Hi Nigel,
Since I got mentioned by name, perhaps the list won't mind if I respond to this one.
Very much appreciated even!
In actual fact the board drags Axel over the coals every time he proposes a budget. Every item on the budget is debated and in many cases reduced. Axel has a personal objective (with real personal implications) to reduce per member spending, year on year and to bring expenses in below budget. That's one reason why the expenses are consistently falling. Every extra staff position is identified and debated before making it into the budget. It normally takes 2 or 3 iterations to come to a final budget, and only then will the membership fee be proposed. If the community thinks that the board just rubber-stamps the NCC's management decisions, then I'm afraid they are much mistaken.
In addition to that, the NCC generates a monthly board report, running to 20 pages or more, which the board reads through and picks over. Between us, we've got pretty good at spotting anomalies and Axel knows better than to try (not that he would, of course).
Thank you for this reply. I think it is very good that the members see what their board is doing for them. And I guess it might make the board's job a bit easier if we as members think about and discuss what we expect from the NCC in a constructive way :-) Cheers, Sander