European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday october 31, 1994some mar funds to go stateside by Effie Bathen and Chuck Vinch staff writers that giant swoosh ing noise you hear today May be the sound of millions of dollars of morale welfare and recreation funds leaving your Community. The . Army Europe based in Heidl Berg Germany is to Transfer control of an estimated $12 million to the department of the army a mar corporate Headquarters As part of a Servic wide a Cash  Brig. Gen. John g. Meyer jr., commander of the army Community and family support Center in Washington said Congress has ordered the military services to Transfer control of All excess mar funds to their respective Headquarters at the end of this month. It is up to each service to define a excess a said col. John a Fulmer chief of the mar coffers at the Heidelberg Headquarters. In a complementary program usar eur last Spring began consolidating its mar Money into one fund. In this program Money is shifted to Heidelberg from each of usage urn a eight Hub communities called area support groups. In Heidelberg a Board of directors made up of usage urn a senior commanders allocates funds to communities based on recommendations from a panel of mar chiefs from the area support groups. Under this program an area support group must surrender a a excess funds when the amount of Money it has in the Bank is More than twice the amount of its debts. The Money above the 2-to-l threshold is considered excess. Washington s sweep will work similarly. The mar Money is generated by on Post services and programs such As clubs Bowling alleys Golf courses and Slot machines. It is not taxpayer Money that is appropriated by Congress. The Money comes from soldiers and their families and is to be used to maintain and upgrade services and activities for them. Fulmer estimated that today a the official Date of the army wide Transfer �?. Army Europe s mar fund will be Worth about $90 million. Its liabilities a which change daily a will be about $40 million. Therefore control of about $10�?~million could be transferred to department of the army Fulmer said. In fact because of other factors a for example exempt Petty Cash funds a the figure would probably be closer to $12 million he said a a a a. Oyer declined to estimate what the total process does t get sweeping approval by Effie Bathen Heidelberg Bureau As the army squeezes its excess morale welfare Ana recreation funds to the top of its funding pipeline some of its program managers Nave misgivings. A Quot with the . Army Europe a one fund program control is moving up the corporate ladder. With the department of the army Cash sweep it is in the hands of corporate Headquarters. Is the one fund program robbing from the Rich and giving to the Poos is this socialism a from each a Corong to his Means to each according to his needs a / a \. Or is it capitalism the big business Bottom line make Money. It depends upon whom you talk to in the big Money world of no appropriated fund activities. The morale program is funded by a system that earns Money from soldiers and gives it Back to them and their families in better Community services and activities. The Money is generated through income at Community activities such As Bowling alleys and Craft centers. Robert Pomeroy of the Mainz wies Baden Germany based 221st base support in said the system is frustrating because it takes control of the programs out of the hands of those who Are closest to the customers. Before the Community restructuring caused by the draw Down the funds were managed by individual communities. Now they Are managed at Hub communities called area support groups which consist of base support a a a a a a a a a a a a a a. Battalions Oil the local level. This leaves Pomeroy increasingly impatient he said citing the freeze on major construction projects. He is eager to proceed with what he sees As much needed work in his Hometown. But funds Are controlled by the Hub Community of bad Kreuz Nach or the 53rd area support group about an hours drive away. It would take someone at the Usa eur level with the Wisdom of Solomon to know How to divvy up funds to the ass he said. A no one is Happy with losing any of their Cash a conceded Bob Ploesser of the 104th area support group which includes Hanau Giessen Kirch Gons and Friedberg Germany among its communities. A but its like evening out the playing  although he concedes that he May have lost a sense of identity Ploesser said he feels Good about being part of a the corporate  his Community spent an estimated $3 million before today a Cash sweep. This gave him a More favourable Cash to debt ratio. If a Community has a ratio of less than 2 to 1, it does not have to Send funds to the department of the army in today a Cash sweep. A we wont be swept a said Carol Ferguson the director of personnel and Community activities for Heidelberg a 26th area support group with an estimated $1.60 in Cash for every $1 of debt her Community a funds were exempt. A if our facilities Are ,�?