Arbiter Mandate
 

I had seen a thread a week or so regarding mandates by the State governing bodies on officiating. GHSA has issued a mandate requiring us to use Arbiter for all registration and assigning of officials.

I was wondering if any other states have made this move. If so, how successful or unsuccessful has it been? What the reasons given for the mandate? What did the governing body get out of the move?

Everybody does it
 

In Kentucky, I believe all sports use Arbiter. (I know basketball and baseball do) Part of our state dues go toward the Arbiter user fee. I have no idea how much the fee per official is.

Here, in SE PA, there is no mandate for school basketball, the only state-sanctioned sport I currently work. Some basketball assignors use it, some don't.

I can only speculate about what a governing body would get. Increased consistency and accountability, as people have to accept/decline assignments? Ease in pre-game communication among partners? A more structured system for submitting post-game incidents in reports? If the state also implements refpay, maybe some more methodical payment.

I dream of the day when all of our conferences and sports use one system for assigning. As it is now, some use Arbiter, some use rSchool, some use RefRanking/Athletix, and some still send out paper contracts.

I'd be happy to move everything to Arbiter -- would be the best thing ever for us.

I agree that the multiple systems is a pain. But, I'd rather move everything off the arbiter than on to it. ;)

+1.

I share your dream. I have to keep an eye on:
*Arbiter (NCAAW & NJ HS)
*Reftown (NYC GV)
*Presto (NCAAW)
*email (NYC BV)

Somehow I have avoided double-booking anyone (knock wood).

The kid from Chester looked good last night. I have some cousins who played at Academy Park.


Our state association hasn't mandated anything. Both my HS boards utilize Arbiter. The previous commissioner on my local board lost his position in 2010 in part because he refused to go to electronic scheduling; he was still using pen and paper and sending out assignment on an Execl spreadsheet.

It's funny - part of the reason I decided not to reapply for the assigning gig I had in 2007 was because the teams insisted I go back to manual scheduling. I refused. The guy doing the job now is STILL emailing out assignments manually 7 years later.

Being retired, I LOVE those emails (or occasionally a phone call) at 8 or 9 am, asking if I'm free that afternoon. Sure! Where, what time? :)

WA State uses Arbiter for all sports.

We get those emails, and we use arbiter for all levels (I think it's mandated for HS ball, but I'm not sure). I started using Arbiter when I moved to my current city. Before that, in the same state, my assigner was using paper assignments. My last season there, I didn't get the last page and thus had no idea that there was a game for me that I missed. This was 6 or 7 years ago.

I have no idea if they're using arbiter now, I imagine they are.

Arbiter is mandated for any games in the Chicago area with almost every assignor. Not a state mandate, but if you want to work in most conferences this way, you have to pay to be on Arbiter.

Peace

Rut,

The official pays a fee? How much?

Bob,

Any experiences you care to share?

I believe now the fee is 6.75 for each official. I forget because it is been a sore subject and the fee keeps going up. In my opinion this schools should pay for this if we are being told they love the system. And then with Arbiter we put all this personal information, and then the schools never seem to use it for their paper work.

I love some of the convenience of Arbiter, but it really sucks how it is used.

Peace

To answer the question of the OP, the State Office gets a global access account which permits them to view all games and assignments for every different sports group. That is the benefit.

Scuba,

How is it accepted by officials or assignors? Are there any additional fees the officials have to pay? Have there been any glitches during the season? Is there any items about Arbiter that you wish they would change?

Good questions. On the surface it seems highly anti-competitive to me. I’m not sure how they get away with mandating officials to use something, especially when the officials or the officiating organization is expected to pay for it.

Our area uses the arbiter.Personally I love it-everything is very easily laid out.All it takes is a click to accept or decline a game and all the forms are available online for easy reference.

Our arbiter fees are taken from our annual dues. We're paying it, but it's just not itemized.

A few years ago, the state mandated its use for playoff assignments: that's the only requirement I'm aware of that comes down from the state. I think it was just easier to use a system that is compatible at the local level.

Refpay seems to be making the same transition. First mandated to get paid for playoff games, now more and more schools get added each year.

Is It 1984 Already ???
 

