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OFFICE OF REPRESENTATIVE JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES INTERNAL MEMORANDUM
From: Monica Smith, Chief of Staff
Subject: Meeting Minutes
Following several spirited and, in some cases, as yet unresolved disagreements concerning whether specific instructions had been issued, understood, ignored or delivered within a timescale appropriate to the situation, the Office of Representative James Buchanan Barnes will henceforth maintain formal minutes of any and all significant meetings.
The Chair advises that this decision is entirely routine, and should not be interpreted by any member of staff as a response to any particular incident, no matter how regrettable.
It is certainly not related to:
- Any on-going disagreements regarding the office thermostat
- Congressman Barnes assuming that saying ‘Monica’s got it’ constitutes project management
- The use of permanent marker in place of dry-erase markers
- Misuse of the employee expense system
For the avoidance of doubt, in addition to these recorded minutes, verbal agreements remain agreements, and should be treated as such.
"No one told me" is not a defence.
Neither is "I thought someone else was doing it."
All action items will henceforth be assigned to a particular name, and no longer will ‘someone’ be an acceptable response. Any documentation raising an action point without a given name of a member of the Office of Representative James Buchanan Barnes will be returned to the owner for amendment.
Please note the coffee machine is not a member of the Office of Representative James Buchanan Barnes. Similarly, sticky notes with ASK BARNES affixed to laptops, briefing packets, windows or metal prostheses will no longer be accepted as an appropriate form of delegation.
Questions regarding these minutes may be directed to the Chair.
Complaints regarding these minutes may also be directed to the Chair.
The Chair reserves the right to ignore them.
Prepared by: Monica Smith Chief of Staff