What Does an Exchequer Do?

Greetings unto the good people of Cynnabar!

As your Exchequer, I come to you with a plea. If you read the last
issue of Citadel, you will recall Kay's suggestion that all officers
have functional deputies. That lead me to ask myself some
questions. What does a deputy do? Why do I need one? How do I get
one if I do need it?

After much soul searching, a few dozen cups of coffee, and shooting at
Barney the Dinosaur at the last Archery practice, I realized that yes,
I do need a deputy. But before I make a request for one, I will
detail what my duties are.

My only true duty to Kingdom and Crown is to submit quarterly reports.
In this issue you will see a copy this quarter's report, which details
the shire's expenditures and income. And that is all that really
needs to be done. If quarterly reports aren't turned in, then the
Shire is put on abbeyance [insert dramatic music here], which means
that the Shire can't run any events. This is a bad thing, and I
intend to never let that happen. I also hold the check books for the
Shire checking account, but to write a check requires two signatures
(currently, the Kay, our Senechal, and myself are the ones who
can write a check in Cynnabar's name), so it is not that easy for me
to steal the Shire's money. Not that I would do that.
Really....honest...

However, as an officer of the Shire of Cynnabar, I feel that I have more
duties to the people who entrusted me with this office. These are:

1. Provide an accounting of current funds and a record of expenditures to
any shire member who asks.

2. Make suggestions on how much the Shire can afford with regards to future
expenditures.

3. Make fundraising suggestions for Shire groups in need of funding.

4. Attend all Council meetings, and attend most of the Monday night meetings.

5. Provide Troll services (i.e. find people to do this) for events put
on by the Shire if requested to do so by the coordinator.

6. Be an officer of the Shire. To me, this means listen to any
complains or suggestions from anyone in the Shire. I will strive to
be open-minded and will do my best to make sure everyone's voice is
heard. I will also do my best to base all decisions concerning the
shire to be in its best interest, which means I will try to understand
*what* exactly the best interest of the shire is. For that last
point, I need the help of everyone reading this, to come to me and
voice your opinions if you feel you aren't being heard, so I can
understand how you feel and what you want.

In actuality, the above "duties" are privledges to me, and I'm very glad
to have the opportunity to perform them.

So, now that you know how I view my office, I can now explain what I
need from a deputy. Basically, I want my deputy to be able to take
over all my duties in the event i'm unable to perform my job. Most
importantly this means submitting the quarterly reports. This also
means understanding how the Shire financial records are kept.
Obviously we would work together in creating the quarterly reports. I
also want my deputy to act as an officer, which means performing
duties one through six listed above, because in my eyes that person
will *be* an officer. The only ability my deputy will not have is check
signing ability, because it would be dangerous to the Shire for both
people in the same office to have the power to write and cash checks.

With all this in mind, I hope I did not scare anyone away from
becoming a deputy. This is a great opportunity to become involved
with the workings of the Shire and to learn about Kingdom level
interactions. You will meet interesting people and learn amazing
facts that you probably never wanted to know! People who are my
deputies of course would have the best chance of becoming the next
Exchequer if they so desire. I invite anyone to come talk to me
privately about their interest in this office. The first five people
who talk to me get free juggling lessons...

Last Updated: 28 June 98
Return to Midair's SCA Page.
Return to Chuck Cohen's Home Page.