a "good faith" vote to allow MCC officers, staff or expansion committee members to negotiate with the other parties. The house is encouraged to make a list of demands, needs and wishes for the negotiations.

9) Once a detailed proposal has been received, it will be written up by the appropriate person/committee to be scrutinized by the Board and the House. At that or a subsequent meeting, there should also be written detail about the financial aspect of the trade in the context of the "big picture" of MCC finances. Care should be taken to present the results of a trade vs. no trade, and great care should be taken to see that the house doesn't feel it is being labeled a "bad co-op" that needs to be gotten rid of.

10) After the details of the proposal are nailed down and adequate discussion, the house will take a formal vote, and the house board rep will present the result as a recommendation to the Board.

11) The MCC Board will, with the advice of the house, vote on whether or not to send the question of a trade to the MCC Membership. The MCC Membership must, in addition to the House, approve all trades, per the MCC By-laws.

12) Because the house may experience turnover, the process should be completed, if possible, during one semester. Therefore, it would be best to start such a project, regardless of when the offer is first received, in September or January. Also, care should be taken to make the move-in date August 15th, so those people who want to finish out their contract at the old house don't have to move to the new place if they don't want to.

(Adopted 8/22/90): That the house billings from 90/91 forward be based on a total number of people in the house (as it is now), but that persons in singles count as 1.0, doubles count as 0.8, persons in triples count as 0.7, and persons in quads count as 0.6 in the total. If a house adds or subtracts people, their billing for 90/91 and subsequent years shall be readjusted according to the above formula. The portion of the house billing based on the old "occupancy formula" (pre-90/91) shall also be adjusted up or down based on the difference created due to the formula [for example, Mulberry's occupancy formula billing is based on 14.18 people. If they turn a double into a triple, the difference is (3 x 0.7) - (2 x 0.8) = 0.5. Thus, the adjusted pre-90/91 number would be 14.68.], but shall not be reduced below the original number [so if Mulberry decided to make all their rooms singles the billing wouldn't automatically become 12, causing all the other houses' billings to go up].

(Adopted 4/29/87; Amended 5/3/87): The Occupancy Formula is established. Any changes in the numbers can only be passed at a GMM, or by general referendum. The Finance Committee shall conduct an annual review of the whole thing, paying special attention to heating and turnover figures. This will be the basis of rent.

(Referenced 7/22/81)

(Adopted 5/16/93; Amended 7/1/96; Amended 7/11/01): See 5/16/93 GMM Packet for Full Text! Summary: House MCC payments will be determined by a combination of the square footage of each bedroom, the common space and the subjective factors for each housedetails in spreadsheet. The occupancy formula determines the percentage that each house should be billed.) The Occupancy Formula is embodied in the Spage Grid 96-97 copy spreadsheet. The distance subjective factor is eliminated.

Individual MCC houses may voluntarily choose which months their MCC monthly payments are reduced. To correspond with MCCﾒs fiscal year (June-May), the house shall notify the Finance Coordinator by April 30th of any changes. Otherwise, it is assumed that the schedule of MCC payments will remain the same as the previous year. The "low payment" month(s) may not be lower than 75% of the "high payment" months. Houses may elect to have summer-only reductions.

MCC shall create a reserve of $1000 to be used to post bail for MCC members who are arrested while engaging in acts of nonviolent and non-property damaging civil disobedience. The member may sign for a short term, no interest loan for bail. The term of the loan will end upon completion of the memberﾒs court proceedings, or immediately if they do not appear at their appointed trail date. If the member cannot repay the loan at the end of its term they must present a payment plan at the next Individual Issues Committee Meeting. If a member desires to be bailed out, they must call one of the MCC officers, who will try to assess whether the action fit the goal of the fund, i.e. nonviolent and non-property damaging, and will take appropriate steps to post the bail. One of the officers will attend the court date and go with the person to the bailiff to retrieve the bail money. Any individual member may borrow money from the bail fund only once every 6 months.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: To define a process for the establishment and maintenance of a reserve fund for use by an individual MCC house in times of financial stress (i.e.--when the house has exhausted all other means of remaining financially viable).

