The end of the year is quickly approaching, and I think we can all be relieved that we will not be getting pestered constantly with election related text messages and phone calls anymore. While government elections are over, election for the MSPS Board of Directors is still underway. Voting members should have received your Ballots by email on November 1st and must be submitted by December 1st. Additionally, membership renewals went out at the beginning of the month.

Draft Rules for Professional Surveyors
Earlier this year the Rules for Professional Surveyors within Article 20 of the Occupational Code were once again opened up. In July, the LARA and the PS Rules Committee held a work group meeting to discuss and walk through the proposed changes. Most of the changes were related to abbreviations that were not defined or were redundant. There are two more notable changes. The first being an applicant for licensure can count experience obtained while working under the supervision of a Professional Surveyor licensed or registered in a province of Canada. Currently, the applicant would have to obtain experience in the States, so this simply expands this to Canada and ultimately would allow those who are licensed in Canada to apply for reciprocity if they meet all the other requirements for licensure in the State of Michigan.

The second more notable change occurs with applying for a waiver of continuing education requirements when renewing your membership. Currently, the rules specify the waiver must be received by the department before the expiration date of the license. The proposed rules require the waiver be received by the department not less than 30 days before the last regularly scheduled board meeting before the expiration date of the license. This would simply allow the Board of Professional Surveyors to make a ruling if necessary.
The full version of the draft rules and other supporting documentation can be found here.

By-laws
The Bylaws, Policies, and Practices Committee has completed its review and overall rewrite of the current Bylaws. After an initial review and comments from the Past-Presidents committee, the Bylaws have been distributed to the Board of Directors and Chapter Representatives. It is especially important to maintain an appropriate chain of command when providing feedback to ensure all comments and concerns can be reviewed and are not missed. The Committee asks that any individual member comments be provided to your Chapter Representative and then provided back to the Central Office in one email no later than December 15, 2022. After review of the comments and any proposed changes, the proposed Bylaws will be distributed to the entire membership in January of next year. A vote will be held at the Convention in February, during the Annual Membership Meeting, to ratify the proposed Bylaws.

Legislative Committee
The Legislative Committee was surprised by some potential movement of a couple of our Bills last week; SB 1133 for the remonumentation fund sunset date extension, and SB 589 to amend PA 132. The Committee met with the Chair of the House Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee, Representative Calley, regarding SB 1133. Additionally, the Committee met with Co-chairs and members of the Committee including Representatives Ellison, Bellino, Paquette, Kuppa, and Bezottee. All members of the Committee were favorable to the Bill. The Committee was scheduled to meet last Thursday but had to cancel at the last minute. A Legislative Action email went out last week. Members are still encouraged to contact their Representatives and call for support of the Bill.

Senate Bill 589 was previously introduced in June of 2021 and was referred to the Committee on Local Government. The Committee had not met so the Bill did not move out of Committee and could not proceed any further. On short notice, the Committee met last Thursday, the 10th. Jack Owens testified on behalf of MSPS in support of the Bill. SB 589 was voted out of the committee unanimously and recommended for immediate effect. The Bill will still need to be voted on in the Senate and make it through the House and any Committee it is referred to in the House.

This month has flown by as the daylight hours diminish and the colors begin to change. Since there is no Board of Directors meeting this month, there are just a few intermittent updates I wanted to share this month with everyone. Still very important to our industry! 

Legislative Committee
The Committee has had a busy couple of months and some of that work has finally paid off. After numerous meetings with Senate members of the Economic and Small Business Development Committee to discuss the extension of remonumentation program funds proposed with Senate Bill 1133, the Senate Committee met. The meeting was held on September 20th and Brian Reynolds testified on behalf of MSPS in support of the Bill. Ultimately, SB1133 was voted out of committee unanimously and sent to the Senate Floor. On September 28th the Bill was read and passed by the Senate unanimously.

Now that the Bill is through the Senate, it moves on to the House where it was referred to the Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee. This process is on a very tight deadline due to elections next month. The House is not expected to meet for sessions until December 6th at the earliest. Our Lobbyist and Committee will be working with House leadership to get the Bill passed through or discharged from Committee and onto the House floor for a vote.

Membership Committee and Young Surveyors Network (YSN)
NSPS kicked off a Young Surveyors Network in 2014. The goal and purpose of the YSN has been to create a social network of young surveyors across the nation, and by working together, give a voice to young surveyors in their profession. The network provides support and networking opportunities for young surveyors to connect and communicate their needs, concerns, and ideas for the future of surveying. Working with NSPS and state organizations, the network is a bridge to connect generations of surveyors to ensure the history, importance, and standards are upheld for future generations.

Michigan initially began to participate in 2016 by the formation of a Young Surveyors Network Committee. As original Co-Chairs of the Committee, Scott Roth and I worked with the State Board and Central Office to organize events to promote the formation of the YSN here in Michigan. We successfully engaged in several networking events in the first few years, both at the national and state level. Although the YSN Committee for MSPS has not been active in the past couple of years within the state, it has allowed us to engage several young members to participate in Committee’s and on the Board of Directors.

