Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC)
Issue Committee Meeting
Teleconference Minutes
November 20, 2007

Program Owner
Beth Tucker
Michelle Jones, Field Assistance Analyst

Attendance
Jerry Fireman, Chair
Bob Haines
Jerry Melchior
Wayne Whitehead
Doug Wilhelm
Bruce Zgoda, Vice Chair

Guest
Jeff Wilson, TAS Research Analyst

Staff
Judi Nicholas, Designated Federal Official
Dave Coffman, TAP Program Analyst

Welcome/Announcements
Jerry Fireman opened the meeting and welcomed the participants.  Dave took roll call and a quorum was met. 

Committee Report Review
The committee determined that it would be best to review the draft which was originally edited by Patrick Jackson and subsequently edited by Wayne.

Necessary Edits
The committee reviewed the draft, page-by-page, checking grammar, style and statistics. 
DECISION:  The committee decided not to include a glossary in the report.  Instead, jargon and acronyms would be explained by using footnotes in the report.

Michelle mentioned that, at the time the employee survey was taken, the technical employees within the TACs were operating as Tax Resolution Representatives (TRR).  Recently, the positions were re-named to Individual Tax Advisory Specialists (ITAS).
ACTION:  Dave will include the change in position title as a footnote in the report. 

Wayne noted that Jeff will provide more information about the survey orientation.  The newly added information will supplement the methodology section of the report.
ACTION:  Jeff will e-mail the supplemental information to Dave.

The committee discussed the word order of the dedication.  They agreed to re-word the dedication and remove the box which surrounds the dedication statement.
ACTION:  Dave will make the requested change and remove the box around the dedication statement. 

The committee discussed the font sizes in the introduction as well as some of the quotes in the introduction.
ACTION:  Dave will ensure the fonts are consistent in the introduction and the rest of the report.  Dave will also make the requested changes to the quotes in the introduction. 

Bob mentioned that some of the statistical statements in the executive summary appear to have glaring “unknowns” which may lead the reader to an incorrect conclusion.  Jeff also pointed out some errors with the statistics.
ACTION:  Dave will re-word the statistical statements which appear to draw incorrect conclusions.  Dave will also update the erroneous statistics. 

Bob noted that a definition is needed for the transcript delivery system.
ACTION:  Michelle will provide Dave with an explanation of the transcript delivery system.  Dave will then include the explanation as a footnote in the document.

The committee continued reviewing the rest of the document, pointing out changes which Dave will incorporate in the final draft. 

Report Distribution
Judi said the report will be distributed to all TAP members at the annual meeting.  The committee asked that a copy of the final report be shared with the Acting Commissioner and the National Taxpayer Advocate, after it’s shared with Beth.
ACTION:  Dave and Judi will determine the quantity for the print order and communicate the final number to Michelle.

Next Actions
Jerry Fireman informed the committee that they will have the opportunity to make two short presentations on their findings at the upcoming annual meeting.  Jerry is working on an outline for the presentation.
ACTION:  Judi will e-mail each committee member to inform them which presentation they are scheduled to attend.

Jerry also mentioned that he will distribute the self-assessment questionnaire to all committee members.  Members were asked to complete and return the assessment to Jerry. 

Program Owner Comments
No comments were made.

Member Comments
Judi reminded everyone that this is Doug’s last meeting with the TAC Committee.  He will retire from TAP at the end of this year.  The committee thanked Doug for his dedication and hard work as a member of the TAC Committee.

Closing
Jerry closed the meeting.