Indiana SILC: mileage and compensation policy

	In retrospect, I should have listen to my first instinct about
ICOIL that I had several years ago and ran.  My involvement on the council
cost me financially and continues to do so. Now I am paying taxes on the
mileage reimbursement I received to help wit h travel expenses. 

	Nobody made sure I understood this. I would just like to let any
future potential council members know that unless the ICOIL changes the
system in which council members receive mileage reimbursement from the
state, future council members will have to pay taxes on any mileage. 

	Having to pay taxes on mileage, as if it was income, may be
particularly problematic for council members who receive disability
benefits. 

	I would have been prepared to pay taxes on compensation, but
nobody made sure I knew that I would have to pay taxes on mileage. I did
not find this out until after I had lost income due to my participation in
the meetings, where I was disregarded, disresp ected, defamed, and
slandered by a council which is supposed to be empowering me. 

	The bylaws allowed for "compensation to a member of the SILC, if
the member is not employed or must forfeit wages from other employment,
for each day the member is engaged in performing SILC" (Bylaws article IV
section 5: Reimbursement and Compensation). A copy of the bylaws can be
found at http://www.onecandream.com/ICOIL/documents

	With regards to compensation, I wanted things to be fair for
everyone.  I repeatedly asked for a written compensation policy that would
be consistently applied to all council members, regardless of how they
happened to vote that would not discriminate aga inst non-traditional
workers like myself... 

	In the end, I did not receive compensation.  The unfortunate,
reality is the way a person votes has a definite impact on how pleasant
their ICOIL experience will be, how much money they will receive, or how
quickly they will be burned at the stake. 

	I would have gladly paid taxes on compensation, but my integrity
is worth more then $50 a day. 

	What I want to know is if the council is independent from the
state, and I was just a volunteer receiving mileage reimbursement and not
pay....then why did my mileage reimbursement come to me from the state in
the form of taxable income? 

	I probably should have ran when I had the chance, but then
again...if everyone did that everywhere then the situation will just
continue to get worse for everyone...not just people in Indiana.... 


Ramona Harvey

We the people with disabilities can think for ourselves.  We can ask our
own questions and come to our own decisions.  We know what it is like to
be treated differently, and we know what it is like to be excluded because
we cannot get in the door or becau se people are afraid we will be hurt. 
We are important.  Our lives, needs, and dreams are important and we
deserve respect.  We are just like every other person driving down the
road. We demand our needs be met and that we be included in the decisions
t hat impact our lives - we do not wish to sit on the sidelines anymore
and watch others play.  We want to be allowed on the playground just like
anybody else. www.onecandream.com