Bylaws

The section between the lines is a direct copy from the 2012 Bylaws.  Please do not edit.

Article IV. Section 1E.  Term.

The term of office of the Treasurer shall be two (2) years. An individual may not serve more than two successive terms as Treasurer.

Article IV.  Section 2F.  Duties.

Duties of the Treasurer shall be:

1. To receive and account for all monies due to the organization;
2. To pay all properly authorized bills incurred by the Chapter and Chapter’s Annual Meeting host;
3. To report on Chapter finances at all Executive Board and business meetings of the Chapter;
4. To chair the Finance Committee;
5. To perform all other duties prescribed by [the] Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Chapter.

Ongoing

• Serve as a voting member of the Executive Board.
• Receive and account for all monies, including membership dues and conference registrations, per Chapter policies.
• Pay all bills, per Chapter policies.
• Manage finances for Local Meeting Planners and serve on the conference finance committee.
• Serve as Chair of the Chapter Finance Committee.
• Submit items of interest to the Communications Committee.
• Submit documents to the Archivist.
• Update Treasurer webpage as needed (required username and password as well as ftp software, example: FileZilla)
• Provide documentation to the Chapter Auditor as requested
• Maintain both electronic files (preferably in the cloud; i.e., Dropbox) and physical files as described in in the MLA Chapter Business Guidelines Record Retention.
  
• Arrange for a timely transfer of authority, documents and other materials to the incoming Treasurer.
• Templates to begin reimbursement can be found here for a Word document and here for the PDF.
  

Timeline

Notes

• Include “miscellaneous funds” line in budget to cover unpredicted expenses and one time costs.
• Treasurer should have login information/access for:
• US Bank account
• Dropbox account
• Wild Apricot account
• AffiniPay account
• Gmail account 
• Treasurer should be familiar with, and regularly re-read, the MLA Chapter Business Guidelines
• Changing signatories - PROCESS AS OF 9/19/2022

The Chapter's bank account is with US Bank. There are two types of account managers. An account owner can add signatories as well as make any necessary changes to the account (that is, they can remove any other owners or signatories without that person's permission or signature). An account signatory can access the money in the account but cannot make changes to the account or add other signatories. The Treasurer should be the account owner. It's a best practice for a second person to be at least a signatory on the bank account.

• US Bank should be able to add a signatory or owner without both parties being in the same branch at the same time.
• The current owner should coordinate with their local US Bank branch and be the lead on the transaction.
• US Bank should be able to allow paper signatures and upload the documents into the account system. The current account owner will need to visit their local branch to sign before any new owners/signatories visit their branch bank to sign.
• This will require some coordination and a knowledgeable banker, as this is not US Bank's normal practice.
• An alternative for adding an owner/signatory is to locate a bank branch convenient for all parties and visit the bank together - best done a the annual Chapter meeting.
• Prior to adding signatory/owner
• Call US Bank to inform them that the signatories will be changing and obtain a contact person.
• Provide the Articles of Incorporation of the Chapter to the banker.
• Call bank branch at which the signatory change will occur at least 1 week in advance of transaction.
• Make a motion at a Board meeting to add the signatory/owner to the bank account. Provide a copy of the Board meeting minutes to the banker (they require proof that you are allowed to make this change). If waiting for the Board minutes is not an option, have the President prepare a letter instructing the current owner to add a signatory.
• Day of Signing
• New signatories bring photo-ID and social security number.
• Signatory remaining on account bring photo-ID (driver's license acceptable).
• Fees from AffiniPay for their services as well as credit card transactions are difficult to separate.  The reports from AffiniPay don't say which transaction each fee is for.  So, in 2023 we started putting all transaction fees under the Finance Committee.  Consideration should be made to split out the transaction fees if there is to be a conference whose profit will be split with another organization.  The Midwest Chapter may not want to pay all the AffiniPay fees and not recoup any of those costs.

Tips on Taxes and Other

The Midwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association is exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

The Treasurer should advise the Fundraising Committee and Conference Committees that they may need to collect or pay state sales tax.  Explore issues related to state sales tax very early (at least six months in advance of the sale or purchase).

• If the organization is to conduct a sale/silent auction/other fundraiser, we could be exempt from having to collect sales tax since we are a non-profit association that doesn't sell in the state regularly.  But, there may be a considerable amount of work to secure that exemption.  
• If the sale is to take place in a physical location, check with the state's department of revenue on their regulations and to see if the chapter is already listed as tax-exempt.  In the distant past, the board worked to secure tax-exempt status in every state in the chapter's borders.  However, to maintain exemption, usually an annual report must be filed and this will likely not be complete.  Some states still do not exempt the organization from collecting sales tax, but they might for organizations that only conduct occasional sales.
• Example: In Wisconsin, sales of taxable products and services at silent auctions are taxable. It does not matter whether the product that is auctioned off was donated to or purchased by the nonprofit organization.  However, the sales are not taxable as long as the nonprofit organization qualifies for the occasional sale exemption.
• If the sale is to be hosted online, we probably won't have to collect sales tax based on information found on the Wisconsin IRS site.  Question: Are remote sellers required to collect sales tax on sales made via the internet?  Answer: Remote sellers are required to collect and remit tax on all taxable sales into Wisconsin, including sales made online. The Internet Tax Freedom Act prohibits Wisconsin from imposing a sales tax on Internet access services but does not prohibit Wisconsin from taxing sales made via the internet. HOWEVER, because our gross sales would be so low, we probably wouldn’t have to collect sales tax.  On the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board site, it says that remote sellers without a physical presence in a state (we don’t actually have any warehouse or storefront or office in any state) are covered by economic nexus laws.  That usually means that you have to meet the states’ sales and /or transactions thresholds.  That’s usually at least 200 transactions or at least $100,000 in sales.  We probably wouldn’t hit either of those thresholds.
• If the organization is to hold an in-person conference, we may be able to secure a tax exemption so that we do not have to pay sales tax on our purchases.  But, what is exempt varies from state to state and what you might have to do in order to secure the exemption varies.
• Example: In Indiana, the article purchased must be used for the same purpose as that for which the organization is being exempted, and the transaction must be invoiced directly to the nonprofit organization and paid directly via the organization’s funds.  In that state, the rental of the rooms would be exempt since they will be used for educational purposes (the same reason we are exempted), but meals are taxable because the meals are provided for the convenience of the organization and its members.

The Midwest Chapter must file 1099-MISC forms for any individuals or businesses that we paid at least $600 in a calendar year so the IRS can track this income. Filing the 1099-MISC form could be avoided by making sure to keep awards and honoraria low enough not to trigger the need to file.  Some best practices and considerations:

• For conference attendance awards, the chapter usually gives recipients a free conference registration and $500 in cash.  The registration is usually just comped and not actually charged and then reimbursed.  If the chapter only gives $500 in cash for travel, lodging, etc., then the value of the comped conference registration does not get added to the $500 and so it does not push the amount we paid the individual over $600.
• We may want to consider reimbursing individuals for travel, lodging, etc. instead of just giving them cash.  Reimbursements would not count toward the $600 threshold for the 1099-MISC.    

Every year in March or April the organization must complete a 990 form and send that to MLA.  Treasurers may want to collect information on awards given in fall for easy reference in spring.  Needed information includes the purpose, amount, name and address of recipients.