One school last year, a second this year (of the seventy schools we service). I haven't worked at either school. Some of us, including me, are reluctant to give the schools our bank account numbers, social security numbers (that we already do for many schools), and driver's license numbers. And we don't want to pay $5.00 for a mailed paper check. What do you guys think? What have your experiences with Refpay been like? Is it inevitable as we continue our march through the Digital Age of "Big Brother"?

The schools don't get my account number, they have my social security number and my email address. They deposit the money into my refpay account, and I then transfer it over to my bank account.

A Wink And A Nod ...
 

Thanks. What ever happened to the good old days when the athletic director just handed you an envelope of cash before the game and winked at you?

At our association's opening softball meeting earlier this week, a comment was made that most (if not all) schools in our area might be using RefPay by 2015. one umpire was not happy about this and asked what he should do if he doesn't want to accept any payments via RefPay. :rolleyes:

In my experience, if RefPay is set up properly, it's more convenient than waiting for a check. I've had ADs use RefPay to pay me as soon as I arrived on site. Three business days later, the money is in my account. :)

So far, I haven't had to provide my SS# for RefPay schools, although some have asked for the e-mail address tied to it. Other schools seem to be able to pay me via my Arbiter account information.

There are a couple of schools that routinely pay the next morning, and if I watch closely, I can have the money in my account one day later.

RefPay does a great job of handling payments. You don’t need a paper check at all…you can transfer out of your RefPay account to your bank account, as Adam pointed out, whenever you like—even automatically if you wish (i.e. anytime your account is over $100, etc). I believe they also have a debit card that you can use to spend money directly from your RefPay account.

Although it is mostly owned by Arbiter, RefPay is somewhat separate and integrates with other systems. We integrated it into our system so that schools can pay officials directly from our site—after linking their RefPay account they never leave our site…it works great.

I used to work the Saluki summer league in Houston back when I started and the guy that ran it shook your hand on the way in as both a greeting and cash delivery method! Money in the bank!!

Do you know why he was unhappy about it? Just curious as to what peoples’ aversions are to RefPay and similar payment services.

Brad,

He never actually offered a reason aside from asking what alternatives were available to him. Our trainers really didn't know what to tell him, aside from saying that he could possibly ask to be payed by check, even though schools are trying to move away form that as much as possible now.

If asked to speculate, I'd wonder if he dislikes any form of online banking/payment processing.

I know what aversions I've heard. If you want your money for free, you have to manually transfer it. Automatic transfer carries a fee. That's ridiculous.

Yeah. Sounds about right. Usually it’s because the person wants to avoid reporting the income—whether to the IRS or his wife! :D

It's no different than cashing a check, though. In fact, it takes less effort: and I can cash checks with my smart phone app.

My only aversion is one particular assigner who charges $1 for every RP transaction when he pays for his games.

That's because RefPay charges a fee everytime the paying administrator processes a paysheet. It is a sliding scale depending upon how much the individual official is being paid.
That assignor is simply passing on his cost of paying you. Now you can argue that the schools should be assessed that cost or it should be covered by the assignor as part of any assigning fee that he receives, but just as with paper checks, stamps, and envelopes there is a cost associated with making payments to officials. All that needs to be determined is who should pay for it.

It would take just as little effort for RefPay to automatically direct deposit the money on a fixed schedule. Oh, wait, they'll do that for a fee.

Many schools locally are starting to pay by Direct Deposit. Only a handful of schools have gone to RefPay.

I get that, I do. I just found it odd that he never charged for checks (including the stamp), but now charges for refpay. While it was optional, I opted for the check. It's not a deal breaker, just a curiosity (and admittedly an annoyance) for me.

Some older assignors do not have a computer or know how one works from my experiences:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Do you remember about 10 years ago or so, the IRS started going after individuals who made tips as a majority of their income? the IRS felt that most people were under reporting or not reporting that income at all in order not to be taxed on it.

I have heard that the IRS has now turned an eye toward sports officials. There is pressure on officials organizations and state HS governing bodies to account for the payments to officials. In the past, it was "pick up a check or cash as you arrived for your assignment." I only got a 1099 if I was over the $600 limit from one school district.

As of three years ago here, all HS officiating payments are going through RefPay....now I get a 1099 for all of the HS officiating that I did the previous year.

Centralized officiating payment systems are the way it is going.

If it streamlines the process and gets me paid quicker, fine by me!

