should Elders be held resposible......................

by KAYTEE 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  KAYTEE

  Should elders be held financially responsible for actions and decisions that they get wrong? ;

  In my very last congregation we needed some form of heating, in the body of elders there was no air condition expertise at all.

  This did not stop them buying a £3,500 unit for this purpose, there was at the time two refrigeration engineers in the hall (myself and another), we were NOT approached for our input into this purchase.

  The outcome was as usual a complete white elephant, IT DID NOT WORK. £3,500 pounds lost. There was no reimbursement because of there decision to buy.

  The irony of this was that the other engineer offered to the elders a complete LPG system at no cost plus free installation by some of us.

  THIS WAS NOT PUT TO THE CONGREGATION

  Should elders make a decision when they do not have the skill to do it, and if they do, should they be held responsible for any costs involved? if they work for a company they would get the sack.

  NO APOLOGIES

  I’m sure you have come across similar situations.

  KT
• 

  AlexHall

  The elders are only human. They make misstakes, they are arrogant, and belive that they have all the facts. To lay down the facts and showing that they made a misstake should be enought. An elder that can´t show humility and admit when he fails, should not be an elder. And since "we" no longer belive that they have been guided by the holy spirit, we have no reason to show them respect, when they don´t deserve it
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  Tired of the Hypocrisy

  I think they should be flogged for this particular blunder.
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  wobble

  I wonder what their position is with regard to the monies they have wasted being funds belonging to a Charity. Surely in law they are duty -bound to exercise proper judgement as to how funds are used,i.e consult experts as much as possible before making a decision and getting guarantees etc. ?

  Anybody on here familiar with U.K Charity Law?

  (I know they will wriggle and say the whole Cong. took the decision by raising their hands like Zombies,but I wonder if it couldn't be made to bite these arrogant,ignorant guys in the bum ?)

  Love

  wobble
• 

  oldflame

  I think some people should learn how to use spell check or they can be held accountable.... LOL
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  WTWizard

  If what they are doing is something they are being told to do and they f*** up because they were told to do the wrong thing or confused, those higher up should be held responsible. Having the hounder-hounder ordering the hounder to install something that is beyond his ability to should make that hounder-hounder, or his hounder(s), responsible. In that case, it might be proper for it to come right out of the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund to fix the problem.

  On the other hand, if the hounder is taking it on himself to do something that he cannot properly do, just so he can have more to donate to the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund and make himself look good, that's a case where that hounder can be held partially financially responsible. To the extent that they were explicitly told not to attempt it and did it anyways, they should be held responsible for the damage. If, however, they were genuinely trying to do good and nothing was said, then it should only be partial,

  If the hounder intended to do the work himself and has done it successfully, and messed up this time, then he should be held responsible to get it done right or pay someone to do it right. If it was because of bad parts, then the manufacturer of those parts should have to replace them (unless they intentionally chose crap parts to save money--the hounders should be held responsible for their bad decisions, so they can learn to make better ones).

  Notably, I have never seen a Kingdumb Hell with an air conditioning system that works properly.
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  happpyexjw

  Here in the states, the leaders of non-profits have a fiduciary responsibility to make sound financial decisions, since they are spending money that does not belong to them. Not sure if this principle would apply in this case, but it might.
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  AllTimeJeff

  In all matters regarding the elders, I would suggest that we take each elder, and each elder body on an individual basis.

  Elders are also victims of GB manipulation, just like the rest of the flock. While they want you to be humble, they also talk about the "privilege" you have for reaching out and taking the lead. Elders get dumped on all the time. It's a horrible job to have.

  I think some elders deserve some "retribution" I guess, but I look back at myself, and other elders, and see people who are doing what they are told quite often. Elders are not as autonomous as some may think. It's still the CO, Service Dept, and GB that runs things.... Elders are pawns with better titles...
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  undercover

  Anymore, the Regional Building Committee makes the calls on how and when money will be spent on most Kingdom Halls.

  I know of a congregation that needed repairs/renovations. The local elders, some of who are in the construction trade, got bids/quotes from local contractors, people they trusted and knew would be fair in their pricing.

  The RBC said, "nope, we'll take care of it...oh by the way, you'll need this, this and this in addition to what you were planning..."

  In the end, a project that was going to be about $75,000 ended up being a complete and total remodel project totaling over $200,000. This for a piece of property and building that isn't worth over $300,000 at the most.

  Another hall needed a new roof. The local elders got quotes from a roofer that one of them knew. The RBC said, nope, we'll take care of it. In the end, materials were provided through the RBC...and the congregation had to do all the labor themselves...and the sisters had to feed everyone. A disgruntled brother in the hall figured out the cost of the labor, the food, the sister's labor and the materials and figured that they would have saved money had they just let the roofer do it.

  The RBC is a contractor scam run by the WTS...
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  Amazing

  It seems unusual that the Elders would not have relied upon engineering experts in the congregation, consulted with outside experts, or obtained advice from the WTS. The Elders should, in my opinion, hire professionals to correct the situation and pay for the cost of the corrections out of their own personal funds. It is doubtful that will happen. Paying for their own stupidity is called 'fiduciary' responsibility, as the Elders acted as ‘agents’ for the congregation. The Elders had an ethical, if not legal, obligation to place the financial interests of the congregation ahead of their own. That is a common law principle based on, of all things, Biblical principles!

  The congregation could sue the Elders under common law, and perhaps win. Most congregations have a corporate charter that directs the Elders to obtain a vote from the congregation on financial matters, and to openly discuss such, allowing for various opinions to be expressed. We certainly did that in congregations in the USA where I attended. The problem would be to determine if the cost of such a suit would be worth it in the long run. Likewise, it is very unlikely that the membership would engage in such a lawsuit. And of course, there is the almighty WTS, and one can be sure that if a bad decision can be made by them, it will be made in a way that the congregation will realize the least benefit, and the Elders will be protected.