Why not a “user fee” for a supposed non-profit business, that is considering expenditures just a bit south of 3/4 of a million dollars? Where is the money supposed to come from?

This not about “the children.” Good Lord, liberals need a new phrase. This is the expenditure of town funds for a start up business. Will this business pay taxes? Will this business generate any sort of income to the town? They are willing to take town money…

Vance Cannon spoke at the easement hearing, in which we were all told that only questions about the easement may be considered. Vance TOLD the audience that if the building was not purchased, ti would sit empty, since no one wanted it. This is a kitchen table deal, cut by the Board of Selectmen for the benefit of the FVCT. Now that precedent to give taxpayer money to them has been established, it can be done in the future because “we’ve always given money to the theater.”

BTW, don’t ever apologize for chiming in on any thread. You may well face the same situation in your town, someday.

However, even giving credit to our individual town spirits for giving our individual towns characters all their own, I really wonder if we are on solid ground when we are explicitly reluctant to accept kids at an activity in one town because they live in another — unless they happen to be able to bring a big check along with them.

Our year-round population in this area is tiny (considering our proximity to New York City and Boston), and as has been often pointed out, we have fewer and fewer kids growing up here. Can we really afford to set up financial barriers between towns at this stage of the game? For CHILDREN?

I personally see Berkshire United Soccer Club, which covers all the towns in Region I, as the paradigm we ought to be emulating.

The days when townships were defined and villages located according to the distance a man could conveniently walk in a day are ancient history today. (Dick Paddock’s current column in the Lakeville Journal, concerning the “elopement” from Canaan Mountain to Millerton, is actually evidence of how obsolete and positively antique our insistence on 19th century township boundaries were even a hundred years ago.)

Just a thought….

Geoff Brown

We in the Northwest Corner are already nothing but neighborhoods in one community, whether we like it or not — or even choose to recognize the fact.

The principals, whomever they might be, are less than forthcoming with information. Why?

I am not opposed to FVCT. As someone with as little performing talent as can be, I think it’s a great outlet and will address a need in this area. IF my children wanted to participate, they would.

I am opposed to town funds being used to support any type of business, non-profit or not. Yes, that means I am opposed to South Dakota giving tax breaks to Citigroup to process credit card transactions, and the entire debacle in New London.

Once the theater princials asked for taxpayer money, this became a public deal. The taxpayers have a right to know all the financial details. I am opposed to any more concessions from the town, including the easement, until there is a business plan for public perusal, and proof of non-profit status, or at least application for same.

During that time, I registerd with the State of Connecticut Secretary of State, (my corp was formed already, and in my inital application to the IRS I received my Federal EIN number). I then registed as a charity with the Connecticut Att Generals Public Charities unit.

So the process was transparent and available to the public from the very start.

As a matter of fact, it had to be, I was responsible to file information with the DPUC from the get-go.

I saw a flyer looking for funds for the Emerson Building Project whic mention becoming a 501 (c)(3). Thats fine, who are they operating under? If they are operating under the auspices of The Area Foundation for Public Giving, or the Berkshire Taconic Fund, letting people know that will only give more credibility to their cause.

I hope the theatre becomes as succesful as Tri-Arts in their own way…I just thought they would be a little more open on their finances..it would help answer some of the critism.

Again, I think most of the critisim is based on the towns handling of the issue of the $25,000 loan, grant, etc!, not the theater.

If the theatre company would like help from me in the setting up, of their 501 (c)(3), I would be glad to help

Marshall

The main question remains:

Why aren’t the principals in this group more forthcoming?

That’s correct. It does take at least a year to get 501(c)(3) status. Many newly formed charities around here receive their gifts through The Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (e.g. the Jane Lloyd Fund comes to mind). But the BCTF takes a percentage of any gift (I think it’s about 20%).

If the donors who needed to make their charitable gift to the theater company by Dec. 31 did so to get a tax deduction, then the theater company either got 501(c)(3) status quickly or it ran it gifts through another organization such as BCTF.

First of all, it typically takes a year or more for the IRS to grant a 501(c)(3) exemption to ANY not-for-profit. During that time, an extensive and probing application is drafted, the IRS reviews the application and submits questions to the applicants, the applicants reply to the questions, the IRS may submit additional questions to the applicants, which the applicants reply to, and finally, after the IRS concludes that the organization is a legitimate not-for-profit organization, they notify the organization that they now have 501(c)(3) status.

The logical question that comes up next is how the organization gets donations to it handled as tax deductible during this period while the IRS is checking them out.

I cannot speak for the Falls Village Children’s Theatre, but in my experience, during the period while the 501(c)(3) is in the works, the organization receives donations via an organization that already has tax exempt status. Churches, synagogues, etc. sometimes do this as part of their community outreach efforts. So do community or area foundations.

Thus, you should not expect a newly created not for profit organization to have 501(c)(3) status immediately. And, tax deductible donations can still be made for its benefit via the umbrella or parent or incubator not-for-profit while the new organization awaits its 501(c)(3) status.

Hope this helps.

Geoff Brown

Paul, your first….

Marshall