ACTUAL TEXT OF PROPOSAL:

I. WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM:

Over the next three years, a reserve will be established to collect and maintain a $12,000.00 balance, accruing 1/3 of this total each year. When moneys from this reserve are withdrawn, the reserve shall be replenished from the following sources in this order:

* . either a surcharge or retroactive rent increase within the troubled house (see below) * . a commitment (established in the house budget) to pay back a "reasonable" portion of the "loan," based on a recommendation by the Finance Committee and a decision by the Board of Directors as to what constitutes "reasonable" * . 50% of whatever MCC budget surplus remains from the MCC fiscal year, up to $4000.00 * . a reinstatement of the reserve as a budget line item, to a maximum of $4000.00/MCC fiscal year.

II. PRECONDITIONS FOR FUNDS BEING GRANTED:

1. The budget for the current house fiscal year is first approved by the Board of Directors.

2. All budget reports are current and accurate to facilitate an appropriate estimate for the "loan."

3. The house first exhausts its savings and House Operating Reserves, but maintains enough cash flow to make MCC payments, buy necessary supplies, food, and pay other bills in a timely way, etc.

III. HOW THE PROCESS WORKS:

The developing concerns regarding approval and maintenance of the "loan" become standing agenda items for the Board of Directors and all committees. A check-in and discussion of progress is mandatory at each committee meeting for as long as the difficulties remain, in order to assure that any related concerns potentially contributing to the difficulties of the house are being addressed.

The Coordinating Committee will be primarily responsible for gathering input from their various standing committees, with the MCC Treasurer acting as the primary liaison between the Board of Directors and the standing committees.

If it is felt by any of the parties involved that concerns are being insufficiently addressed, or if "loan" approval is contingent upon the work of more than one committee, then an ad hoc management concerns committee may be formed. The description regarding the make-up and process of this ad hoc committee are described in the Management Concerns Policy.

IV. WHAT IS TO BE CONSIDERED IN GRANTING THE LOAN:

The parties involved will decide on an individual basis what concerns need to be addressed and how. Certain financial concerns should be addressed according to the following guidelines:

. House Operating Reserve: a full payback of the House Operating Reserve shall be budgeted in the next house fiscal year.

. past member debt: all member debt accrued within the past 3 house fiscal years shall be submitted to collection by the house members.

. current debt: a "reasonable" portion of all debt to date shall be accounted for through the current budget, a surcharge, or rent increase to the house. the term "reasonable" shall be defined by the Board of Directors.

. POTENTIAL DEBT: POTENTIAL DEBT (BASED ON THE AVERAGE OF THE BEST AND WORST CASE FISCAL SCENARIOS FOR THE ENTIRE CURRENT HOUSE FISCAL YEAR) SHALL BE ESTIMATED THROUGH THE NEXT FALL. A "REASONABLE" PORTION OF ALL ONGOING ESTIMATED DEBT TO THE END OF THE HOUSE FISCAL YEAR SHALL BE ACCOUNTED FOR THROUGH THE CURRENT BUDGET, A SURCHARGE, OR RENT INCREASE TO THE HOUSE. THE TERM "REASONABLE" SHALL BE DEFINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

V. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE STIPULATIONS ARE NOT MET:

If the stipulations adapted from SECTION IV and agreed upon by the Board of Directors are not met within one month after approval of VACANCY SUPERFUND resources, the Board of Directors may, at their discretion:

. establish and pass an annual budget which will meet their requirements.

. employ a worker or worker group at the house's expense in order to insure the board of director's requirements are carried out (especially in regards to the completion of an approved, current house budget and up to date house budget reports).

VI. CAN A HOUSE REQUEST FURTHER FUNDS:

If a house must request further funds before the previous commitment to replenishing their share of the VACANCY SUPERFUND is ended, an ad hoc Management Concerns Committee will be formed immediately to outline a satisfactory course of action before the loan process begins again.

