Area 5 Committee Meeting Minutes

January 10, 2005

Present:

• John Hollingsworth
• Steve Landauer
• Clifford McKenzie
• Bob Meyers
• Stan Miller
• Jack Morrell
• Tom Seuntjens
• Bob Stokes
• Mary Suther
• Jeana Warren
• Charles Wendt
• Bill White
• Nan Wilson, Chair
• Lillian Woo

Absent:

• Warren Wong

Staff:

• Sandy McQuin, TAP Manager, Acting DFO
• Mary Ann Delzer, Program Analyst
• Patti Robb, Note Taker

Public:

• Ken Eichner

Welcome/Announcements/Review Agenda
Wilson welcomed the committee members.

Roll Call
Quorum Met.

Review/Approve Minutes
The November 6, 2003, minutes from the TAP annual meeting in Washington, DC, were approved without changes.

Joint Committee Report-out
Wilson said the Joint Committee had a conference call in December and the following is the information that came from that call.

• The 2004 annual report will be out in mid February.
• She also explained that each committee was required to submit a monthly report to the Joint Committee, so please email Wilson/Delzer all outreach activities after completion so they can be added to the monthly report. Submit them by the first of each month as the report is due by the 5th of each month.
• The TAP application has been modified for the next recruitment period.
• Due to budget constraints, each committee will have one face-to-face meeting. Discussion followed whether to go forward with the face-to-face meeting scheduled for February or change it to a later month. Woo moved to have the meeting in February. Suther seconded. No dissention. The meeting will be held in Austin, Texas, in February to get the dynamics set early. McQuin asked if the members who cannot physically attend would like to call in during the meeting. If so, she will arrange for conference call capabilities. DFO Glass is checking with the Campus to see if the committee can visit during the meeting. Members would need to arrive around noon on Thursday and visit in the afternoon. Since only one face-to-face meeting will be held, the committee agreed to plan the Campus visit outside of the actual meeting time on Friday or Saturday.

Decision Making Model
Wilson encouraged the committee to use consensus when making decisions. Seuntjens explained that consensus is negotiation to get all to agree. The committee came to consensus that members will make proposals or recommendations for discussion. The committee will then work to come to consensus on those proposals or recommendations.

Issue Prioritization
Each month you will get a monthly contact history report for Area 5. The issues come in on the toll free line, in the mail, via the web site, or forwarded to the office by panel members. (If you have an issue, please forward it to Delzer to enter on the database.) All issues are entered on the database and a report is generated each month. This report will list new issues and issues that have been placed in the parking lot. Each area committee usually breaks out into three sub committees. Wilson noted that all Area 5 issues will be listed at the February meeting. The committee will select three issues and members can chose the committee to serve on according to personal interest.
ACTION: Panel members to forward any issues to Delzer by February 1, 2005 so a list can be put together for the Austin face-to-face meeting.

IRS Response: Tax Transcripts for Taxpayers
Delzer has requested more information so suggested this issue be held open before replying to the IRS response to our recommendation.
ACTION: Delzer to include “Tax Transcripts for Taxpayers” on the February agenda.

Communication Strategy

• Action Plan – McQuin said the staff will develop a fill-in-the-blank form to help each committee member determine their own action plan. The 2005 TAS budget also has less money so we will need to look at creative ways to partner in Outreach efforts. Staff can email the Local Taxpayer Advocates in Area 5 to set up a conference call to determine the partnerships in these Outreaches. You know your own individual states better than we do, so you can identify a number of Outreach opportunities in your communities.
• Travel Authorization – We have to do a travel authorization before any travel is done. It is a mandatory process this year. If you are invited by your LTA or the IRS to attend an Outreach, please do not assume that the TAP office knows about it and that it is already approved. You need to let us know before you incur any expenses. The travel authorization needs to be done approximately 15 days in advance of incurring any costs.
• Speaker Reports – Delzer sent out an electronic copy as well as a hard copy. You can send her the information via email – you don’t have to use the form. It is important to capture this information so you get credit for the contact.

Seuntjens pointed out that you can still do outreaches in your community without getting the travel authorization done if you are not going to claim reimbursement. Delzer already sent out a listing of the Area 5 local taxpayer advocates with phone numbers if you want to contact your LTA.

Office Report
If you need a copy of the Power Point show, let Delzer know. We will also try to get TAP products to you but once again it comes down to budget. We do have some products in the office, but may not be able to order more.

Face-to-Face Meeting
The face-to-face meeting is scheduled for February 18-19, 2005. If you want to go to the Campus, let Delzer or Robb know. They will try to get you into Austin before noon on Thursday, February 17 (travel day) so you can tour in the afternoon. The meeting will end at noon on Saturday, February 19.

Public Input
Ken Eichner – mentioned that his input was regarding his usual issues; liens and levies, and Offer in Compromise.

Closing/Assessment
The next meeting will be the face-to-face meeting, February 18-19, 2005 in Austin (no teleconference in February).

Delzer will send out the assessment via email. Please return it by the requested date.

Meeting adjourned.