This past year the Membership Committee has spent time discussing the YSN Committee and how we can breathe new life into it. The Committee has begun working with Stacey Fenn, who reached out and wanted to get involved with the YSN Committee. Stacey has some fresh ideas on targeting and coordinating efforts with other surveying related organizations and improving our social media presence for marketing the group and ensuring we reach an appropriate audience.

We hope to kick off the group with a special YSN event at the Convention in February. With all of this we are welcoming any member, or you may have a staff member, who is interested in serving on the YSN Committee to reach out to us. There is no requirement to have a license, be an SIT, CST, or have a surveying degree.

This is a follow up from June 4, 2021, giving the status of the State Plane Coordinate System of 2022 (SPCS2022) project.  As before, this notice is intended to reach everyone who has participated in ongoing development of SPCS2022.
 
Last year, I said that NGS planned to complete reviews of stakeholder designs of SPCS2022 zones in late 2021 and provide preliminary designs of all SPCS2022 zones by early this year.  However, that concluded with the caveat that there may be further delays, and if that happened I would let you know.  It turns out that delays have occurred, due mainly to other competing priorities associated with NSRS modernization and the challenges of allocating limited resources.
 
The good news is that it appears the delay will be relatively minor, that review of stakeholder designs has so far shown that a large majority need no (or only very minor) revisions, and that we are nearly done with all of the NGS-designed zones.  All stakeholders who submitted designs that have not yet received approvals should hear from us no later than this September.
 
After completing review of stakeholder designs, we intend to provide complete preliminary designs for all SPCS2022 zones before the end of this year, which will give stakeholders and others an opportunity to review the designs.  Based on feedback received, we will correct any errors and make minor adjustments to finalize the designs.  The final designs should be completed in early 2023.
 
NGS plans to implement NSRS modernization sometime in 2025.  So completion of SPCS2022 zone designs in 2023 will still be well ahead of the overall modernization rollout.
 
Below are some additional details on SPCS2022 project status for those who are interested.  This consists of tasks that have been completed or are currently underway:
 
1. Currently there are 968 SPCS2022 zones for 56 U.S. states and territories (the total number will likely decrease slightly before designs are finalized).  This consists of 162 zones designed by NGS (including 54 statewide zones and 3 special use zones) and 806 zones designed by stakeholders in 28 states.
2. Gave an SPCS2022 webinar on December 9, 2021, available at https://geodesy.noaa.gov/web/science_edu/webinar_series/state-plane-december-2021.shtml.  Slides 21-46 are maps showing linear distortion of all SPCS2022 zones in the conterminous U.S. and Alaska as they existed at that time (along with SPCS 83 zones for comparison).  In these slides you can readily see the performance of both NGS- and stakeholder-designed zones (which includes aggregate statistics).  Creation of the distortion rasters used in these maps is an important part of the review process, and it shows that very good performance (i.e., low distortion) was achieved in the zones designed by stakeholders.
3. Will soon post updated versions of the aggregated distortion maps from the webinar on the NGS website (the linear distortion raster datasets used to make the maps will also be available).  Although there have been some changes in designs since the webinar, for the most part the changes are very minor.
4. Evaluated, corrected, and augmented existing NGS projection algorithms to ensure they give results correct to the precision that they will be provided.  The new algorithms now also include two new versions of existing projections: the 1-parallel Lambert Conformal Conic and centered Hotine Oblique Mercator.
5. Computed SPCS 83, SPCS 27, and UTM coordinates at every location where those zones overlap SPCS2022 zones to ensure coordinate uniqueness with respect to existing systems.
6. Determined geodetic coordinates (latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid height) for a test point in every SPCCS2022 zone.  These will be used to compute SPCS2022 coordinates (and distortion) so that stakeholders, software vendors, and others can check their SPCS2022 computations.
7. Creating a database of (preliminary) zone parameters for all SPCS2022 zones and algorithms for automatically performing comprehensive checks on submitted designs, comparisons to existing SPCS 83/27 and UTM coordinates (and SPCS2022 coordinates where zone layers overlap), and calculation of SPCS2022 test points for every zone, among other computational tasks.
 
Although we intend to release fine zone definitions in early 2023, the SPCS2022 project report will likely not be completed by that time.  However, we will strive to get the report done as quickly as possible, certainly before the NSRS modernization rollout in 2025.
 
As before, there is a possibility that the SPCS2022 project will again be delayed.  But there is a renewed and committed effort to meet the timeline.  We at NGS want to get SPCS2022 completed as soon as possible!
 
Best regards to all.

Find the application and other important details here.

June is here and summer will be officially upon us in just a few short days. The Board of Directors met last Wednesday and while there was not much for new business, the Committees, Chapters, and board members discussed updates to their recent activities. Many of the Chapters will not have meetings during the summer months, but many are planning picnics and golf outings to fill in the time in between. Please check out the MSPS website for events in your area.

