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| | Quaestor’s Handbook | | Quaestor’s Handbook |
| − | by: Caius Curius Saturninus (2757), Gaia Fabia Livia (2757), | + | by: [[Caius Curius Saturninus (Nova Roma)|Caius Curius Saturninus]] (2757), [[Gaia Fabia Livia (Nova Roma)|Gaia Fabia Livia]] (2757), |
| − | Gaius Vipsanius Agrippa (2757), Arnamentia Moravia Aurelia (2757) | + | [[Gaius Vipsanius Agrippa (Nova Roma)|Gaius Vipsanius Agrippa]] (2757), [[Arnamentia Moravia Aurelia (Nova Roma)|Arnamentia Moravia Aurelia]] (2757) |
| | | | |
| | + | ==Quaestor Handbook Introduction== |
| | | | |
| − | Contents
| + | The purpose of this document is to help newly elected Quaestores to assume their duties as well as preserve information about practices that have been found useful. It is the desire of the creators of this document that it would be updated yearly with newest information. |
| − | 1. Quaestorship (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 2. Different Quaestors Explained (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 2.1 Consular Quaestors (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 2.2 Praetorian Quaestors (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 2.3 Aedilician Quaestors (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 2.3.1 Curule Aedile (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 2.3.2 Plebeian Aedile (by AMA)
| + | |
| − | 3. NR financial administration and Quaestors role in it (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 3.1 Consular Quaestors (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 3.1.1 Budgeting (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 3.1.2 Payments in and out (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 3.1.3 Tax Collecting (by GFL)
| + | |
| − | 3.2 Aedilician Quaestors
| + | |
| − | 3.2.1 Magna Mater Project
| + | |
| − | 4. Quaestor as Right Hand of a Magistrate (by CCS)
| + | |
| − | 4.1 Praetorian Quaestors
| + | |
| − | 4.2 Aedilician Quaestors (by GVA&AMA)
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | The purpose of this document is to help newly elected Quaestores to assume their duties as well as preserve
| + | ==Contents== |
| − | information about practises that have been found useful. It is the desire of the creators of this document that it
| + | |
| − | would be updated yearly with newest information.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | 1. Quaestorship
| + | #[[/Quaestorship|Quaestorship]] (by CCS) |
| | + | #[[/Different Quaestors Explained|Different Quaestors Explained]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ##[[/Consular Quaestors|Consular Quaestors]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ##[[/Praetorian Quaestors|Praetorian Quaestors]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ##[[/Aedilician Quaestors|Aedilician Quaestors]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ###[[/Curule Aedile|Curule Aedile]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ###[[/Plebeian Aedile|Plebeian Aedile]] (by AMA) |
| | + | #[[/NR financial administration and Quaestors role in it|NR financial administration and Quaestors role in it]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ##[[/Consular Quaestors|Consular Quaestors]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ###[[/Budgeting|Budgeting]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ###[[/Payments in and out|Payments in and out]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ###[[/Tax Collecting|Tax Collecting]] (by GFL) |
| | + | ##[[/Aedilician Quaestors|Aedilician Quaestors]] |
| | + | ###[[/Magna Mater Project|Magna Mater Project]] |
| | + | #[[/Quaestor as Right Hand of a Magistrate|Quaestor as Right Hand of a Magistrate]] (by CCS) |
| | + | ##[[/Praetorian Quaestors|Praetorian Quaestors]] |
| | + | ##[[/Aedilician Quaestors|Aedilician Quaestors]] (by GVA&AMA) |
| | | | |
| − | 1.1 A Quaestor
| + | [[Category:Nova Roma]] |
| − | | + | |
| − | Quaestor is minor magistrate position, but the first one with authority and responsibility. The role of
| + | |
| − | Quaestores is perhaps reducable into one word: assistant, but in the reality it is not very tightly defined.
| + | |
| − | 1.2 What Does NR Constitution Say?
