Non-Member Surcharge (NMS) Voting Report
1/12/03

    On January 6, 2003, following some months of public and private comment
and debate on the NMS, the Officers of the Great Council of Carolingia voted
on eight proposals for handling the NMS (see this document at
www.carolingia.org and http://www.waks.org/Carolingia/ or email
lisag@world.std.com for a copy).

    These proposals represented a full range of implementation options from
full implementation to full rejection, including considering of alternate
tithing.  Proposals 1-6 were considered approved for use by autocrats if
they received 67% or greater approval from the officers.  Proposals 7 and 8
required 75% or greater approval for further consideration by the Barony.
Officers were allowed to vote for as many proposals as they considered
acceptable, drawing on the feedback from their constituents.  Autocrats may
consider other options with Seneschale approval, but should be aware that
there is not broad support for these ideas ­ potentially indicating lower
attendance and/or lack of staff volunteers as a result of choosing an option
that did not have Council approval.

    Of the forty-seven potential votes, forty-four officers cast votes in
person or by proxy.  Two of the remaining votes were from inactive burroughs
who were not expected to send representatives to vote anyway.
    Council as a whole approved four proposals, as follows:
    95.0%        Free/donations events (Proposal 5)
    90.9%        Donations NMS (Proposal 3)
    86.4%        Unofficial events (Proposal 6)
    70.5%        Full implementation (Proposal 1)

    Officially, autocrats may choose one or a combination of these methods
at this time.  Autocrats should consult with the Seneschale if they are
unsure of how to select or implement these methods.  Council did not approve
Proposal 4, raising event fees by a certain amount to cover the NMS (66%) by
a small margin.  Proposal 2, the development of an alternate tithing
proposal, also did not pass (61.4%).  Individual Carolingians may continue
to express their support for alternative proposals to the Board of
Directors.  The final proposals, rejecting the NMS and seceding from the
SCA, were not supported.  Rejecting the NMS received only 18.2% approval.
Secession received no votes.

Taken by Proposal number ­ six of the eight officer groups (Burroughs,
Cantons, Autocrats, Guildheads, Households, Martial activities, Officers,
Orders) supported Proposal 1 with a range of 67-100%.  Three groups did not
support Proposal #1, with a range of ­63.6%.  This led to a narrow passing
of Proposal 1 at 70.5%, for all of Council.  Autocrats should carefully
consider the nature, budget, and site constraints of their events when
contemplating this option, as many voters indicated their support of this
option only under certain conditions (RP, KW events).  Of seven officers who
qualified their approval vote for this proposal, one was in full support,
three indicated support for its limited use with high profile events, and
three supported it as ³autocrat¹s prerogative².  Thirteen officers voted
against this proposal.

Proposal 2 was a split topic ­ with four of the eight officer groups in
support (67-100% approval) and five against (20-50%).  The difficulty
obtaining BOD approval for an alternative tithe method may have dissuaded
many from voting for this option. Individual Carolingians may continue to
express their support for alternative proposals to the Board of Directors.

Proposal 3 received broad support from all of the officer groups with a
range of 80-100% approval. As such, Catrin o¹r Rhyd For has volunteered to
coordinate efforts to raise money to cover the NMS.  Autocrats wishing to
take advantage of donations towards the NMS may contact the Senechale or
Exchequer.  Autocrats wishing to host a fundraising effort at their event
may contact Catrin or the Seneschale.  Private donations may also be made at
events, to the Senechale, or to the Exchequer, with indication that such
donations are specifically for the NMS.

Six of the eight officer groups supported Proposal 4.  One group at 100%,
five at 67-75%).  The remaining groups voted a range of 20-50% acceptance.
The average percent of support was 66%, meaning that this option was not
approved for general use by autocrats.  This Proposal posed difficulties in
execution, with a strong feeling that the BOD or Kingdom guidelines would
eventually disallow this option.  Autocrats are discouraged from this
option, but may speak to the Seneschale about its use.  It is cautioned that
using an unapproved option may lead to lesser event attendance or staff
volunteers.

All of the officer groups supported Proposal 5 (83-100%), which received the
highest approval of all the options (95%).  Autocrats are highly encouraged
to use this option, provided that it does not put the Barony at significant
financial risk.  Events may still include subset fees, such as feast fees,
provided that fees do not subsidize the rest of the event.

