Ad Hoc Committee

Meeting Minutes
Committee’s Teleconference Meeting
November 9, 2006: 2:00pm ET

Designated Federal Official (DFO)
Nancy Ferree, TAP Program Manager, Plantation, FL

Members Present
Emilio Cecchi, North Bethesda, MD
Larry Combs, Yuba City, CA
Patrice Marker, Davie, FL, Chair
Ralph Rivera, Garland, TX
Gim Hom, Acton, MA

Members Absent
Rashidah Abdulhaqq, Cleveland, OH
George Bates, Great Falls, MT, Vice Chair
JoAnn Davis, Scott Depot, WV
Margaret Ferguson, Vista, CA
Dorothy Havey, Lincolnville, ME
Donald Miller, Loudon, TN
Willy Nordwind, Scottsdale, AZ

IRS Program Owners
Toni Cross, Chief, MLI Strategy Office
Marilyn Correa, MLI Strategy Office, Senior Policy Analyst
Maria Cheeks, MLI Senior Policy Analyst
Carolyn Schaffer, MLI Policy Analyst
Nikki Oyefeso, MLI Strategy Office

Staff Present
Inez E. De Jesus, TAP Program Analyst
Isai Pallango, Intern and Note Taker

Welcome & Announcements
Chair Patrice Marker opened the meeting by welcoming everyone. A proposal was made to panel members to complete Annual Self-Assessment document and send via email to Program Analyst Inez De Jesus. Marker will be expecting panel members to provide input during annual meeting to be held in Washington DC.

Roll Call
Five members present; Quorum of 7 was not met.

Review and Approve Minutes for October 12, 2006
Since quorum was not met, Chair Marker requested that Analyst De Jesus send out an email to those absent requesting that they submit their approvals via email; absent members are to reply by no later than November 16, 2006.

Confirm Approval of August and September 2006 Minutes
The August 10, 2006 minutes were approved via e-mail by consensus on October 18, 2006. The September 14, 2006 minutes were approved via e-mail by consensus on October 13, 2006. 

Forms and Publications Sub-committee Report
Since Emilio Cecchi cancelled his prior Forms and Publications meeting, he had no input at the present time.

Outreach Event-Financial Literacy & Education Commission Open Meeting on September 19, 2006
Emilio Cecchi reported his information on e-mail and will send document to TAP Manager Nancy Ferree and Program Analyst Inez De Jesus for distribution to panel members.

Toni Cross inquired which Executive Order mandated the Financial Literacy and Education Commission and Emilio Cecchi promised to obtain the information.

IRS Program Owner’s Direction
MLI Program owner Toni Cross stated there will be a transfer of responsibility from Marilyn Correa to Carie Schaffer. Schaffer shared that MLI is still in the process of completing multi-media products for Spanish speaking taxpayers. An interactive computer based application has been completed with scope limited to federal income tax returns. Prototype was tested on four tax forums and received positive feedback. The intended audience will be ESL classes.

Chair Patrice Marker asked Program Owner Schaffer for identification of geographic locations for the use of product. It was stated that Dallas and California will be the target areas and the final product will be available in February 2007.

Carie Schaffer will make presentation of new MLI projects during the annual meeting.

Chair / Vice-Chair Position for 2007
Chair Patrice Marker requested panel members to consider becoming Chair or Vice-Chair, but there were no responses. Nancy Ferree stated that new members will be joining Ad Hoc Committee during the annual meeting in Washington DC.

Frequency of Meeting & Continuity of 2nd Thursdays of the Month
Chair Patrice Marker requested panel members for comments of meetings to be held every other month. It was agreed by consensus to meet every other month.

Locations of 2007 Face-to Face Meeting
Chair Patrice Marker mentioned that location of face-to-face meeting will benefit all panel members and IRS Program Owners if held in Washington DC area in February or March of 2007.

Member Comments
Since there was no quorum, members present agreed meeting survey will not be necessary.

Public Input
No public present.

Closing Assessment / Q & A
Since there was no quorum, the members present agreed that the previous minutes will be approved via email as previously mentioned. It was shared that some members will be transferring or retiring; Emilio Cecchi will transfer to VITA and Larry Combs will be retiring.

Location for group dinner during the early evening of December 13, 2006 will be coordinated by TAP staff.

Chair requested panel members to brainstorm ideas for the December agenda 

Meeting was adjourned.

TAP Annual Meeting December 11-14, 2006 in Washington DC.
Ad Hoc Committee will be meeting on Wednesday December 13, 2006 from 8am -12 noon.

Certification:  These minutes were approved by the TAP Ad Hoc Committee by consensus on December 5, 2006.