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | The role of the Quaestores is defined at the constitution of Nova Roma (2757 version) in following way:
| + | |
| − | I. C.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | This Constitution shall serve as the bylaws for Nova Roma, a legally incorporated entity in the state of Maine,
| + | |
| − | USA (hereafter referred to as "the corporation"). The conduct and procedures of the Board of Directors and the
| + | |
| − | officers of the corporation shall be according to the guidelines and strictures set forth in this Constitution. The
| + | |
| − | Board of Directors of the corporation shall be composed of the Senate of Nova Roma (as described in Section V
| + | |
| − | of this Constitution), and the officers of the corporation shall be composed of the magistrates of Nova Roma (as
| + | |
| − | described in Section IV of this Constitution), as follows:
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | 1. The co-presidents of the corporation shall be the consuls of Nova Roma;
| + | |
| − | 2. The co-vice-presidents of the corporation shall be the praetors of Nova Roma;
| + | |
| − | 3. The co-treasurers of the corporation shall be the quaestors of Nova Roma;
| + | |
| − | 4. The co-secretaries of the corporation shall be the censors of Nova Roma.
| + | |
| − | IV A 6.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Quaestor. A number of quaestors shall be elected by the comitia populi tributa equal to the number of consuls,
| + | |
| − | praetors, and aediles to serve a term lasting one year. One quaestor shall be assigned to each of these magistrates
| + | |
| − | by mutual agreement or, if such cannot be made, by decision of the newly-elected consuls. They shall have the
| + | |
| − | power and obligation to administer those funds that shall be allocated to them by the Senate in its annual budget
| + | |
| − | under the supervision of that magistrate to whom they are assigned. Those quaestors assigned directly to the
| + | |
| − | consuls shall supervise the whole of the aerarium (treasury), but no funds may be spent without the prior
| + | |
| − | approval of the Senate
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | V. B.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | The Senate shall exercise control over the aerarium (treasury) and shall oversee the financial endeavors, health,
| + | |
| − | and policy of the state.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | 1. No later than the last day of November of each year, the Senate shall prepare a budget for the following year.
| + | |
| − | This budget shall deal with the disbursement of funds from the aerarium to the quaestors for various purposes.
| + | |
| − | Even though the quaestors assigned to the consuls shall be responsible for the maintenance of the entire treasury,
| + | |
| − | no funds from it may be disbursed without the prior approval of the Senate. The Senate may, as required by
| + | |
| − | changing circumstances, pass supplemental Senatus consulta to modify the annual budget.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | 2. The Senate may, by Senatus consultum, impose taxes, fees, or other financial requirements on the citizens in
| + | |
| − | order to maintain the financial welfare of the state.
| + | |
| − | 1.3 Quaestores in NR Reality
| + | |
| − | This is all clear, but the reality is that probably only 3 Quaestores of 8 deal with money-issues: two consular
| + | |
| − | and a aedilician one. The rest of Quaestores are more like private secretaries of their magistrate, first assistants.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | 1.4 Quaestores in Ancient Rome
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In the ancient Rome Quaestores were more strictly financial officers, except in the empire. Following article is a
| + | |
| − | short summary, and can be found at: http://www.livius.org/about.html
| + | |
| − | “Quaestor: Roman magistrate, comparable to an accountant.
| + | |
| − | The word quaestor means 'the man who asks questions'. This magistrate is first mentioned in the Laws
| + | |
| − | of the Twelve Tables, although there are reports about quaestors who served under the Roman kings.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Their task was to investigate murder cases - they were police inspectors. It is unclear how this function
| + | |
| − | could change into a government office.
| + | |
| − | The first two quaestorian magistrates were elected in the 440's. They served as accountants and took
| + | |
| − | charge of the aerarium (public treasury). Some twenty years later, their number was doubled. The new
| + | |
| − | quaestors served as paymasters of the two consular armies. Two more quaestors were added in 267: they
| + | |
| − | took charge of the tribute of the Italian allies. After the First Punic war, the annexation of the island of
| + | |
| − | Sicily and Sardinia/Corsica led to the appointment of two additional quaestors. The number must have
| + | |
| − | grown with the number of provinces. Under Sulla, there were 20 quaestors; under Julius Caesar, the
| + | |
| − | Roman empire needed 40 accountants - or perhaps Caesar had discovered an easy way to give a job to
| + | |
| − | his adherents.
