Who owns what?

[Scoutmaster253 10]

Bob White said: "Since they were gained under the scouting program the local councils has a claim as well ..."

I disagreewith this point. Unless the council has played a substantial role in financing or otherwise directly providing the equipment fora new unit, Ibelieve that they have no claim what so ever on the gear. A scout unit belongs to the Chartering Organization, and the local council may only approve or deny the right of a CO to have a troop. Beyond that the council and the district are only active as support functions,providing training, program assistance, etc, and the CO is responsible for using the scouting materialsto provide an outdoor program to its youth.

[Bob White 20]

The council did play a role. The Council is the local non-profit organization that is the legal representative of the BSA. The unit is not. The unit used the name, image, and reputation of the BSA to raise the funds in its treasury and to purchase its equipment.

 

You may not agree but this is in fact the case. You can find info on this in the leader manuals of the BSA programs.

[scoutldr 726]

At the risk of being redundant...

 

Rules and Regulations, Article XI, Section 1, Local Council and Unit Finance Clause 2, Disposition of Unit Funds Upon Termination of Local Council or Unit

 

(b) Unit Obligations. In the event of the dissolution of a unit or the revocation or lapse of its charter, the unit committee shall apply unit funds and property to the payment of unit obligations and shall turn over the surplus, if any, to the local council, if there is one, or if there is no local ocuncil, dispose of the same in accordance with the direction of the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. In the case of a chartered organization, any funds or equipment which may have been secured as property of the unit shall be held in trust by the chartering organizaiton or the chartered local council, as may be agreed upon, pending reorganization of the unit or for the promotion of the program of the Boy Scouts of America.

 

© Administration of Local Funds by Corporation. Any property or funds acquired by the Executive Board upon the dissolution of a Scouting unit or local council shall be administered so as to make effective, as far as posssible, the intentions and wishes of the donors.

 

(d) Special Funds. Special funds created for specific purposes, acquired by a unit or local council, shall be vested in a bank, trust company or BSA Intravest Trust, in trust for the use of the unit or the local council, in accordance with the wishes of the donors, with the provision in the statement of the conditions governing the admiinistering of the funds that in the event of the dissolution of the unit or council or revocation or lapse of its charter said trustee or trustees will, after satisfying any clams against such fund, turn over to the Boy Scouts of America the balance for use by the Boy Scouts of America for the benefit of Scouting in such locality and for the specific purposes for which the fund was granted. If there is no suitable opportunity for the use of said fund in such locality, it may be used elsewhere.

 

This is from the "Rules and Regulations", which, as has been alleged, we mere volunteers have no need to see. Our DE copied this and passsed it out at our last District Committee mtg, as it had recently been an issue. I believe that the use of the phrase "secured as property of the unit" is significant, in that it indicates that units can, indeed own property such as funds and equipment. I am correcting my training syllabus accordingly. I will leave it to NJScouter to interpret the fine legal points, but it's pretty clear to me. The troop committee has an obligation to see that the boys get their "Scout Account" money ("special funds"), and the rest goes to the Council, provided there is no intent to resurrect the unit by the CO. As BW is fond of saying, unless the posters here can quote the reference, what they post here is just hearsay and opinion. Caveat emptor.