� she said a a we la make Money and customers will keep  Steven Steinburg the director of Community activities for the 100th area support group with Headquarters in Grafen Vohr Germany said he does no to relish the Prospect of being a a we la have to fight for every Straw in the department of the army Pool a he said. A chances Are Well never see that Money again a Steinburg said speaking theoretically since his Community Cash to debt ratio is about 1.4 to 1, exempt from the sweep. On the other hand he commended the streamlined funding program in Europe As a smarter Way or doing business and said that it was a really  a a a a a a a he could think of no corporation with 10 subsidiaries that would leave $1 million languishing in each he said. A they would manage it like $10 million. Also Early last week the executive committee heard a request from the bad Kreuz Nach area support group for an additional allocation of funds. The committee agreed to Forward the. Request for approval. _ a the representatives for the ass historically have been very parochial a Steinburg said a but people on the executive committee were very ready to take care of the needs in bad  that is not socialism he said but a move away from parochialism. Army wide sweep might bring in. A a we re refining that figure now a he said officials said the monetary housecleaning will occur once. Communities will not be swept by both Washington and Heidelberg. When the dust settles in fiscal 1996, communities will have to pay what Meyer called a a capital reinvestment assessment a a tax a of 2 percent of their mar funds in subsequent years this will increase to 3 percent. Once the funds have been consolidated the department of the army a mar Board of directors generally the four Star chiefs of the major commands will vote on allocations Wadim vestments Meyer said. A the Board will fund the most worthy necessary valid army projects a Meyer said. Army wide priorities will include new construction of mar facilities and invest ment in High tech management information systems Mctyer said. T Long Range possibilities might include purchasing shades of Green the new armed forces recreation Center hotel on the Walt. Disney world Complex near Orlando fla., he said. The army initially is leasing that facility which opened i february army leaders Are concerned about re action from the Field Meyer said. A if the installations see the department of the army coming in and taking their Money what a the incentive for them to work hard to make the Money in the first place a he said. Still Fulmer said most activity managers should feel Happy about retaining $2 for each $1 of debt. He emphasized that they will keep More than ,97 percent of their Money. Meyer said the 2-to-l ratio is a adequate for the installations to do the Job they have to do which is to sustain the Quality of life for our soldiers and their  by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a if the views of the 139 delegates to the 12th annual army family action planning con frence Are any indication a groundswell of resentment is quickly growing against the continued erosion of military pay. The delegates a a Cross Section of the army family representing _ Active duty and Reserve troops family members civilians and retirees a voted that Issue their top priority at the closing session of the we Klong conference. Sgt. 1st class Julia Potter from the 39th signal in in chevres Belgium said it is a a unfair to soldiers to let military pay continue to lag behind the inflation rate. A we must take immediate and positive action to keep the Gap from widening further Quot she told the conferees who sent out a Roar of approval when the vote tally was unveiled. Other hot Button issues cited by the delegates included child care costs survivor benefits for service connected deaths Access to military and chilian health care services and the erosion of health benefits for Retiree the delegates including a. Nine member contingent front the . Army Europe spent the past week prioritizing 97 issues related to a wide Range of programs and policies. Quot covering such areas As employment entitlements family support Force support health services and youth programs the delegates narrowed the list Down to the 27 policies and programs they deemed most critical and offered recommendations for improving them. At the closing session the issues were formally presented to the army a morale welfare and recreation Board of directors made up of the services senior leaders. Quot 7 a a a. A a the Board meets twice a year to review the issues raised by the asap process and the issues remain Active until they Are either completed or stamped As a unattainable a often due to budget constraints. This years asap recommendations run the Gamut from Broad issues such As military pay to relatively narrow items such As setting up a nonresident diploma program for students overseas. That suggestion would Benefit students in the military a overseas school system whose sponsors Are reassigned to the states prior to graduation. Those students Are sometimes held Back because state graduation requirements often can differ. Other new recommendations from this years conference include a improving the availability of standardized Federal employment information which now tends to be scattered and confusing. A proposing legislation to waive the . Residency . Panel requirement that prevents troops overseas from qualifying for the earned income tax credit which would Benefit mainly Junior enlisted personnel. A allowing service members to store one privately owned vehicle at government expense when they Are assigned to overseas locations where the shipment of pos is prohibited. Brig. Gen. John g. Meyer jr., commander of the army Community and family support Center and Host of the conference said he was not surprised by the issues voted most important by the delegates. A its fairly consistent with what we be seen in previous years which Only enhances the Validity of those issues a he said. Although some issues tend to recur from one conference to the next that does no to mean there Hasni to been Progress. A some of the issues Are just so big a he said. A but we re Chipping away at them.�?�. In fact the mar Board of directors put out an update thursday on 25 issues raised at previous asap conferences of which 10 have been completed among them Are an overhaul of the personal property system to reduce the. High number of damaged household goods shipments a revamped dental insurance program for family members and an increase in child care subsidies to remove the disparity Between Home and Center based child care fees