Awards
MSPS gives awards to recognize members and non-members who have given themselves in a special way to support MSPS and the profession of Surveying. MSPS relies on the membership and Chapters to provide nominations to the Board of Directors. While many of the awards are recognized at the MSPS Annual Convention and nominations are not required until the end of November, we do recognize and give a couple awards outside of our organization. One such award is the Register of Deeds Award. In order to make this recognition meaningful, MSPS presents the award to the recipient at the Michigan Association of Register of Deeds (MARD) Annual Conference in September. MSPS is seeking nominations for the award, which are due by August 15. Please consider nominating a Register of Deeds who have shown cooperation with, and understanding of, the surveying professions needs with the recording, maintenance and retrieval of survey related documents.

Committees
The Membership Committee has been discussing MSPS member benefits and exploring new ways to provide value added benefits for members. A “Trusted Advisor” campaign for Professional Surveyors is being pursued to enhance the recognition of the profession within and around the industry. Additionally, they have engaged in discussion on how to develop the Young Surveyors Network in Michigan and the resources we have available to young members or technicians as they prepare to take exams. The goal would be to engage surveying students before they graduate and continue to keep them engaged with the Young Surveyors Network, their local Chapters, and MSPS after graduation.

The Convention and Education Committee has prepared a budget for next year's Annual Convention and are working to lock in speakers. The 2023 Convention will be seeking nationally recognized speakers for sessions and continuing with last year's convention offering a Technicians Track. While the Committee has a large range of speakers it can pick from, they would like input from the members on topics they are interested in. If you would like to submit recommendations for session topics please reach out to the Central Office. The schedule and overall convention format are still in the works and are looking to be wrapped up in the fall for the next Board meeting. In addition to the 2023 Convention, the Committee is working on a seminar to offer this fall.

In connection with the Membership Committee, the Convention and Education Committee are preparing in talks with a consultant to prepare a Technician Training Program. The overview of the program would be a mix of on-demand online videos, live webinars, and in-person field work sessions. The goal would be to provide attendees the knowledge and expertise to take the CST Level 1 and 2 exams. This would provide Michigan Surveying firms the unique opportunity to provide industry standard training for Technicians and Field Staff with little or no experience to start.

Dr. Richard L. Elgin, PS, PE
Rolla, Missouri

Find photos related to this article here.

America’s Requirements

Much of America’s surveying practice descended from the English, but our early surveying equipment did not.  The Old World used the delicate, expensive theodolite to divide its lands, sighting on points and measuring angles on a divided, graduated circle.  American surveyors needed to establish boundaries over vast wildernesses which were difficult to traverse and they needed to do it quickly and cheaply.  Enter American innovation, technology and craftsmanship to improve a device used by mariners for hundreds of years, a form of which was being made in England, the magnetic compass.  The result was the rugged, inexpensive standard American compass.  As one commentator said of the American compass “where accuracy can be sacrificed to speed and cheapness.”

The Compass

Rugged, the compass with its body of wood or brass, two sight vanes, a leveling device and placed on a staff or tripod, required only a balanced magnetized needle resting on a sharp point.  The needle aligned itself with the earth’s magnetic field and pointed to magnetic north.  Magnetic north was known to move and hence was a poor direction with which to reference boundaries.  This movement was well known, being noted in some 1746 instructions that it “…may in time occasion much confusion in the Bounds…and, Contention.”  Variation, the angle between True Meridian  (a line of longitude) and Magnetic North was known to differ at different locations on earth and the angle was known to change in amount over time and location.  True North was a better reference direction and in 1779 Thomas Jefferson wrote that the plats of surveys were to be drawn “protracted by the true meridian” and the variation noted.

The first standard American compasses were “Plain” compasses.  They used magnetic north and had no mechanism for applying the variation angle, converting magnetic direction to true direction.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 specifies that all lines be surveyed “by the true meridian…the variation at the time of running the lines thereon noted.”  Tiffin’s Instruction of 1815 (the first written instructions issued by the GLO to its Deputy Surveyors) specified “a good compass of Rittenhouse construction, have a nonius division….”  This is a vernier compass, “nonius division” meaning a vernier.  Thus, the vernier compass became the standard instrument for surveys of the USPLSS.  Until………

William Austin Burt and his Solar Compass

William Austin Burt (1792‑1858) was a GLO Deputy Surveyor, who, in 1835 while laying out townships in Wisconsin noted unusual deviations in the lines surveyed using his compass.  He began work on a method and form of compass that would determine the direction of the true meridian independent of magnetic north.  He invented an ingenious device that uses the observer’s latitude, the sun’s declination and local time to determine true north.  The device mechanically solves the PZS (Pole‑Zenith‑Star) Triangle.  The prominent Philadelphia maker, William J. Young (1800‑1870) built the device, and Burt was awarded Patent 9428X on February 25, 1836.

Burt made improvements to his solar compass and an improved version was patented in 1840.  In 1850 Burt’s patent expired which allowed other makers to produce the solar compass.  (The circumstances of the expired patent are a sad story.) There are about 12 known post‑1850 makers of solar compasses.  All the solar compasses made prior to 1850 are marked “Burt’s Patent” and “W.J. Young” or “Wm. J. Young,” he having made them.  They are not dated or numbered.  Those made by Young after about 1852 are numbered.

Is it a transit or a theodolite?

