Western Illinois Electrical Coop

“Western Illinois Electrical Coop. is an electric distribution cooperative consisting of approximately 3,600 members. Each customer of the Cooperative receiving service is a member.”

“The Cooperative is divided into 7 districts. The members are allowed to vote for the election of a director to represent each district. Board members are approved on a rotating 3-year cycle.”

“Cooperative members are allowed to vote on proposed by-law changes during the annual membership meeting.”

“The Form 990 is prepared by the Cooperatives independent auditor. It is presented to the General Manager and the Finance and Accounting Manager for review. The Board receives a copy of the 990 to review and approve before filing.”

“Directors and employees are made aware of the need to disclose potential conflicts of interest upon starting. If there was ever concern about a conflict, the Manager would discuss the matter with the board member in question, then decide if further discussion with the rest of the Board was necessary.”

“The Managers salary is set by the Board annually. The Board has access to comparable data from others in the industry as well as knowledge about the financial health of the Cooperative to utilize when setting the amount.”

“Manager initially proposes wages (except his own salary) to our Board, the Board approves the final amount, references such as annual survey information from AIEC about other coops wages are utilized for comparison for some positions.”

“Bylaws are offered to all new members; all other documents are available at any time upon request.”

“Current Year Margins Assigned to Members $ 922,183 Other Changes $ 78,684 Retirement of Capital Credits $ -343,694 Total $ 657,173”

“Form 990, Part IX, Line 4 The instructions to the 2024 Form 990 indicate that organizations exempt under Section 501(c)(12) should report patronage dividends paid to their members in Part IX, Line 4 of the Form 990. The Cooperative has interpreted the words patronage dividends paid in the instructions to mean margins that are assigned or assignable to the members. The Cooperative assigns the net margins to its members each year. Therefore, the amount listed in Part IX, Line 4 represents the net margins assignable to the members for the calendar year ended December 31, 2024.”