We, the stakeholders of, and donors to, the Nevada Humane Society, have lost faith in the Board of Directors' ability to address the needs of Washoe County’s homeless and stray animals. By a preponderance of evidence, we find the current NHS Board of Directors unable or unwilling to act in the best interest of the vulnerable animals they are supposed to help. We also find the current NHS Board of Directors unable or unwilling to make the necessary modifications to the organization, to ensure donor funds are used in a manner that best supports the homeless animals in their care. Recent actions taken by the NHS Board of Directors have demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to provide transparency into systemic problems within the organization, in the past and at present. It is for these reasons that we, the donors of NHS, and animal lovers in Northern Nevada make the following demands:
1. The NHS Board of Directors must publicly release data on NHS funds that were
provided to Board Members, their family members, or their friends (including the
Board member's, the family's, or the friends' affiliated companies).
- The data should cover all disbursements that have occurred since Jan 1, 2013 (the last 10 years).
- The data must include W-2s, 1099s, contracts, and the Conflict of Interest
forms submitted by the associated Board member(s) at the time the funds were
provided.
2. The NHS Board of Directors must publicly release data on NHS funds that were
provided to each organization/person contracted for services with a total amount of
$5,000.00/year or greater.
- The data should cover all contracted services occurring since Jan 1 2013, (last
10 years), and the name of the organization, 1099s, and a copy of the
contract(s) for services.
3. The NHS Board must release all Conflict-of-Interest (COI) policies, and individual
COI declarations from current and past Board members since Jan 1, 2013.
4. The NHS Board of Directors must post Board Members' biographies on the NHS
website.
- Biographies must detail each member’s work experience, and their
qualifications to be on the NHS Board of Directors.
- Each Board Member will provide a written statement that describes how their
experience supports NHS objectives to provide quality care for homeless and
stray animals.
- Each Board member must have his or her email address displayed so that the
public, including donors, may contact them.
5. The NHS Board of Directors must post the biographies of all senior NHS Managers
(CEO, COO, CFO, and key animal managers) on the NHS website.
- These must detail each member’s work experience, and their qualifications to
be a manager at NHS.
6. The Board will amend the bylaws to create an open and transparent process for the
election of board members.
- Applications for director positions will be accepted from interested parties
immediately. Resumes and qualifications must be made available to the public
and donors via the NHS website.
- Members of the Board must consist of representatives from each of the
following interested parties and professional fields: animal care professionals,
animal shelter professionals, donors, management experts, business owners,
accounting experts, legal experts, Washoe County representatives, shelter
volunteers, and representatives from the cities of Reno, Sparks, and Carson
City.
- At least one director from each group must be represented on the Board.
- A consultation must be made by the Board with interested donors and
members of the public to develop an election procedure whereby donors will
have a majority say in who gets elected to the Board, to arrive at 13 elected
Board members.
7. All Board members must immediately sign a code of ethics undertaking that they,
their associates and/or families (as well as each of their associated companies and
entities) will not benefit financially from NHS.
- No payments may be made to members of the board without written and
documented proof (e.g. detailed statements of work, and bids from at least
three providers) that the member of the board provides the best value for
money.
8. Members of the Board will establish a committee to draft a robust set of bylaws that
will govern the management of NHS, including the minimum and maximum number
of directors, term limits, and criteria for determining when funds should be spent on
products or services that do not directly benefit NHS' mission statement of caring for
homeless and stray animals in Northern Nevada.
- Members of the group drafting the bylaws should include individuals from the
same list provided in #6. NHS shall publish the draft bylaws, and hold a
meeting on the bylaws, allowing the public to comment on them, prior to
adaptation.
9. NHS shall recommit to its longstanding mission of saving all healthy and treatable
animals countywide, and as part of this commitment, report on its performance on at
least a monthly basis, including the following information:
- Number of animals taken in by source
- Number of animals adopted out, euthanized, and other outcomes by species,
including all animals regardless of age or medical status
- Average length of stay of each animal by type (i.e., by dogs, cats, small
mammals, etc)
- The veterinary and medical services provided for the month.
This will enable the public to assess NHS’ commitment to helping animals from the
community.
10. All bylaws, changes in bylaws, tax returns must be filed and reported promptly
(within 30 days of filing) on NHS' website; and financial payments over the amount
of $5,000/year must be reported in yearly financial reports, whether or not the IRS
requires such reporting.
11. All key management positions (CEO, COO, CFO, and other directors and officers)
must be hired only after an open nationwide search for qualified candidates, for a
minimum of 30 days. All other managerial positions must be advertised for at least
two weeks.
12. All board members must spend at least one day a month at NHS.
13. A member of the Board will act as a liaison between NHS staff and the Board. The
Board member will ensure that the NHS is in compliance with its whistleblower
policy.
Let it be known to all NHS Board members that all of the persons signing this petition will cease to provide NHS funding, until such time as the Board of Directors commit to implementing the above demands fully. Until these demands are met, we will continue to be the NHS Watchgroup, investigating, and disseminating information to the public, on the actions (past and present) of the NHS Board of Directors, and the quality of care being provided at NHS. We will also seek legal guidance on means to obtain NHS financial, operational and employment records via discovery. In other words, we will keep watching the NHS.
