Comment by Charlie Smith

Feldman’s Behavior

Early in his term as the Senior Director for finance he tried to impose contracts on all employees. These contracts had employment start dates considerably more recent than their actual ones. The Mexican employees became extremely upset and the idea had to be cancelled but a residue of distrust among the Mexican employees still remains.

The Mexican employees did not receive their paychecks as they were accustomed on Fridays, on at least two occasions.Feldman’s response in a letter to the editor in the Guadalajara Reporter is that LCS complied with the letter of the law by paying on Saturday. He apparently does not care that only complying with the letter of the law may greatly inconvenience employees who cannot cash checks on Saturday .

In the same letter to the Editor he states that Jeanne Chaussee, a well-respected journalist, created “quoted statements” simply to build sensationalism. This is a terrible accusation against a journalist and as in many of his statements is untrue. He also states in the same letter that “LCS would no longer exist if drastic actions had not been taken” when in fact there was over one million pesos in total assets as of Oct. 31 2008.

He overlooked the serious cash flow problem early in 2008, and although admitting that the problem was noticed in April he and the Board did nothing until October, and then unilaterally and without consulting with or holding a vote of the members raised the dues significantly. The reason for not holding a membership meeting about the dues raise was that it would be like “herding cats.”

He accused Larry Reeves of having offered to pay the Librarian’s salary and then reneging on that offer. Larry has filed a libel suit against LCS for that allegation.

Stated as the reason for the abrupt and callous dismissals of the Treasurer, the office Manager and the Librarian that “People with access to cash and bank accounts knowing they will be leaving in two weeks to a month may decide they need money.” This insult to their integrity also resulted in libel actions being brought against LCS – A RECORD THREE PENDING AT ONE TIME.

There effectively was NO Membership Drive this year. Feldman as Director for Finance should have been jumping up and down and screaming over the need for an active Drive, yet nothing. Most years there are articles in the Ojo, Reporter and Review, signs on the LCS grounds, sign-up tables operating in early September, e-mails to members reminding them to renew –but this year, nada.

In the announcement of the dues increase and employee dismissal it was stated that cash in the bank went from over a million pesos two years ago to 350,000 today in an attempt to imply something fishy had gone on. He was forced to admit in the Questions and Answers on the LCS web site that “much of the difference was due to timing.” However, the genie was already out of the bottle and all kinds of rumors are floating around lakeside about missing cash, including on Web posting about “possible embezzlement.”

Rather than work on solving the financial problems, paying employees when they expect it or coming up with a financial plan for next year, he has spent his energy on generating mud-slinging blogs and letters to the editor.