| + | |
| − | Originally, one could not become quaestor unless one had 10 years of experience in the army. This was
| + | |
| − | changed under Sulla, who stipulated a minimum age of 30 years for the questorship. The emperor
| + | |
| − | Augustus lowered this age to 25 years. He also made an end to the practice to have the quaestors elected
| + | |
| − | by the Comitia tributa, an assembly of the people that was divided into voting districts. The election
| + | |
| − | was transferred to the Senate.
| + | |
| − | Under the empire, two of the quaestors were appointed by the emperor in person (the quaestores
| + | |
| − | Augusti). They had financial tasks as well, but were also responsible for messages of the emperor. A
| + | |
| − | young man who obtained this job, was expected to become a very important official. An additional task
| + | |
| − | of all quaestors was the supervision of the Games. Since the aedil, praetors and consuls were also
| + | |
| − | responsible for the Games, it may be suspected that the magistrates were each others rivals.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | A quaestor had no bodyguard (lictor) but was allowed to wear a purple-bordered toga.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Livius is a non-commercial website on ancient history. Since 1996, it has been maintained by Jona Lendering from Amsterdam, Holland. He read history at Leiden University (where he graduated in
| + | |
| − | 1993), specialized in Mediterranean culture at the Amsterdam Free University (until 1996), and worked
| + | |
| − | at excavations in Holland and Greece. After teaching methodology and theory at the Free University, he
| + | |
| − | worked for some time as an archivist. He now teaches ancient history to elderly people and Dutch
| + | |
| − | history to foreigners, again at the Free University.
| + | |
| − | This site is meant as a bridge between what academic scholarship has to offer and what the larger
| + | |
| − | audience demands. It also tries to offer on-line information on subjects that are still (almost) absent on
| + | |
| − | the world wide web (e.g., ancient Persia).
| + | |
| − | Jona Lendering is the author of six books, all in Dutch. Reviews can be found here (all in Dutch,
| + | |
| − | except this one).”
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | 2. Different Quaestors Explained
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | In this chapter the different Quaestores are explained briefly.
| + | |
| − | 2.1 Consular Quaestors
| + | |
| − | There are two Consuls and both have one Quaestor assigned to them. The Consuls are the highest executive
| + | |
| − | magistrates, only Censores are above them, but Censores seldom have anything to do with daily administration
| + | |
| − | of the state. The Consuls run the whole government and have power comparable to president or prime minister.
| + | |
| − | The Consular Quaestores are the de facto first financial officers of the state and are responsible of conducting the
| + | |
| − | tax collecting and budgeting under the guidance of the Consules. They also have duties in organising different
| + | |
| − | payments and keeping up financial records. Quite often their duties also consist other kind of assisting duties as
| + | |
| − | their superiors see fit. Post of the consular Quaestor is of heavy workload and responsibility. Fast Internetconnection
| + | |
| − | is a mandatory requirement as consular Quaestores need often view online accounts.
| + | |
| − | 2.2 Praetorian Quaestors
| + | |
| − | Pretores are closest to the police-officials NR has and act as judges as well as law-enforcers. Most timeconsuming
| + | |
| − | duty they have is the moderation of the NR mailing-lists and keeping up the order. As they don’t
| + | |
| − | have any financial duties praetorian Quaestores are most likely to be deeply involved into mailing list
| + | |
| − | moderation duties which require regular work and can be time-consuming unless the Praetores are able to find
| + | |
| − | enough scribae to help with the work. Fast Internet-connection is more or less required for praetorian Quaestor to
| + | |
| − | fulfill his duties.
| + | |
| − | 2.3 Aedilician Quaestors
| + | |
| − | In NR there are two types of Aediles (Curule and Plebeian). Both have duties in keeping up the order in the
| + | |
| − | market-place as well as arranging public festivals. The duties of their Quaestores are just about identical except
| + | |
| − | that Curule Aediles usually arrange more festivals and one Curule Aedile is responsible of Magna Mater Project,
| + | |
| − | which has financial duties included.