Generally the theodolite refers to an instrument with divided circles to measure both horizontal and vertical angles to high precision, the telescope is relatively long and will not transit (rotate 360 degrees) about its horizontal axis.  The more common term “transit” refers to an instrument with both horizontal and vertical circles (only horizontal on early transits), a 4‑screw leveling head, bubbles for leveling and a telescope that will transit.  William J. Young is credited with building the first dividing engine in America.  That allowed him to cut circles and he is credited with building the first American transit in 1831.

The transit developed and attachments, such as a variation on Burt’s solar compass, was added by many manufacturers.  For mining applications, parallel telescopes were added, thus allowing sightings at large vertical angles into steep mine shafts.   Large precise transits were constructed for control surveys and astronomical observations.  Horizontal circle diameters can be as large as 18 inches.

Collecting and Values

Early and vintage surveying equipment is highly collectible.  It is the surveyor’s heritage, it represents  about 200 years of advancing measurement technology, and some illustrate incredible craftsmanship and artistry (especially of the early makers).  As with other collectibles there are highly desirable, usually rare instruments (such as the solar compass).  And, there are the early Virginia and Pennsylvania makers that made compass that are works of art.  But, even instruments by the prolific makers like W. & L.E. Gurley and Keuffel & Esser are desirable.

There are many collectors of early American surveying equipment, some with very large collections.  Most collectors buy and sell instruments, research makers and surveying  equipment, and a few offer repair and restoration services.  Most collectors focus on a particular maker (or two), and others focus on the makers of a particular city (St. Louis, for example), and others are interested in a particular instrument form (transits with unusual attachments, for example).  There are online resources for early surveying equipment.  Some are:  www.surveyhistory.org run by David Ingram.  The Facebook page,  “Antique Surveying Instrument & Ephemera” run by Dale Beeks.  And, www.compleatsurveyor.com by Russ Uzes.  Among the collector community there is broad and deep knowledge of early American surveying equipment, but that knowledge is not well documented.  There are not many reference books on the makers and their equipment.  A few have been covered in articles and short treatises but there are not good reference materials on the broad topic.

What are we going to do with Grandpa’s surveying stuff, and what’s it worth?

Regrettably, there is not a national museum or repository where surveying equipment can be donated.  Beloved equipment left to families or owned by old surveyors and seeking a home have limited options.  The Smithsonian will not accept any such equipment, except for historically important equipment with known provenance.  Most such equipment is not highly valuable.  It is likely 90 percent of such equipment would be worth less than $1000 per piece.   Eight percent would likely be worth up to $10,000.  One and one‑half percent up to $100,000.  And the last 0.5 percent over $100,000.  Most collectors will have no  interest in about 90 percent the equipment offered to them (they already have plenty of early to mid‑1900’s Gurley and K&E transits and levels).  The best recipient for most low to mid‑level surveying equipment may be a local museum, particularly if the equipment was used in the area by a local surveyor.

As with most collectibles, old or vintage surveying equipment is not worth what it was 10 or 20 years ago.  The rare, unusual, historically important pieces have not lost their value during that time period and can easily be sold.

The Future

Boundary surveyors, being mensurators, detectives and historians have an appreciation for the equipment that laid out America.  The equipment is our heritage, to be preserved, admired, studied and displayed.  Every boundary surveyor needs an old compass and a chain proudly displayed on their desk.

________________________

Dr. Elgin is a surveying practitioner, educator, researcher and author.  He owns a large collection of early American surveying equipment.  He is expert in the Chandlee family of makers, John S. Hougham (Indiana) and the St. Louis makers. He’s written several books including Riparian Boundaries for Missouri, Legal Principles of Boundary Location for Arkansas and The U.S. Public Land Survey System for Missouri.  He coauthored the Sokkia (Lietz) Ephemeris.  He can be reached at:  elgin1682@gmail.com

Spin Email Messages into Gold

The Internet is one of the best devices your company has to target new customers and keep your existing clientele happy. Businesses with no formal system to harvest names and keep them current are missing out on a tremendous opportunity.

But before you begin reaping the benefits of e-marketing, you have to collect and manage a database of email addresses. It might seem easy at first glance, but the task can be overwhelming if it's not handled correctly.

You start by collecting the email addresses of every customer, prospective buyer, referral source and anyone else you need to be able to contact electronically. But as you start entering the data, you're likely to discover that the list doesn't stay current for long. That's because people change their email addresses by switching from one service provider to another.

But you can't afford not to keep your list up-to-date. Your marketing, sales promotions and general success depends on your database. Here are nine pointers to steer you right as you build a list of email contacts:

1. Centralize. Assign a specific person in your office to procure email addresses and maintain the database.

2. Prioritize. Based on the number of current and potential customers, establish the number of addresses you'd like to obtain.

3. Solicit Ideas. Send a memo to your staff seeking ways to build a list. Have your email manager get as many customer addresses as possible from your employees, culled from their own email programs, as well as business cards and letterheads.

4. Expand the search. Send a letter to customers, prospects and referral sources telling them what you are doing and asking for their current email addresses. Ask them to email the address to you, but include a simple form they can fax or mail back. Be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. And in all your mailings, brochures, newsletters and other means of communication, include a response card to request email addresses and any other pertinent information.

