Board of Directors and Budget Meeting Update
By Beverly Rhodes, MSHP, RHIA

The TxHIMA Board of Directors met on March 12, 2004 for a board meeting and budget planning meeting for fiscal year 2004-2005. I'd like to update the membership on some of the highlights of the meeting.

• Organization Infrastructure. One of my goals for my tenure was to gain a better understanding of the financial structure of the organization. Last year when Kim Suggs began her role as president-elect, together we agreed to focus on re-evaluating the infrastructure of the organization and recommending changes as needed. Based on our research and evaluations, as well as on advice from AHIMA, the board agreed to the following:

• TxHIMA needs an attorney to function on an as-needed basis to assist with issues that arise in issues involving everything from contract reviews to tax issues. We have chosen an attorney in San Marcos , Texas , who has expertise in small not-for-profit organizations and personnel law.
• Upon approval from AHIMA and IRS, the board would like to move to a January – December fiscal year. TxHIMA's largest revenues and expenses occur related to the annual state convention; however, with the current fiscal year of June – July, revenues and expenses for the convention occur in separate fiscal years, making tracking, planning, and adhering to a budget very challenging. At this time, we are evaluating this possibility, knowing that there may be impacts to the organization other than financial ones.
• The board is considering relocating the executive office. We are aware that there is a financial impact to another move, but we have concerns about our current lease agreement. We are exploring this issue with the assistance of our attorney.
• For many years, the TxHIMA board has relied on the financial expertise of Mr. Bob Tippens to assist with many of the financial management issues. As financial advisor, his role has included managing the organization's investments and working with our accounting company and our CPA. This arrangement has freed the board to focus on other issues; however, we would like to see the board take a more active role in understanding and managing finances. The board decided to establish a Finance Committee which will report to the board. This committee will consist of the TxHIMA president and president-elect. We are very grateful to Bob's outstanding service to the organization over the years and hope that he will continue in his role as part of the Finance Committee.

• Education. Under the direction of Dana Choate, with assistance from Jackie Moczygemba and Stacey McIntosh, TxHIMA has offered educational programs in several locations in Texas . Dana has done an excellent job managing a budget for this program, and we have initiated a plan for 2004-2005.

• Convention. Gwen Duffie has been very busy with convention planning. Gwen and her convention committee have developed an agenda of exceptional speakers and ample networking activities for attendees and vendors for this year's convention in Houston .

• Website. The TxHIMA website continues to be one of our most reliable and efficient forms of communication with our members. Email communication and, as Madeline Perrett, at the TxHIMA Executive Office, testifies, telephone calls, are also used by our members to communicate with the board and the executive office. As representatives of TxHIMA, the board and executive office staff want to be as available as possible to the members, and the TxHIMA website offers us a method to do this effectively. If you or other HIM professionals you know are not using the website, we encourage you to try it. We also welcome your feedback on ways we can improve the website to make it more useful. This is the first year that we have used technology to assist in voting (e-vote) for the board of directors ballot, and the feedback from members has been overwhelmingly positive. There are many other electronic benefits that we have not yet put into effect, so we encourage you to put the TxHIMA website on your “favorites” list and stay up to date.

• Budget. At this time, the budget for fiscal year 2004-2005 is pending final approval as the board conducts final reviews. If TxHIMA gains approval from IRS and, if needed, from AHIMA, to change fiscal years, the board will amend the budget to reflect necessary changes. For the 2003-2004 budget period, the board approved to increase the giving to FORE to $1500, and we increased the donation to $5000 for this fiscal year. We have also increased the amount of state scholarship money available for awards. If we don't have scholarship applicants, the money goes unused, so we need to encourage those eligible to apply.