I have heard this too...and I think it is going to change the landscape for a lot of sports officials. I have heard from volunteers who run local leagues for basketball, baseball, softball and football that they are under increasing scrutiny from the IRS and have to start issuing 1099s.

I know one league that started this a couple of years ago and subsequently lost a bunch of officials who did not want any "proof" of income. The head of one small baseball league told me his organization paid $24,000 to umpires last year...but the paperwork burden to him and the treasurer to be in full compliance will be large. (They used to pay cash at the field.)

I know far more officials who work for cash and never report their income than I know those who report every penny, but also keep records to offset that income with legal deductions.

Then you know a lot of criminals.

As I'm sure you know, ALL income, even if it is cash or if no 1099 is issued is taxable income. The $600 limit for 1099's has nothing to do with whether the income is supposed to be taxable, just that the paying organization need not incur the overhead of having to create the 1099 document.

Those skipping out on their taxes like this are just stealing from the rest who properly report their income and pay taxes on it. I'd bet that a lot of them are also the first ones to sign up for government assistance which means they're not only cheating on their taxes but obtaining income-based benefits they don't deserve, further cheating those that pay their taxes and taking limited resource benefits from those that actually deserve them.They probably also are the first to vote to raise taxes on those actually reporting income so that they can get more from those government programs.

If they're not doing it to skip on taxes, then they're doing it to avoid paying child support for their kids....equally despicable, perhaps more.

I'd like to see how many of those who preach about integrity don't bother claiming officiating income on their taxes unless they're forced to.

Other than saving a day or two in the mail, I can't say I've seen a marked time savings.

I don't make that judgment. I well know the law and know what my Schedule C shows. My comments were meant to be factual about the reality of any cash profession...including officiating.

There is a change coming to how many of us are paid. I was not trying to start a debate here that dovetails into politics, tax law, child support or anything along those lines.

Exactly.

And even a lawyer I know tells fellow officials to claim a lot of things legally so that you get write-offs and not really be taxed or have to pay based on that income. And when you consider a lot of things like dry-cleaning or meals after a game, many of us are not really making a killing officiating games at $60-$70 a pop. I know I am lucky if the money I make does not do much more than pay expenses for the year than anything.

Peace

Indeed. I claim everything I make from all sources regardless of how small. I don't leave anything out on purpose. If I have missed some income, and it very well could have happened, it is due to an error rather than a deliberate action. I don't have a lot of respect for those that consciously choose to not report their income, particularly those who stop taking games once they get near $600 from a source so they can avoid having it get reported.

Self Employed ...
 

Because I purchased three new pairs of shoes this past season, two pairs of Zigs for high school games, and a pair of "walkers" for Catholic middle school games, plus a new equipment bag, I didn't "make" enough money to pay Social Security taxes.

Note: If anybody asks, I always go home to get my bag after work, no matter how close the game is to my day job.

People that are self-employed or run some kind of business often take advantage of any rules that allow them to not pay taxes. That is not unusual to officiating. And often those advantages are not illegal. I do not know about you, but it would be really hard to make $600 at any one school. That least time I did it was when I was working baseball and I worked a game in each of my seasons at a particular college. Otherwise it is nearly impossible to work that many times at any school and especially at the high school level. Too many schools for that to happen (then again my area does not have one assignor for an entire association). I do not begrudge officials to take the same advantages they can when it comes to being an independent contractor and not getting a W2 from a business.

I have been in sales for year and I did the very same thing to take advantage of things to ultimately not pay things I could write off. Officiating is not special in that respect.

Peace

I'd like to see how this integrity plays out in the rest of life as well: not just officiating income or even taxes.

And that is why it cracks me up when people try to act like if someone takes some cash and does not report it, that we have violated some moral code.

Peace

That is absolutely true and if legal, I have no problem with it.

What Camron is saying is that there are officials who will stop taking assignments from a certain entity if they know they are close to hitting $600 which will require a 1099 to be generated by law. They are doing this to reduce the actual records of the income they make because they more than likely aren't claiming what isn't reported on a 1099.

Remember, regardless of whether a 1099 is issued or not, you're legally required to claim that income. The $600 threshold was implemented to reduce the paperwork burden on entities paying small sums infrequently to independent contractors.

I can see that if you're paid by each school. Here we are paid by the district for public school games. I'm usually good for 1-2 1099s a year in the districts I work the most.

