[council] Council Meeting Clarification

["Kurt Pritz" <pritz@xxxxxxxxx>]

All:

First, allow me this opportunity to apologize for missing the call earlier
today. I planned to attend then was unable to at the last minute.

I listened to the recording of the meeting and wish to offer a clarification
and an explanation.


STAFF SUPPORT
Regarding the hiring of staff support, Bruce reported that ICANN will hire a
GNSO Policy Officer in August. While this is true, I believe that it was not
made clear that this position is in addition to the existing position of
GNSO Staff Manager. While Barbara will be stepping out of that role, she
will continue in the staff manager position until a replacement is found.
That search is underway. As manager of the budget, I will coordinate with
Paul Verhoef so that we can begin the search for the Policy Officer position
earlier so that the new position can be filled coincident with the adoption
of the new budget.

Paul Twomey, Paul Verhoef and I are in active discussion to ensure better
support of the GNSO process - it is a top priority for us.


ICANN BUDGET
During the call, the proposed ICANN budget was also discussed. Concern was
voiced that some of the appropriate reviews had not yet occurred. In
accordance with the original plan, ICANN will consult with the Budget
Advisory Group and others prior to the posting of the budget. 

During the time since the Rome meeting, Paul Twomey and I have been (and
are) in extensive consultations with many constituency members, discussing
alternative funding and spending proposals. Through that process, we have
learned much about the business models of different stakeholders. ICANN's
evolving revenue model is an attempt to better match revenue sources to
spending beneficiaries, develop predictable fees for various stakeholders
over a longer period, and develop new sources of revenue. The result of this
work is a budget that differs in many ways from those in past years. The
budget will enable significant improvements in staff support for the GNSO as
well as other ICANN undertakings.

This collaboration has built a sense of team across various parts of the
community and the ICANN staff. While extremely positive and beneficial, in
hindsight I would have conducted the process somewhat differently. While
developing a consensus to support the budget, posting the preliminary budget
was somewhat delayed. Therefore, the budget will not be available for review
as a posted document as early as in past years. (ICANN will still make time
for public comment and will incorporate those comments in changes to the
proposed budget as required.) In hindsight, these extensive consultations
should have begun earlier. Absent that, perhaps the "work-in-progress"
budget could have been posted with the understanding that revenue models and
spending plans could change significantly.

The point to be made is the time spent on budget discussions heretofore was
employed with the goal of supporting the community in a way that has been,
up to now, impossible due to resource constraints. Having gone through that
process, ICANN will proceed with appropriate reviews prior to and after
posting.


Thanks for taking the time to read and consider this. In an effort to
improve my personal support of the organization, I will work with Bruce to
develop a mechanism to provide periodic updates regarding ICANN staff
activities. As mentioned above, I will also work to ensure there are
significant improvements in the level of staff support as soon as is
practicable.

Please call or write with comments, questions or request for clarification.

Sincerely,

Kurt

Kurt Pritz
ICANN
4676 Admiralty Way, #330
Marina del Rey, CA  90292

+1.310.301.5809 (office)
+1.818.903.8880 (cell)