5. Fill in the gaps. During slow periods, telephone contacts whose addresses are still missing or out-of-date. Follow a simple script and try to obtain many addresses from one company at a time. Remember, there's no additional cost for sending more emails. Get as much traction as possible by sending to as many people as possible.

6. Turn to the pros. Consider hiring an outside company to gather addresses. One drawback, however, is these companies often have a minimum order of 5,000 names.

7. Bolster procedures. Require staff members to routinely obtain email addresses from prospects and new customers.

8. Add links to your site. If your company operates a website, include a collection system for gathering emails and sending newsletters and announcements.

9. Head off trouble. Make sure you comply with all relevant email laws. Consider a piece of software that checks addresses before you send mass mailings. This is important since you don't want your ISP thinking you are sending spam when a lot of emails start bouncing.

These are just some ideas to get your company started. Happy hunting!

Value Your Business Internally and Externally

While preparing your succession or estate plan, it's critical to value your family business both internally and externally.

Should I stay or should I go? At some point in time, every family business owner must confront this difficult decision. When deciding whether to keep the company, sell it or pass it on to a family member, a professional business valuation is critical. This article explains the difference between internal (investment) value and external (fair market) value.

You might wonder what that means because, understandably enough, you may assume your company has just one value. In fact, it can have multiple values depending on the valuation standard used. The different results can help you determine whether to keep the family business, pass it on to the next generation or sell it to an outsider.

Two common standards used in valuing a family business are:

1. Investment value. This gauges internal value, which represents the value to a particular investor based on individual investment requirements and expectations. In layman's terms, it's what the business is worth to the current owner(s).

2. Fair market value. This is the external value and refers to the price in terms of cash equivalents at which the property would change hands between hypothetical willing-and-able buyers and sellers if:

*They're acting at arm's length in an open and unrestricted market,

* Neither is under any compulsion to buy or sell, and

* Both have reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

Simply put, this is what you can expect to get when you place your business on the market to sell to a qualified buyer.

The relevance of these two valuations lies in their differences. The investment value of an operating business could be higher or lower than the fair market value. That difference is driven by the actions that "control owners" take in their best interests. As examples, owners controlling a family business can often take advantage of:

Compensation. Owners have the flexibility to pay themselves higher-than-market compensation. A buyer in a fair market transaction has to pay only what the market requires to replace the owner's compensation. In a family business, family members are on the payroll and also may receive more than market compensation. In addition, these family members may be employed only because the business is held in the family. If the business is sold, the new owners might not retain any family members or pay their high salaries, if they're kept on.

Fringe benefits. Controlling owners of a family business can also manipulate fringe benefits. For example, they and family members may have life insurance, disability insurance or health insurance provided by the company. A new owner may not be able or willing to match that benefit. The business might also own an airplane or a vacation home and offer a liberal expense policy. These ownership benefits are unlikely to be retained by a buyer, which creates a difference between the investment value and the fair market value.

Related-party relationships and transactions. A family business might rent its business property from a related party, often for an amount higher or lower than the fair market rent. If the business is sold, the property might be at some economic risk. The attractiveness of the property to an outside buyer should be taken into account as these related-party transactions can have an impact on fair market value.

Changes in capital structure. Owners controlling the business have the power to maintain or change the capital structure of the business. In many cases, the capital structure isn't ideal for the business. It often under-utilizes debt, which deflates value on a fair market basis.

The bottom line is that these variations generate a difference in the value to the current owner (the investment value) and the value to a potential buyer (the fair market value).

You need to account for these differences in creating and adjusting your succession and estate plans. The values can help you decide what to do with the family business. Keep in mind that the effect of suddenly not owning a business can be considerable, both on you and family members — especially if you haven't considered the different valuations. This needs to be part of your planning process, as well as that of any business partners you may have.

Professional advisors — including a CPA, attorney and valuation expert — can offer invaluable assistance in assessing the effect of selling your family business vs. retaining ownership within the family.

Firing an Employee? Consider a Separation Agreement

You may have done absolutely nothing wrong in terminating an employee. But if you want some assurance that the former employee won't decide to sue you or cause you other harm, consider a separation agreement. While this type of agreement isn't foolproof, it can give you a measure of support if needed. Here's how they work.

Why should you ask an employee to sign a separation agreement upon ending the employment relationship? Doing so amounts to a form of insurance that the departing worker won't later take legal action against your company because of the termination. Whether a separation was relatively amicable -- for example, due to a reorganization or downsizing -- or unfriendly, an agreement could prove worthwhile.

Suppose your company does downsize. After a few weeks of unemployment, even an ex-employee who seemed amenable to the termination process could conjure up reasons why a court might see the staff reduction as unjust. There's a raft of possible claims former workers can make if the goal is simply to get you to settle instead of paying the costs to fight the case.

Employees aren't obliged to sign separation agreements. However, you can motivate them to do so by, for example, offering a lump-sum payout or agreement to pay the employer's share of the person's health care benefits for a fixed period.

Bases for Litigation

Here's a partial list of claims for which an ex-employee might decide to sue your company -- even if the claims lack merit from your perspective:

Discrimination. A litigious person might cite one of the familiar discrimination categories banned by the U.S. Civil Rights Act. These include age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, pregnancy, disability and veteran status. But some states have added categories, such as marital status, arrest record and sexual orientation.

Breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Proving this would be a steep uphill climb in most jurisdictions, but a former employee might give it a go.

Termination in violation of public policy. Although unusual, cases have been brought in which employees claim they were fired for doing things that created problems for the employer but were consistent with their states' policies regarding the issue in question. Examples might include preventing environmental damage or cruelty to animals.

Breach of contract. This is of course applicable only if the employee had an employment contract that didn't clearly address all termination scenarios.

The most fundamental provision of a separation agreement requires the employee to release you from any future legal claims. Another key component is an anti-disparagement clause, prohibiting the employee from bad-mouthing you publicly. This should be reciprocal, however, barring you from doing the same, to balance it out.

Agreement Provisions

The agreement should also require that:

• Confidentiality is maintained with respect to the agreement, except when the communication is with the employee's spouse, accountant or attorney,

• Company-owned property in the possession of the employee is returned,

• The employer won't attempt to block the departing employee from seeking unemployment compensation,

• The employee will be paid for any as yet unpaid, accrued compensation, such as bonuses or commissions, net of any employee debts to you such as having taken excessive vacation days, and

• The employee receives a description of the compensation you're offering (if any) as an inducement to sign the agreement.

Another provision to consider is one stating that the employee cannot be rehired. On one hand, you might prefer to keep your options open by not including such language — particularly if the individual was a good worker. On the other hand, this provision makes it crystal clear that the termination is final and there's no implications or promises to the contrary.

As noted earlier, employees are under no obligation to sign these agreements, nor is your company obligated to offer similar agreements to other employees.

What's It Worth?

An employee might refuse to sign a separation agreement -- even when a financial reward for doing so is on the table. In that case, you'll just need to decide whether to raise your offer or drop it altogether. One way to encourage a swift resolution of the matter is to put a time limit on your offer, so the employee cannot allow the process to drag out.

However, if the employee is at least 40 years old, be aware that the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act requires your company to allow time to decide on a course of action. That is, you must allow at least 21 days to sign or not sign, and then another seven days to rescind a decision to accept the agreement.

An employee's reluctance to sign a separation agreement could be an indication that he or she is mulling the possibility of pursuing a legal claim. Still, if you're confident there's no possible valid claim, you might not want to succumb to what could be a veiled threat.

Simplicity Is Best

It's advisable to keep agreements as short as possible. For example, if you incorporate other provisions -- such as prohibiting the employee from going to work for a competitor -- that could create issues because non-compete agreements are generally hard to enforce. In California, non-competes are banned altogether.

For the same reason, be sure to have an employment attorney review a prospective agreement before presenting it to a departing employee. Keep in mind that, though you can find fill-in-the-blank separation agreements online, they might not be fully enforceable in your state. State requirements vary and are sometimes stricter than federal requirements.

Looking for a Business Loan? Be Prepared

As the old saying goes, the easiest time to get a loan is when you don't need one. When you do find yourself in the market for a business loan, you'll most likely fare better if you know what lenders want to see and be ready with documentation. That also reduces the chance you'll act too quickly and end up with unfavorable loan terms. Here's some food for thought.

If you're building up a small business but haven't yet needed to borrow funds to expand or smooth out cash flow irregularities, you're doing something right. Or if you have borrowed and everything went smoothly, kudos again. Otherwise, keep in mind that anticipating the need for credit well in advance will put you in a much stronger position not only to secure a loan, but also to negotiate competitive terms.

The key to achieving that outcome is to conduct a proper cash flow forecast — and maintain it. Looking out 12 months is generally sufficient, unless you're planning major strategic initiatives. Doing so allows you to account for seasonal variations in cash flow. Plus, it's important to be as accurate as possible, and that's tough when you're forecasting much beyond a year.

Constructing a Forecast

If the process of creating a 12-month forecast sounds daunting, relax. The process consists of a simple spreadsheet with 12 columns, labeled by month.  Each month's column starts with a beginning cash balance, followed by a set of entries for your sources of cash that month (including receivables, cash sales, and loan proceeds) ending with a "total cash" figure.

Next, you'll enter all the categories of "uses of cash" — such as payroll, vendor payments, rent, loan payments, and payroll taxes — followed by "total uses of cash." Then, of course, add a cell that subtracts total cash from total uses of cash, and label it "end of month cash." It's that simple.

Let's say your first month of the forecast is July. The "end of month cash" total for July becomes the "beginning cash" for August.

Where do the numbers come from? Look at your history, consider factors that you know or expect will change the numbers going forward and adjust accordingly as you plug them in. For example, if you know your sales usually slump in October by about 5%, adjust your sales revenue to account for this. If you pay your full year of business insurance in March, pencil that in.

After you have completed a full year's forecast, your spreadsheet will reveal where you think you'll wind up at the end of each month and the end of the year. As each month passes, update the previous month's forecasted numbers with the actuals to maintain maximum accuracy. And keep adding a new month after you've ended your current month, to give you a rolling 12-month forecast.