To have an official financial review for MCC performed every three years instead of every two years.

o That MCC contract with our attorney, David Sparer, on a contingency fee basis to pursue our property tax exemption case in circuit court. "Contingency fee basis" means that we will pay Mr. Sparer if and only if our case is successful.

o That MCC declares our willingness to agree to a pre-judgment settlement in which we pay the city a portion of our current tax liability in lieu of property taxes. We will consider this outcome "successful" in terms of paying Mr. Sparer. Any potential settlement offer will be subject to approval by the MCC membership through a GMM or referendum.

o That the budgetary savings MCC realizes from a successful resolution of our case will not be used to reduce house payments across the board by more than 3% in any fiscal year.

o That the line-item in the MCC Budget that allocates money to property taxes be changed from a fixed line to a variable one, to keep open the possibility of MCC maintaining some level of funding to city services.

Make our Park Bank Savings account be the official MCC Development Fund. Transfer $1300 from our checking account into the Park Bank savings account, brining it up to the current level of the MCC Development Fund reserve. Interest accrued in this account will remain with the Development Fund.

Whenever we decide what we will do with the yearly Tax Savings, let us freeze that amount for year 1 and 2. In other words, if we come to a decision today [11/21/99] for how to allocate yearly funds, let us allocate funds exactly according to that plan for 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. The intent is that funds will remain for some time. Budget planning for 2000-2001 is around the corner, and it would be nice to not discuss property tax savings for a little while. When the membership has conclusively determined the allocations of amounts from the property tax savings, those allocations will be written as line items in out budget, grouped together under the heading of "property taxes". Eight weeks before the finance committee begins reviewing the budget for the next fiscal year, the committee will send out a call for proposals to the membership, which will include copies of the budget for the current fiscal year. The membership is empowered to propose changes to any line item on the budget in the form of a proposal to the finance committee. Proposals that advocate the increase of any line item should also include suggestions regarding what other line item(s) the amount would come from, or an assessment of the per member/per month impact of the increase. Proposals that advocate a decrease of any line item are welcome to include suggestions for line items to which the amount might be added, or an assessment of the per member / per month impact of the decrease. Reallocations of amounts under the heading of "property taxes" must be made within that section of the budget. Completely new line items may be proposed, accompanied by suggested reallocations from other lines. The finance committee will review proposals for completeness before passing them on to the board of directors. The board will consider and vote upon each proposal in accordance with the bylaws of MCC.

PRIOR YEARﾒS WINDFALL: pilot payment to Madison $50,000 maintenance/cap improvements 127,746 community services 16,000 public education 11,000 development 73,000 homestead/rentersﾒ credit 20,000 office computers 3,000 community center/office 10,000 parent/child services 10,000 Totals 320,746

Allotment for Budget years 99/00 and 00/01: pilot payment to Madison $8,200 maintenance/cap improvements 18,291 community services 15,819 public education 10,029 development 8,711 homestead/rentersﾒ credit 22,325 energy/accessibility funds 4,756 parent/child services 3,120 Totals 91,251

I. Computer

Note: The dollar amounts in italics are from the original 11/14/99 GMM proposal.

$3,000 of the property tax windfall is allocated for the purchase of "new" computers. This is a ballpark estimate for the cost of the following products:

1 Server $1,000 3 Workstations $1,500 ($500 per workstation) CD-ROM Burner $150 1.5 Gig Back Up Drive $150 Networking Hardware $50 Software $250

This purchase would take place before the February of 2000 GMM.

II. MCC Community Services Fund

A) Purpose of the fund: The fund was created by the MCC membership to support progressive community services providing service or benefit to the community consistent with MCCﾒs principles, including but not limited to: non-profit agencies, community centers, advocacy groups, other co-ops and collectives, and similar groups. The fund includes a service fund and a larger trust fund. The Trust Fund will provide interest revenue and/or fund important, larger initiatives.