| + | |
| − | 2.3.1 Curule Aedile
| + | |
| − | There are 4 to 12 games yearly that Curule Aediles arrange and this means 2 to 6 games per Curule Aedile, and
| + | |
| − | workload can be considerable for Quaestor as he is the right hand of his Aedile. The Magna Mater Project has its
| + | |
| − | own bank account and own records and it gets tens of donations per year from mere few USD to hundreds of
| + | |
| − | USD. The upkeep and of the project website and other activities bring about costs. The Quaestores for Curule
| + | |
| − | Aediles should be prepared for intensive periods in their duties in preparation of the festivals, but ultimately the
| + | |
| − | workload depends on the level of activity of their Aedile and the division of duties with aedilician scribae.
| + | |
| − | 2.3.2 Plebeian Aedile
| + | |
| − | Each year there are only 2 festivals arranged by the Plebeian Aediles, and no financial duties, so the workload is
| + | |
| − | considerably lighter than the Curule Aediles. A Quaestor for Plebeian Aedile should expect intensive work period
| + | |
| − | once or twice a year - in April for the Ludi Cerealia and in November for the Ludi Plebii. In past years,
| + | |
| − | celebrations for these games have included chariot races, gladiatorial contests, cultural and historical quizes, and
| + | |
| − | poetry contests. The role of the Quaestor during these games is to assist the Aedile in whatever way possible.
| + | |
| − | This may include scoring quizes and contests or producing exciting descriptions of the races and games. An
| + | |
| − | ability to respond to requests quickly, a detail-oriented personality with a knowledge of ancient history, and a
| + | |
| − | flair for dramatic writing will be much appreciated.
| + | |
| − | 3. NR financial administration and Quaestors role in it
| + | |
| − | All Quaestores should be involved in one way or another in the financial administration of NR. This far there
| + | |
| − | has been only few duties, but with growth and more outward orientation of NR the financial activities have been
| + | |
| − | developing.
| + | |
| − | Basically only the Consular Quaestors and one Quaestor of Curule Aedile is involved in financial matters, but it
| + | |
| − | should be aimed to develop practises where all Quaestors are involved at least in tax collecting duties.
| + | |
| − | 3.1 Consular Quaestors
| + | |
| − | Consular Quaestors are de facto leading Quaestors, and amongst the Quaestores they need to be the most active
| + | |
| − | ones in financial matters. They are privileged to all financial information of the republic, including the names of
| + | |
| − | tax payers and have access to accounts etc. They also have a lot of potential power as the chances are that no
| + | |
| − | other magistrate of all elected magistrates are committed to running the financies of the state. This makes the
| + | |
| − | position of Consular Quaestors a position of extreme responsibility. They need to be active in informing all the
| + | |
| − | magistrates and populus about the financial situation, they need to make sure that all magistrates understand the
| + | |
| − | financial realities and possibilities. They are also the guardians that all financial transactions are recorded and
| + | |
| − | conducted in proper manner. The sums are small, but the responsibility is there. Nova Roma’s laws about
| + | |
| − | financies are minimal and poorly done. Financial practises are non-existent, and this handbook is in fact the first
| + | |
| − | attempt to create traditions and preferred set of practises to make financial administration of NR more
| + | |
| − | professional and creditable. It is the sincere hope of the persons writing this handbook that their work is
| + | |
| − | continued in the following years by creating better excel files, better book-keeping standards, better
| + | |
| − | communication and informing methods as well as better overall administration of financies of the republic.
| + | |
| − | The Consular Quaestors are jointly responsible for tax collection and various other duties, but it usually makes
| + | |
| − | sense for one of them to take on exclusively the taxes and the other to handle everything else during the tax
| + | |
| − | season. This is because on the one hand it is tricky to co-ordinate accounting for taxes between two people, and
| + | |
| − | on the other hand it is a very big job (which will not leave the one assigned to it much time for other duties).
| + | |
| − | 3.1.1 Budgeting
| + | |
| − | NR budget is planned in practice in two separate phases. Every Autumn the Consuls submit a budget for next
| + | |
| − | year for the Senate to approve. After elections, most probably in first few months of new year, the new
| + | |
| − | government makes its adjustments to the budget and asks for Senate approval. This procedure is because NR
| + | |
| − | needs to file a budget proposal for next year for USA officials at the end of every year, and that newly elected
| + | |
| − | magistrates usually want to do some adjustments to the figures according to their tastes.