Reality Check

As you maintain the process, assess the accuracy of your original monthly forecasts. If you're consistently too optimistic or conservative, determine whether the actual numbers were aberrations or if they're the "new normal" that you should keep in mind going forward (and revise your forecasts accordingly).

Now you're ready for the payoff for all the number-crunching: determining your possible need to borrow. Alternatively, you may find that, based on your forecast results, you don't need to borrow at all and can proceed using the projected operating cash or even build a cash reserve.

Your forecast could also tell you that, while you're not likely to run short on cash, you could afford to make payments on a loan that would enable you to make a timely investment. Or the projection might tell you that you'll do fine by the end of the year, but you will likely experience a two-month period when you'll need a temporary cash injection to tide you over.

If you do expect to borrow, the sooner you know it, the better. In general, the longer the period before you'll need the loan proceeds, the stronger your standing with prospective lenders. When you approach them several months in advance of when you need the funds, you should be in a better bargaining position to get favorable terms. That's because, with time on your side, you won't be tempted to take the first loan offer you get. Lenders will know you have the freedom to shop around.

Points of Distinction

Here's a rundown on the basic features of business loans that you'll need to consider:

• Interest rate: What's the proposed interest rate? If it's a floating rate, what's it pegged to?
• Secured or non-secured: Do you have to pledge collateral (personal or business) that you'll lose if you default, or is the loan unsecured and based on your credit history?
• Amortization: Are you paying down on the amount you have borrowed and interest, or would you only pay interest and repay the entire loan principal at the end of the loan term?
• Equipment lease vs. loan: If you're seeking dollars to acquire capital equipment, sometimes leasing it is better than buying — particularly when the lessor can make better use of the tax benefits (depreciation deductions) than you.
• Loan or cash advance: With a cash advance, you're actually selling your receivables at a discount instead of borrowing.
• Kind of lender: Will you receive the loan from a lender you're working with, or are you dealing with a loan broker? Either way, you'll want to ensure that you'll be able to maintain an ongoing working relationship with people who can adjust as your needs change.

This is just a starting point for considering your possible need to secure a business loan. Talk to an expert to get the complete story before taking the plunge.

Disclaimer of Liability

Our firm provides the information in this e-newsletter for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation. Tax articles in this e-newsletter are not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding accuracy-related penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.

While MSPS is strategically focused on the issues here in our own home state, it is important to not forget about MSPS’s involvement with NSPS and the bigger issues affecting Surveyors at the national level.

Davis-Bacon Act

The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. The major change noted by NSPS was the inclusion of survey crews. As indicated by the proposed rules, members of a survey crew meet the definition of “laborer or mechanic” and would be subject to the prevailing wage requirements of the Act when working on certain covered projects.

Historically it was deemed that the physical activities, such as “clearing brush and sharpening stakes” is “not commonplace” for the roles of survey crew members and should not be subject to the requirements of the Act. MSPS has drafted a letter to be submitted as comments to the Department of Labor. This letter outlines the position of MSPS to not support their determination that, “[survey crew members] taking or assisting in taking measurements would likely be deemed laborers or mechanics,” on a cover project.

We identify that surveying and the working expertise required by members of survey crews is intellectual and judgmental in nature. The equipment is highly sensitive and sophisticated and survey crew members are required to understand and operate in their roles as highly knowledgeable, specially trained, technicians and paraprofessionals working under the supervision of a Licensed Professional Surveyor.

Within the letter, it was emphasized that specifically, during construction activities, the surveyors must observe the progress of the project, read, and interpret design data and methods on the construction plans, calculate and determine if the current site conditions meet the intent of the design, and recalculate and/or design a solution in the field that satisfies the plans. While the proposed rules exclude Licensed Professional Surveyor, they do not consider that members of survey crews are commonly LSIT’s, EIT’s, CST’s, Certified Hydrographers, Certified Mapping Scientist or Technologist of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, GIS, Lidar, and UAS, and/or graduates of Associate and Baccalaureate Degree programs. All have education and certificates of achievement which provide advanced knowledge in the surveying profession necessary for taking or assisting in taking measurements and exceed the classification of “laborers or mechanics”.

Comments to the Department of Labor are due by end of day on Tuesday, May 17. NSPS and MSPS are encouraging members to review the proposed rule changes and file comments in opposition. Additional information, talking points, and history of the Davis-Bacon Act are available here.

Certified Floodplain Surveyor

For anyone familiar with Floodplain Surveys, Elevation Certificates, and the amount of time it can take to receive a response for a Letter of Map Amendment please check out NSPS’s website under programs for the Certified Floodplain Surveyor (CFS) program. Currently this program is designed to test the surveyor’s knowledge on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and ensure they can adequately perform the duties necessary to fulfill NFIP requirements. North Carolina and Tennessee currently offer certification for the program. MSPS is in support of the program but it is our desire to have NSPS take over the administration, training, and keep records of the certificates, similar to the CST program, since we are limited on staff and other resources necessary for the program.