B) Amount of the fund: $15,819 of the yearly property tax savings is allocated to the Services Fund for the budget years 99/00 and 00/01 (any unspent amounts and interest would roll over.) Additionally, $16,000 of the windfall is set aside as the Community Trust Fund. Annually, half o the trust fund interest will be transferred to the service fund. The other half of the annual interest will be left to join the principle of the trust fund. The principle of the trust fund may be allocated only by a GMM, requiring a 2/3 vote to reallocate funds for a different purpose.

C) Allocation of the fund: The service fund is allocated as follows ( unless this process is waived for any year by majority vote of a GMM): o Funding proposals will be submitted to the Minority Outreach and Membership Committee. Minority Outreach and Membership Committee can set annual Autumn or Winter deadlines for ensuring finance committee consideration of proposals for the yearﾒs allocation. o Minority Outreach and Membership Committee shall advertise the fund, review proposals, and forward itﾒs recommendations to the Board. Eligible groups must provide a non-profit service in the State of Wisconsin, and finance committee will prioritize services provide locally. Minority Outreach and Membership Committee will attempt to provide funding significant enough to support or at least make a difference for a project, while also attempting to include funding for: groups providing services to people or communities which are disadvantaged, groups providing services to the communities which are underrepresented in MCC, as well as at least one co-op or collective, at least one housing related service, and at least one umbrella community fund. o Minority Outreach and Membership Committee will attempt to determine the immediate need of the applicant and whether other sources of funding gave not been attempted. Minority Outreach and Membership Committee will endeavor to favor projects that are new, politically or socially innovative, serving dire need, or financially endangered over groups with conventional access to university or foundation funds. o Minority Outreach and Membership Committee shall forward their recommendations to BoD for final approval.

III. MCC Public Education Fund

A) Purpose of the Fund: This fund was created by the MCC general membership to support public education. These fund policies may be amended by vote of the MCC general membership.

B) Amount of the Fund: $10,029 of the yearly property tax savings is allocated to the Contribution Fund for the budget years 99/00 and 00/01 (any unspent amounts and interest would roll over.) Additionally, $11,000 of the windfall is set aside as the Education Trust fund. Half the interest of the Trust Fund would be added to the next yearﾒs Contribution Fund, with the other half of the interest returned to the Education Trust Fund principle. The principle of the trust fund may be allocated to benefit education by a majority vote of a GMM, and by a two-thirds vote of a GMM for other purposes.

C) Allocation of the Fund: The service fund is allocated as follows: o Funding proposals will be submitted to the Education Committee. the committee can set annual Fall or Winter deadlines for ensuring committee consideration of proposals for the yearﾒs allocation. o Education Committee will research the Madison Metropolitan School District, including MMSD programs, projects and schools, and other public education providers and review proposals if any, and forward itﾒs recommendations to the Board. Eligible groups must provide educational programs in Dane County. Education Committee will attempt to determine the immediate need of the applicant and whether other sources of funding have not been attempted. Education Committee will attempt to provide funding that will make a difference for the school, class or program. Education Committee will endeavor to favor projects that are in accordance with cooperative principles and inclusive. Education Committee will endeavor to schools, classes and programs that are new, politically innovative, serving an unmet need, or financially endangered over groups with conventional access to funds. o The Education Committee will forward its recommendations to the Board.

IV. MCC Development Fund

A) Purpose of the Fund: This fund was created by the MCC general membership to provide for expansion of our cooperative housing. These fund policies may be amended by vote of the MCC general membership.

B) Amount of the fund: $8,711 of the yearly property tax savings is allocated to the Service fund for budget years 99/00 and 00/01(any unspent amounts would roll over). Additionally, $73,000 of the windfall is set aside for the Development fund, as well as the fundﾒs interest, and the balance of the old Development fund, and new member Development Fees.

C) Allocation of the Fund: The Development Committee, unless overruled y the membership, may allocate small amounts, not to exceed $2,000 (in year 2000 dollars), to research or investigate development possibilities. The Development Fund may be allocated for development by a majority vote of the GM, or by two-thirds vote to reallocate the funds for a purpose other than development.

