elections and governance

Pacifica demanding $1 million from stations to fix network’s financial problems

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While KPFA’s fund drive came in a little low, the station’s overall budget remains balanced — the station is on track to have a small surplus. Not so with Pacifica, the corporation that owns KPFA as well as KPFK (Los Angeles), WPFW (Washington), WBAI (New York City) and KPFT (Houston).

Pacifica treasurer Tracy Rosenberg told KPFA’s local board on June 2 that Pacifica is demanding $1 million from all member five stations to balance its budget, and that cuts will likely come as staff layoffs. Rosenberg said KPFA would be responsible for a larger part of the cut since its budget is bigger than those of the other four stations.

“Pacifica is in crisis due to its own financial mismanagement,” said one board member.  Each station already pays 19.5% of its income to Pacifica for “central services” such as accounting, insurance, and common programming expenses. Pacifica has granted a 50% discount in those fees to WBAI, which has been operating with a huge deficit and an expensive Wall Street lease for years. In March, KPFA’s local treasurer and business manager reported serious problems with Pacifica’s taking more of KPFA’s money than it was owed — at that time, up to $154,000.

Listeners and staff are asking why KPFA and the other stations should continue to foot the bill. At June’s LSB meeting, several local board members questioned why KPFA would be asked to lay off staff to come up with $300,000 for Pacifica. “What is Pacifica doing about looking at ways in which WBAI can seriously cut their costs?” asked board member Sasha Futran, adding: “WBAI is taking the network down, potentially.” | LISTEN to an exchange between Futran & Rosenberg (3-min audio) or to the entire LSB meeting here: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

Interim KPFA manager leaving, but Pacifica’s Engelhardt refuses to follow bylaws in replacing him

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Just after the recent fund drive ended, KPFA’s interim general manager Andrew Phillips announced he’ll be leaving as of June 30. KPFA’s Local Station Board (LSB) had been interviewing candidates for the permanent general manager position, and passed this resolution last month objecting to Pacifica executive director Arlene Engelhardt‘s apparent refusal to do her part, under the bylaws, to finish that process. The LSB had interviewed candidates and chosen a pool of 3 it found qualified. The bylaws require Engelhardt to hire a GM from that pool, but Engelhardt dragged the process out for months, then refused to make a choice.

KPFA board member Conn Hallinan, who headed the GM search committee, made this 5-minute report at last month’s LSB meeting, concluding that the rights of KPFA’s listeners and staff to run their station were being “eviscerated.”

KPFA’s local board chair Margy Wilkinson and vice chair Sasha Futran met with Engelhardt on June 5. Engelhardt told them she was not going to hire a permanent general manager from the LSB’s pool, but was instead looking for another interim GM to replace Phillips. She said she was talking to 4 people “suggested by media and communications professionals.” When Wilkinson and Futran pointed out to Engelhardt that this was the second time in her tenure that she was moving to appoint a manager without any consultation with KPFA’s local board or staff, she had no response.

Recall ballots on their way, says Pacifica’s election supervisor

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Ballots in the extremely long-awaited recall vote of Pacifica treasurer Tracy Rosenberg are due to mail sometime in the next week. That’s according to our last communication from election supervisor Matt Ward (though if they mail out later, it wouldn’t be the first time Pacifica blew a deadline. Under Pacifica’s own rules, these ballots should have been out by New Year’s Eve 2011!).

KPFA Local Station Board chair Margy Wilkinson described what she had been able to learn about the recall and elections planned for later this year at all five Pacifica stations, during a report to KPFA’s local board June 2. | LISTEN to Wilkinson (2 min audio)

We urge you to VOTE YES on the recall, which is endorsed by a long list of KPFA listeners and workers. In addition, please help SaveKPFA ensure that Pacifica conducts this vote fairly and impartially by contacting us when you receive your ballot and when you’ve voted. You’re supposed to get a ballot if you’re a KPFA member — meaning you gave $25 or more in a one-year period.