The Certified Floodplain Surveyor program started in North Carolina in the early 1990’s. Similar to the eLOMA process for Professional Surveyors, FEMA recognizes this program in North Carolina and offers expedited MT-1 and MT-EZ applications for those who are CFS. Unfortunately, while certification is available in Tennessee, FEMA does not recognize it as they do in North Carolina. It is the goal of the current CFS program to be recognized nationally by FEMA. With that in mind, ten (10) other states are looking at adopting the program including: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, and Georgia. Since Professional Surveyors are already recognized in most states as the sole individuals who can certify elevation data they are ultimately the only ones who can complete the forms FEMA requires. A CFS program would enhance that for those who can demonstrate an increased competency in the NFIP system.

Greetings fellow Surveyors! Another month has passed and committees have met, some more than once, and began working on their objectives for the year. Reports are beginning to flow in as the full Board of Directors prepares to meet for the first time this year on April 14th, which will be the day before this newsletter goes out. After having attended many of the Committee meetings this past month, I am incredibly grateful for the Chairs and Committee Members. Each of them continues to challenge themselves and each other to always go above and beyond in their roles for the betterment of the Society and the Profession.

Exciting News from Washington D.C.!
On March 30th through April 1st NSPS held their spring Business Meeting. During the meeting the NSPS Young Surveyors Network hosted the 21st Annual Student Competition where the Ferris State University, Burt and Mullet Student Chapter team took First Place! Team members Nickolas Belka, Dylan Dankenbring, Michelle Abramson, John Vary, and Zachary Bemben accompanied by their faculty advisor, Professor Emeritus Rober Burtch, PS beat out 11 other teams in a two day competition. At the end of the day Trimble awarded the top 3 programs with cash prizes of $2,000, $1,000, and $500 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. A well deserved congratulations to the Ferris State University students on their achievement!

Committees
The Convention and Education Committee is wrapping up the final numbers, results, and reports for the 2022 Annual Convention. With a successful convention behind them, they will be looking into the options and opportunities for seminars this year while preparing for next year's Convention. Early number estimates are showing that the Technician Track offered this year boosted the overall turnout and increased the number of non-licensed members to attend. The Technician Track proves to be vital to the strategic goal to open opportunities for technician involvement.

The Legislative Committee along with AESLC are keeping a close eye on the three key pieces of legislation that were worked on last year. Among them are SB 627, Michigan - Indiana State Line Remonumentation; SB 589, a revision to PA 132; and an amendment to the Remonumentation Act to push the sunset date for the program. Additionally, they are working closely with MARD on a set of House Bills (4729-4732) that were introduced by another organization last year which impact the ways fees are collected in relation to what form and how data and recorded documents are requested.

While the release of the 2022 Reference Frame was pushed back, the Committee will get working together with the 2022 Reference Frame Committee. Ideally, when the time comes, everything is ready to go. The challenge being that Act 9 is not the only legislation that could be impacted by the future Reference Frame change over. As we all know, many agencies and communities have begun utilizing GIS systems and have passed rules or created their own ordinances utilizing the current Act 9 systems. Outreach to these organizations will be vital to ensuring a smooth transition for all parties involved.

Lastly, the Legislative Committee is looking at ways to improve and defragment the current Land Division and Condominium Acts. Discussion is still very early on and a lot must be done with other organizations if any changes are proposed.

The Bylaws, Policies, and Practices Committee has completed a review and markup of the current Bylaws for content clarity. A cleanup phase is currently underway for correctness, grammer, and spelling. The objective is to modernize our Bylaws with what we see in many similar organizations and streamline them into the Policies and Procedures of MSPS to enhance the Roles and Responsibilities of the organization.

There have already been a number of Unlicensed Activity complaints that have made their way to the Central Office over the past month. Some of these complaints range from advertising of services that are a bit cloudy to setting irons by companies with no Professionals on staff. As the committee reviews these complaints please be mindful to provide as much information and evidence as you can to the Central Office and make yourself available to the Committee if they have questions. This will help ensure a timely response by the Committee and action by the Board of Directors.

NCEES PSPAKS Survey
As a reminder to everyone, the NCEES PAKS survey is still live until May 30th. Please take a moment to complete the survey.

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying is seeking professional surveyors’ and mapping scientists’ expertise and advice. They are completing a professional activities and knowledge study (PAKS) related to the Professional Surveyor and the PS exam. We are asking our members to please visit the online questionnaire and complete the survey. The survey will be open until May 30th. Per the email from NCEES… “These studies help NCEES ensure its licensing exams reflect current professional practice… and ensures that the PS exam continues to meet the demands of the profession.” Please see the news release provided in the newsletter for additional information. The online questionnaire can be completed at: http://ncees.org/PSPAKS

Upcoming Events
The Central Office has sent out dates for upcoming Chapter and Foundation golf outings. Please be sure to keep an eye on the newsletter and the MSPS website calendar for additional dates of upcoming Chapter meetings and events.

May
Ferris State University Burt & Mullett – Friday, May 6th at the Katke golf course in Big Rapids. Student organized. Click here for the flyer with registration details. Hole sponsors available!
 
June
Mid Michigan Chapter – Thursday, June 16th

August/September
Soderberg – Thursday, August 18th
South West Chapter – Thursday, September 8th
Northern/Northeast Chapters – Friday, September 16th
Central/Saginaw Valley Chapters – Friday, September 23rd