V. Replacement/Extension of Homestead Credit with Property Tax Savings

MCCﾒs property tax savings shall be used to compensate MCC members for the portion of the state income tax Homestead Credit ("credit") that members cannot receive due to MCCﾒs exemption from property taxes. The following conditions apply:

ELIGIBILITY: Members must meet all of the Wisconsin department of Revenues eligibility requirements for the Credit, except for the residency requirement. A member is not required to be a legal resident of Wisconsin for the full tax year in order to be eligible for reimbursement from MCC.

A member must have lived in and paid room charges in an MCC house for at least four months of a tax year in order to be reimbursed for any Credit lost in that tax year.

Former MCC members may be reimbursed for lost credits for the previous tax year, if they met the above eligibility requirements during that tax year.

AMOUNT OF REIMBURSEMENT: MCC will reimburse only for the difference between: 1) Credit the state would actually pay to the member: and 2) Credit the state would have paid to the member if MCC were not exempt from property tax. MCC will not reimburse that portion of Credit which a member could have legally claimed on their tax return for non-MCC rent. For example, if in a tax year a member lived elsewhere from January 1 to August 14, and in MCC from August 15 to December 31, the member is responsible for claiming the Jan 1 ﾖAug 14 Credits on their state tax return. MCC will make up the difference.

APPLICATION: For a member to receive compensation, MCC must receive copies of the memberﾒs completed federal and state income tax forms (including state Homestead rent Certificates) for the tax year in question. The forms must be sent directly from the government to MCC, and not through the member.

Application occurs when the member completes the following: For the state tax return, the member must fill out and submit to MCC a signed letter of request. For the federal tax return, the member must complete, sign and submit to MCC the appropriate form for an income tax transcript (Form 4506 as of 1999). MCC will submit the requests to the state and federal government, as needed.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Members must apply (see definition of application above) to MCC for reimbursement by June 30 of the year after the tax year for which the Credit is being claimed. For example, for the 1999 tax year applications are due by June 30, 2000.

NOTIFICATION BY MCC: The MCC Member Services Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that all potentially eligible members are notified that they may be entitled to reimbursement. All potentially eligible members must be notified once between February 1 and March 30 (when members are preparing tax returns). Former members must receive this notification by mail. Current members must be notified again at lest three weeks before the application deadline.

FUNDS FOR REIMBURSEMENT: A Homestead Credit Reimbursement Fund shall be funded with property tax savings. $22,325 of the yearly property tax savings is allocated (for budget years 99/00 and 00/01) for Credits in the previous tax year. Also $20,000 of the windfall is allocated to the fund as well, to serve as an initial cushion in case Credits have been underestimated.

Interest earned on the fund shall become part of the fund, and not be counted as general MCC income. Interest shall be included in the surplus calculation below. The fund shall be kept in a FDIC-insured, socially-responsible financial instrument (such as a certificate of deposit).

FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS: Members applying for reimbursement shall not pay direct fees associated with preparing the reimbursement. Non-staff administration costs will be covered from the fund.

SURPLUS FUNDS: After the application deadline and after all reimbursements are computed, the fund surplus shall be computed as follows: Surplus equals current fund balance, minus current-year property tax contribution (which is for current tax year rebates, not last yearﾒs), minus $20,000 to remain in the fund as a cushion against possibly higher reimbursement for the current tax year. If the computed surplus is negative, there shall be no surplus.

Any surplus, as defined above, shall be distributed to other projects receiving property tax savings in the current budget year (not the past budget year). The surplus shall be distributed among those projects in proportion to the amount of annual tax savings each initially received.

LACK OF FUNDS: If there is not enough money in the Fund to reimburse Credits, the issue shall be taken to a General Membership Meeting.

VI. Housesﾒ energy Efficiency/ Handicap Accessibility Fund

Note: The 11/21/99 GMM decision allots $4,756 of the yearly property tax savings to "energy/accessibility funds" for the budget years 99/00 and 00/01. The sections in italics below are overwritten by this allotment decision but remain here to give the relative weights given to the two different funds by this original outlining of the funds.

