Leaderboard

The reality is that BSA has far too many councils. Just as they restructured regions and areas they will need to cut councils down. I have no issue paying a SE a large amount if he/she does a great job and grow scouting in their area. I get emails from several different councils. From the program offerings to the user experience of the message parents see vastly different versions of BSA. Hopefully when there are mergers, BSA identifies the well run councils and has them take over some of their neighbors.

The final decisions rest with the local councils. However, there is precedent to a national BSA mandate. In the early 1990's national established a series of sixteen benchmarks that local councils had to achieve in order to receive a charter. If I recall (and it has been a while) these included (1) the number of eligible youth within the council geographic area, (2) percentage of eligible youth enrolled, (3) a positive operating balance over a period of time, (4) establishment of a significant endowment, (5) outside annual audit and a (6) a minimum financial reserve among others. There were

Councils have an annual outside audit that is presented first to the executive committee and then to the executive board. We peruse the audit reports carefully and discuss anything that needs explanation or justification. Having a single council for some small, northeastern states might work though the board members in the areas immediate to the council offices will dominate all other areas. We see that in our medium sized council. There is much gnashing of teeth from those not in the central part of the council. People need to work together in person at least some of t

There is definitely a balance. Too large of a council, you lose connection with the variety of areas you serve. Too small of a council, you cannot have sufficient staff to specialize in all the areas councils are expected to function (program, camps, fundraising, training, HR/legal, etc. Given the massive debt and severe financial distress BSA (and councils) are facing post bankruptcy, I think the only way to survival is mergers. Having a bunch of financially weak councils with camps falling into disrepair, lack of programs, limited money for PR/recruiting, etc. will lead to collapse.

Since the local councils are independent, they must be convinced to merge. It is usually a difficult process but it has happened since the early days of the movement. If the BSA emerges from Chapter 11, it will not have the number of staff needed to convince councils to merge. It takes months of time with people leading it from National or, better, the local leadership of the two councils. Personally, larger councils are not necessarily better for serving the needs of the volunteers. Perhaps, it would be better to develop training for councils and their executive boards and commi

I agree. It's a common and a reasonable answer. Another version is periodic furloughs. Work several weeks. Take an unpaid week. It's a chance to provide some income; help a company ride out hard times; preseve skills/knowledge; provide the potential of a continued career after business resumes. This stuff ain't easy. Every executive / manager / lead I've know takes this stuff really hard. I remember my dad as a manager drive home with tears because he had to lay off best friends and put others in hard situations. I remember a senior direct and myself in an elevator on the day of

The local councils formed an ad hoc committee that has a system for representation of the various sizes of councils. That committee took the requested contribution and developed a complex method that takes into account the number of claims, the statute of limitations for those claims (if any), the financial viability of the council, and the funds that the council could contribute. This process has been very secretive with local Scout Executives not knowing any details. Once a council-by-council contribution was determined, all ~250 council Executive Boards met totally independent of oth

As a physician, I must disagree. Though some accounting processes would be challenging without a crash course, I could do all the other office jobs except laboratory technician for those practices that have one as certificates are required. The council is well run and did layoff staff as well as not filling some professional jobs. No professionals were laid off - that was the plan. It was better to have a one year pay reduction than to lose one's job. Our council is one of the healthiest in the region and will not be merging unless this RSA is rejected.

Our camps are mostly located in rather desolate areas. No cell service or internet at most. Also, most scouts live closer to scout offices than camps.

I have said locate scout offices at camps for years. Better camp use, save money and most things can be done electronically or remotely. Really this could save Scouting so much money that LC's could survive.

Councils appear to be independently, state-chartered not for profit corporations. I do not believe that they operate totally independently from National. I believe that National dictates major decisions to the Scout Executives and they advise the council president and executive committee of the executive board, and the Council moves in lock-step with National. Apparently, ALL of the local councils agreed to pay the settlement contribution determined by National. Maybe there were battles behind the scene, but 100% agreement? In an organization with so many moving parts?

My small council is already large donor, prominent corporate leader controlled. And they have not a clue. One cannot appreciate the importance of tradition unless one is part of that tradition.

Are Council financial statements prepared in compliance with GAAP? Anybody seen council financial statements prepared in compliance with GAAP? I have not.

It was left up to each council on how to fund the proposed contribution to the trust. Our council’s original plan had also been changed. The total does not change only how it is to be paid.

This will be one of the major challenges for the BSA as it moves past the bankruptcy. Our council, for example, had had potential merger discussions with three other smaller neighboring councils even before the national bankruptcy filing and the pandemic. Since that time, the situation has grown much more concerning with a membership decline of over fifty percent. In addition, revenue streams including product sales, activity income and camp fees have all taken a significant hit. In our area, we also have an abundance of full featured camps within a two to three hour drive. At least a d

Several Scout officials and residents of the area around Camp Drake (Illinois) are decrying an ongoing logging effort that will harvest 1,400 trees ... The logging at Camp Drake will generate between $200,000 and $300,000 to build a shower building/storm shelter (tornado) which will house up to 200 people at a cost of $250,000. ... Tiffany Armas, scoutmaster of Troop 2119, and her son, Joel, an Eagle Scout, are among those protesting the plan the loudest. They said Scout officials were not properly informed of the scope of the plan and that it is not following proper forestry ec

Update 1/27/2022: Calling the Boy Scout-owned Deer Lake Camp a “magical” place, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., promised to help get federal funds to head off private development of the 255-acre property, which is up for sale. “The precious and pristine treasure that is Deer Lake ... must be preserved,” Blumenthal told a group of three dozen people who gathered next to the frozen lake at the camp amid frigid temperatures Thursday. "Unfortunately, the Boy Scouts owe money and that's a fact of life." “It really is a treasure for the whole state, and that’s why I wil

Several years ago, an adjacent rural council raised the funds to construct a beautiful, large Scout center at its primary camp that was the envy of the area. It featured a nice Scout shop, conference and training rooms and and offices. Beautiful setting. However, it was an hour or more away from the major population centers, Few volunteers wanted to make the drive there for meetings or supplies. Its remote location meant that it was invisible to most of the community. A council merger with a shift of primary camps was the final blow. Within a fairly short period of time, it was abandoned and