As far as I can recall, nobody ever asks here, but you have posted this numerous times. I suppose your point is that you claim a mileage deduction from home to the game site regardless of whether you actually drove from home. Is this legal?

OK, but is that not their choice? BTW, most schools I have to file paper work no matter what I am getting paid for a single contest. So it does not matter if I get to the $600 or not, I still have money paid on file by that school and I would suspect reported properly. The $600 is only required by law, for that particular amount if they pay you. A W9 might be asked of you by someone that pays you money anyway. I cannot even get paid in most cases if I do not have one on file at most school districts.

Well schools are under the jurisdiction of the district. And each district decides how each school pays out money. Many the school district pays through the district office and does not come directly from HS A as an example. And once again, it is rare that I would work that much in one school or district where it would matter. But that still means I would have to file paperwork before I get paid. Half the time we do not see checks until weeks or in some cases months later after the contest. So someone is making us jump through some hoops to get money.

My point is ultimately that is the choice of each individual how they do their business. And many have been audited as a result. Mostly those that pay out money have run into that, rather than just a working official.

Peace

So, you're advocating that tax evasion is OK? What does that say about the honesty/integrity of the official?

Of course it is but the motivation is almost always to avoid having what they are paid reported because they aren't claiming it themselves. I've heard as much from several officials personally.

I file a W-9 with every district or private school I work but that doesn't mean they report what they pay me. If they do report it via a 1099, I will get a copy. They don't have to send in a 1099 if they pay me less than $600 but they can if they want to. Most don't because they want to avoid the extra paper work burden themselves but I suspect this will change.

Absolutely and unfortunately many choose to conduct their business in ways that run afoul of the law. As somebody that pays what is required of him to Uncle Sam, I tend to take a dim view towards those that think they don't have to.

I am not advocating anything but following the law. And the law helps people that are self-employed out to benefit from their income stream. If you were paying attention or talk to a tax attorney or tax professional, you might realize this on your own. And that is why other tax provisions in this country are seen as unfair when big business for example get all kinds of tax breaks to avoid paying money out of their pocket anymore than they already do than the average working person.

But as usual Camron, you sound like a woman I once dated, that takes the worst part of what someone says instead of actually understanding what I tried to say here. Schools in my area appear to already report what they pay to officials as independent contractors (and all states do not have the same laws or expectations as well). So maybe in your state you do not get the kind of consideration that I might or have to file the same paperwork for all kinds of reasons. And what people claim is not about overall integrity. I know a lot of other things officials do in their lives I would question more than how they file taxes. But that is me.

Peace

Agreed, which is why I advocate claiming all of the deductions you can legally in addition to reporting your income. In most cases for amateur officials, the actual amount of income from officiating to be taxed is fairly minimal.

I also don't think anybody is disputing that.

It is a component and not necessarily a large one but it is.

And I figured we're all talking about what is done at the Federal level so yes it would be the same. I don't know or care about what's done at the state level that has no impact me at all.

If you had even half way comprehended what I was saying, you wouldn't have even gone there. But, lacking that, you make an issue where there is none, again.

I think we can make our point w/o name calling or obnoxious simile.

I guess you can feel to crack up then.

If someone takes cash and doesn't report it, you have violated some moral code (you're stealing from the government) ... oh ... and you've violated the law as well.

My moral code tells me that federal, state, and local governments are all corrupt and wastefully spend my money on things I do not support. Therefore, I have no problem taking whatever steps necessary to deny them access to as much of my money as possible.

I agree....but only so far as it is legal. Not reporting income isn't one of the ways to do so. Avoiding making over $600 from a source so you can get away with not reporting it is illegal any way you slice it. Instead, why not just report it and go to someone's house (someone who is on or needs government assistance) while he isn't looking and take $100 from his wallet. That is essentially the same thing.

The legal and correct way to do it is to claim all the defections from the income that you can...mileage, meals, uniforms, camps, etc. And then stop voting in those that waste your money.

Perhaps not so illegal. I consider myself a conscientious objector. How so you ask. Here is one example. In my moral code, abortion is just another term for murder. Just to clarify, this isn't a religious problem for me, I do not belong to or follow any religion. I understand the law says this procedure is legal and people are entitled to undergo this procedure. However, I do not believe my money should be used support a person's ability to undergo this procedure. Therefore, I will use any and all means necessary to send as little or none of my money to any government agency that will then use my money to promote or facilitate businesses that perform this procedure.