Proposal 6 was also supported by all of the officer groups (67-100%) for
86.4% approval as a whole.  When events are of a mainly local interest, this
option is recommended to autocrats, though they may also use it under other
circumstances as needed.

No officer groups showed approval level for Proposal 7 (0-50%).  This
indicates the continuing philosophical objections to the NMS, although few
were willing to risk censure as a result of civil disobedience.

Proposal 8 received no votes of support from any officer group.  Again,
while many philosophically oppose the NMS, few were willing to take the
drastic measure of secession.

A comparison study of types of offices and their support of each proposal
indicated a few trends.

The four voting Burroughs supported Proposals 3, 5, and 6 at 100%.  These
three proposals have in common that the NMS is either avoided or paid by an
alternate funding structure, possibly reflecting the financial difficulties
posed to college students by the NMS.  These three proposals were also
supported by Council as a whole.  The burroughs supported at 75% Proposals
1, 2, and 4.  No burroughs supported Proposal 8, and one supported Proposal
7.

Results from the two Cantons within Carolingia showed 100% support for
Proposals 3, 5, and 6, which were also approved by Council as a whole.
Proposals 1, 2, 4 and 7 each received the vote of one Canton.  There was no
accurate way to weigh these votes against the opinions of those in the
geographic areas that do not lie in either Canton (sometimes called
Carolingia Proper), as there is no office specifically representing those
resident in this area.

Recent and upcoming event autocrats supported Proposals 3, 5, and 6,
continuing the Baronial trend in support of these three proposals.  The
autocrats voted 20% in favor of Proposals 2, 4, and 7, and had 0% support
for Proposals 1 and 8.  This indicates that current autocrats are in support
of event arrangements that avoid the NMS or cover the NMS by donations,
rather than straight implementation of the NMS.

The eleven Guildheads supported Proposal 5 (100%), Proposal 3 (90.9%),
Proposal 6 (81.8%) and Proposals 2 and 4 (72.7% each).  The acceptance of
Proposals 3, 5, and 6 again follows a trend of high Baronial support.
Proposals 2 and 4 passed in this group of officers by a narrow margin, but
did not pass the Barony as a whole. The guilds also voted Proposal 1 at
63.7% (the Barony passed at 70.5%) and had 27.3% in favor of the Proposal 7.
The four Households voted 100% in favor of Proposals 3, 5, and 6, and 75% in
favor of Proposals 1 and 4.  They did not approve Proposal 2 (50%), Proposal
7 (25%), or Proposal 8 (0%).

Proposals 1, 3, 5, and 6 received 83% approval from the Martial activities
officers.  They also supported Proposal 4 at 67%.  Half of the Martial
officers support Proposal 2, and none voted for Proposals 7 and 8.

General officers of the Barony (Secretary, Exchequer, etc.) approved
Proposal 3 and 5 at 89%, Proposal 6 (77.8%), and Proposals 1, 2, and 4
barely at 67%.  Proposal 7 received 11.1% of the general officers¹ votes and
Proposal 8 received no votes.

The three Carolingian Orders voted 100% for proposals 1-5 and 67% for
proposal 6.  none of the Orders approved Proposal 7 or 8.

In conclusion, the Barony of Carolingia, as represented by the officers of
Great council, indicated board disapproval of the NMS and a desire to use
legitimate methods to avoid paying it or help those who cannot pay by
implementing a fundraising structure.  Despite disapproval of the NMS as a
whole, the Barony recognized that some events will necessitate the use of
the NMS.  In addition, the Barony does not choose either civil disobedience
or secession at this time, though some individual Carolingians are
supporting alternate tithing proposals on a private level or personally
boycotting NMS events to show their objections to the NMS.
Please feel free to contact me with questions, opinions, etc. about this
report.

In service,

Lady Eleanor Catlyng
Seneschale, Barony of Carolingia, East Kingdom
(Lisa A. Goldthwaite Wright)
lisag@world.std.com
508-875-5866

PS

Graphs of the vote, broken down by officer group, are available upon
request, in printed form or Excel file.