Medford Leas is operated by the Estaugh. The original bylaws of the corporation specified that all members of its Board be Quakers. In 2004, the bylaws were revised to state that a majority of the members of the 15-member Board be Quakers and that at least one member be a resident of Medford Leas.
It has already been noted that the Medford Leas Residents Association began when the first dozen residents met on Monday evenings to talk about common problems and plans. In the spring of 1972, the first president of MLRA appointed a committee to draw up a constitution. The constitution, adopted in 1972, was concise. Among other things, it provided for a Board of nine members. In subsequent years, two of the nine were to be chosen to serve as “carry over members,” to serve a second year in order to assure continuity. The Board met every week and members of management met with them to discuss problems and suggest solutions.
Today, there are eleven members, with either five or six being replaced in alternate years. The Board is now called a Council, and its members elect the MLRA President annually. The Council meets twice a month and the CEO attends each meeting. The CEO also holds a monthly community conversation to which all residents are invited.
In the early years, some residents felt that their comments were not receiving adequate attention, so it was agreed that suggestions and comments should be put in writing. The result was the P.I.W. (Put-It-In-Writing). PIW forms are available at the Front Desk, and each time the MLRA Council meets, the accumulated PIWs are read aloud while the CEO is present. They are then distributed to the persons who are to respond to each of them. In time, there were enough PIWs about food that a separate Food PIW system evolved. Those PIWs are reviewed by the Director of Food Service and the MLRA Food Committee.
A special feature of the MLRA Council is the sponsorship of some 90 committees that conduct all of the activities in which residents engage. Each Council member serves as liaison between the Council and several committees. As sponsor, the Council member takes problems and requests from the committees to the Council and, in turn, informs the committees of Council actions that affect them. In this way, each committee has a direct line to the Council so that its appeals are assured of a hearing. It is worth noting that some “committees” consist of a single member, while others have over 100. Many never have “committee meetings” but simply work out how things will be done and then do them.
Descriptions of all MLRA Committees
Two MLRA committees warrant special attention under the heading of “Governance”: the Financial Review Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee. Very early in the existence of Medford Leas, the Estaugh Board encouraged residents to have what was then called a “Committee on Estaugh Finances.” The committee included the MLRA President and Treasurer and other residents with particular knowledge and experience in areas of finance. In time, its name was changed to Financial Review Committee. Its purpose is to know and understand the finances and financial and operating decisions of the Estaugh Board which affect residents, and to respond from the perspective of the residents of Medford Leas.
The CFO also holds a quarterly meeting with residents to provide updates on the budget and factors that affect it.
The MLRA Budget and Finance Committee handles money allocated to support resident activities. Based on committees’ budget requests, the Finance Committee prepares the Association’s budget for the Activities Fund and determines the amount to be suggested for each resident to contribute in order to meet that budget.
The MLRA Budget and Finance Committee also determines the amount to be suggested for residents’ gifts to the Employee Appreciation Fund at Christmas time. Medford Leas’ Chief Financial Officer informs the Committee of the number of employees at each salary level. The Committee then determines the total amount needed to provide individual gifts equivalent to one week’s pay for each employee, plus the taxes that would be incurred, all paid by MLRA.
The third fund managed by the MLRA Budget and Finance Committee is the Community Services Fund. This fund makes donations from residents to several local service agencies, such as the Burlington County Library, the Fire Company, etc. As with the other two funds, the Budget and Finance Committee prepares a budget and determines the amount needed from residents on the Medford campus to meet that budget.