Give me the address of the guy who needs government support and still has $100 sitting around in his wallet, so I can go ask him for some of my money back.:D

I don't disagree with you on your right to object to certain things the government use some money for. However, I'm guessing that, for every 1 of those things where you have a fundamental objection, there are 100 other things that are provided by the government that you use and do not object to.

The right way to oppose things is not to lie about your income and cheat on your taxes. That is always illegal, even if you can get away with it because it was under the $600 limit that triggers documentation.

Well I do not recall that we only mentioned Federal or State Taxes and it does affect everyone in a similar way. Some might not have to file State income taxes at all and that is not a bad thing, but if I file my income, I have to consider both. Both have different penalties and benefits. And if I am accepting state funded money and they file paperwork to show what they have paid out, I might have to answer to them at some point.

Peace

Guys, I think the discussion is a good discussion...we will keep the thread open as long as it remains a non-personal discussion.

At this point, it's one poorly worded post away from being locked.

I feel my comments are appropriate to the person and the accusation being made. If you want to take the moral high ground about this or other issues, you have to be willing to discuss the person personally. Sorry, he sounded like someone I knew with his comment.

Peace

You're entitled to your opinion. Keep having the discussion just don't make it personal.

I think all mods are on board with my take on things. So do as you wish, but the leash is short.

When RefPay was implemented for HS games in my area, we went from getting a check or cash at the game site to having to wait for 1 - 3 days for the money to hit RefPay, then another 2-5 days to transfer it to my bank account.

So, for us, it extends the time it takes to get paid.

If that is personal, then you have not been doing a great job reading this board on a regular basis(and I rarely see you comment on this site). That was very mild compared to other things stated. Just sayin.

Peace

I Can Sleep At Night ...
 

I'm a chemist, not an accountant. For convenience, and simplicity reasons, not for purposes of cheating, I pull my mileage off of Arbiter, and double it. 75% of the time I actually do go home, for all of my Catholic middle school games, and many of my high school games. In some cases I will drive by my house on my way to a high school game without actually stopping by the house (to save time). I don't include my mileage to, and from, meetings, just my games. It comes close to evening out in the end, and I can sleep at night. I claim every single penny that I earn, cash, checks, high schools, Catholic middle schools. I pay both state, and federal, income taxes, and Social Security taxes. I'm not sure many basketball officials can make the last two statements with an straight face, at least here in my little corner of Connecticut. I tell guys around here that I pay taxes on my officiating income and they look at me like I'm from Mars.

http://voluntarysociety.org/conditio.../Snoopytax.jpg

Death And ...
 

From the IAABO (International) website:

Tax Records - Officiating is an avocation that carries with it a need for a high level of integrity. Part of carrying out this high standard is meeting your responsibility to society, in general, by paying your taxes. It is equally wrong to overpay taxes and preventing overpayment begins with great records.

Everything I said was 100% factual...accusing no one specifically. The only ones who would feel accused would be those who actually are cheating on their taxes. I don't like taxes any more than you, but not liking taxes is not the same as cheating on them. And, for those, the accusation would be valid. If you feel accused perhaps you should amend your tax forms to fix that rather than attacking others who merely point out the facts of the situation.

You replied with a bunch of noise about state tax requirement, how hard it would be to get to $600, or what info schools collect, and people having the right to try to save money legally. None of that has anything whatsoever to do with the actual point of people deliberately and illegally under-reporting income and hoping to get away with it either because they got paid in cash or they were under the 1099 limits that would force the paying party to report the income to the IRS and how going to electronic payment systems makes it harder or impossible for people to cheat.

Someone would say the sky is blue and you'd go off on why they might not be right because the rivers and lakes in your area are brown or green.

Call it dishonest, cheating or whatever else you like. I am not worried about an accusation, nor am I offended. Point out the facts as you see them and make your case, using whatever language you want. I am a constant advocate for the elimination of the pervasive political correctness that is forced upon us both here and in real life. I have my reasons for doing what I do and I am comfortable with them. Nothing you or anyone else here says is going to change my stance in this matter. However, before you start questioning other peoples integrity, you should make sure you are one of the select few people who follows all rules and laws all the time. Anything less, just makes you a hypocrite.

We tried.