Attach to Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Information about Schedule O (Form 990 or 990-EZ) and its instructions is at| Return Reference | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 6 | Each consumer is also a voting member of the Cooperative. There is only one class of members. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 7a | Each member has one vote to elect the governing board. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 7b | Any changes to the Bylaws must be approved by the membership. Mergers and sales of a significant portion of the Cooperative's assets must also be approved by the membership. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 8b | There are no committees with the authority to act on behalf of the full Board of Directors. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11 | The CEO and CFO will review the 990 prior to providing it to the Board. The Board will review it at the October 2014 board meeting. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 12c | The officers of the organization and the board members review the policy annually. The CEO and board of directors review and determine if a conflict exists. If a conflict does exist that individual must leave the meeting during the conversation and not vote on the item of discussion. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 15 | The board reviews the CEO's compensation and benefits package annually. NRECA comparability data is used. Written minutes are kept at all board meetings to document the decisions. The board approves the wages of all staff annually. NRECA comparability data is used to determine staff compensation. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 | Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws are mailed to all new members. They are also available on the website. Financial statements are made available upon request. Financial reports are published in the "Watts News" special annual meeting edition (June 1st of each year). |
| Form 990, Part XI, line 9: | Retirement of Patronate Capital -298,205. Investment in Northland Connect Broadband LLC Per K-1 -70,394. Investment in Northland Connect Broadband LLC Per Book 65,131. Benefits Paid to Members in 2013 432,818. |
| Form 990, Part VII, Section A, Column (f): | Compensation of officers, directors, key employees, highest compensated employees and independent contractors: Included in column "f", estimated amount of other compensation, is the estimated annual increase in the actuarial value of the defined benefit plan. For the following people listed, the estimated increase is: Chris Corradi: $6,324 Jared Echternach: $36,179 Kathryn Lind: $22,983 These amounts are estimates in the increase of the value of the plan and are not current year expenses of the cooperative. The current year expense for this defined benefit plan was $6,781, $30,974 and $6,714 respectively. |
| Form 990, Part IX, Statement Of Functional Expenses, Line 24e | Other Expenses The labor, pension and payroll taxes reported on lines 5-10 are already included in distribution expense, administrative & general expense and customer expense. Therefore, these amounts are being subtracted out as an other deduction on line 24e in the amount of $(1,692,483). |
| Form 990, Part IX, Statement Of Functional Expenses, Line 4 | Benefits Paid To Members The Cooperative has interpreted the instructions to Part IX, Line 4, to mean patronage capital allocated for the year, rather than patronage capital retired. This is consistent with the Bylaws of the Cooperative. |
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