Housesﾒ Energy Efficiency fund: This fund was created by the MCC general membership to improve energy efficiency and to work towards using more renewable/sustainable energy sources in our houses (solar, energy efficient appliances, etc.). The Energy Efficiency fund will have allocated 3.7% of future year property tax savings (approximately $3,074 at time of passage). Additionally, 3.7% of past yearsﾒ tax savings will be allocated to the fund (approximately $10, 021 at time of passage). This fund may be allocated by the General Membership through majority vote by approving specific projects in the MCC maintenance Budget. funds not spent in one year will accumulate with interest for future energy efficient housing projects in future MCC budget years. It shall require a two-thirds vote by the membership to allocate the funds for a purpose other than those outlined above.

Housesﾒ Handicap Accessibility Fund: This fund was created by the MCC general membership to make handicap accessible modifications to our MCC houses. the Handicap Accessibility Fund is a fund already in the Maintenance Budget. We will allocate 3.4% of future year property tax savings (approximately $2,827 at time of passage). Additionally, 3.4% of past yearsﾒ tax savings will be allocated to the fund (approximately $9,217 at time of passage). This fund may be allocated by the General Membership through majority vote by approving specific projects in the MCC Maintenance Budget. Funds not spent in one year will accumulate with interest for future handicap accessibility housing projects in future MCC Budget years. It shall require a two-thirds vote by the membership to allocate the funds for a purpose other than those outlined above.

VII. MCC Cooperative Community Center / Office fund

MCC sets aside $10,000 of the property tax savings windfall toward a building to house a permanent non-rented MCC office, possibly as part of a larger cooperative community center / office space. The MCC Development committee would be responsible for keeping its eyes open for a potential location and for networking with other interested organizations. MCCers interested in working on this project will be encouraged to work with the Development Committee in this endeavor.

Ideally, the new building would be owned and run cooperatively by all or most of the tenants and would include MCCﾒs new office. It would emphasize non-profits, co-ops and activist groups, and would also include open public space.

The money in this fund would accumulate and earn interest until suitable space is found. Once the building is purchased, or it nothing has come to fruition by 2005, this proposal will be revisited at a GMM and the funds may be re-allocated.

VII. MCC Parent-Child Services Fund

A) Purpose of the Fund: This fund was created by the MCC general membership to provide for a child-care co-op and related services for parents raising children. These fund policies may be amended by vote of the MCC general membership.

B) Amount of the Fund: $3,120 of the yearly property tax savings is allotted to the Parent-Child Services Fund for the budget years 99/00 and 00/01 (any unspent amounts and interest would roll over.) Additionally, $10,000 of the windfall and the accumulating interest is set aside for a Parent-Child Trust Fund.

C) Allocation of the Fund: The parent-child services fund may be allocated by the Board (except as restricted or overruled by the GM) or the GM for child-care co-op expenses and for other parent-child needs. The parent-child trust fund may be allocated by a GMM, by majority vote for a parent-child project and by two thirds vote to reallocate the funds for a purpose other than to support parents and children.

IX. MCC future Trust Fund

note: the 11/21/99 GMM allotment decision allotted no money to this fund from either the yearly tax savings, or the windfall.

The Future Trust Fund is to be an amount of money set aside to earn interest. The principal would not be spent. The interest will remain with the principal.

This proposal will be reviewed at the first GMM in the year 2010. It is suggested that discussion include whether the funds should be allocated to a fund for internal MCC projects, external projects, or if the funds should be reinvested.

In the Fall of each even-numbered year, the Finance Committee will review the specific monetary amounts stated in the MCC Policy Manual. The Finance Committee will assemble a recommendation to the BoD for the raising, lowering or maintaining of each monetary statement for the next budget year. The Finance Committee will include in its report an evaluation of the per member/per month fiscal impact of each statement change. The BoD may request reconsideration of any statement, in response to which the Finance Committee will furnish revised per member/per month impact statements. The decision by the BoD will be reflected in budgetary changes for the next fiscal year.