| + | |
| − | The budget planning is traditionally under the consular Quaestors responsibility, simply because Consuls are the
| + | |
| − | ones to ask Senate approval for budget. Budget is an Excel file, and most current approved version is at the
| + | |
| − | Senate mailing list from where the Consuls can obtain it.
| + | |
| − | Budget is divided into two main categories: income and expenses. Donations and tac income are the most usual
| + | |
| − | sorts of income to NR. Expenses are more divided and change somewhat annually. The budget file contains also
| + | |
| − | copies of previous budgets for reference. In planning the budget one has to evaluate the possible sources of
| + | |
| − | income and the probability of success of the estimates of income. According to this one can adjust the expected
| + | |
| − | expenses.
| + | |
| − | Budget also includes information about NR bank accounts and the money contained in them. The distribution of
| + | |
| − | these is one of the functions of the budget alongside determining contributions into them.
| + | |
| − | Here is the current items explained. New items can be added, but as the same file contains the previous budgets
| + | |
| − | as well, we recommend not to delete any items, unless a solution to keep the old information is found.
| + | |
| − | EXPENSES
| + | |
| − | Web hosting (self-evidently the web-hosting costs of www.novaroma.org)
| + | |
| − | Nova Roma mailbox (also self-evident)
| + | |
| − | Fund-raising (if some sort of fund raising campaign is arranged or e.g. other possible costs)
| + | |
| − | Flags and Merchandise (manufacturing of flags and merchandises, not had been used in past couple of years)
| + | |
| − | Eagle printing (not active any more)
| + | |
| − | Eagle mailing (not active any more)
| + | |
| − | Sodalitas Egressus (if Sodalitas Egressus has asked funds)
| + | |
| − | Emergency Fund (not in use)
| + | |
| − | Administrative expenses (Bank,PayPal fees etc.)
| + | |
| − | Transfers to CD (transfers to special funds)
| + | |
| − | Gifts from Nova Roma (f. ex. Temple Fund) (not active)
| + | |
| − | Bonding (not active)
| + | |
| − | Legal/government expenses (self-evident)
| + | |
| − | Census (self-evident)
| + | |
| − | Taxes Reserved for Provincia (50% of expected tax income)
| + | |
| − | Recruitment (shoud there be recruitment campaign etc.)
| + | |
| − | Outreach effort (any PR-work etc.)
| + | |
| − | Total
| + | |
| − | REVENUES (income)
| + | |
| − | Amazon.com bookstore (not active)
| + | |
| − | Eagle subscriptions (not active anymore)
| + | |
| − | Various small projects (as the title says)
| + | |
| − | Flags & other merchandise (the selling of state manufactured flags and other merchandise)
| + | |
| − | Grants (should NR recieve grants)
| + | |
| − | Cash donations (self-evident)
| + | |
| − | In-kind donations (self-evident)
| + | |
| − | Tax revenue (tax income)
| + | |
| − | Late fees (taxes paid after certain date must contain a late fee, these are recorded here)
| + | |
| − | Total
| + | |
| − | SUMMARY
| + | |
| − | Current Treasury funds
| + | |
| − | Expected net result
| + | |
| − | Total available
| + | |
| − | PROPOSED ALLOCATION OF AVAILABLE CASH
| + | |
| − | Current account (includes emergency fund) (Emergency Fund is basically everything that is left unused of total
| + | |
| − | available cash)
| + | |
| − | Ad Fundos Res (land fund, 12-month CD)
| + | |
| − | Fideicommissum (service/scholarship fund, 12-month CD) (Scholarship fund for Magna Mater Project)
| + | |
| − | Eagle (not active anymore)
| + | |
| − | Senate discretionary account (projects proposed by Citizens) (for any special requests happening during the year)
| + | |
| − | Total
| + | |
| − | TOTALS IN THE FUNDS (the situation at the beginning of the year, after allocation in budget,
| + | |
| − | possible donations during the year)
| + | |
| − | The system is simple, e.g.:
| + | |
| − | Fund Year 1 budgeted Year 1 raised Year 2
| + | |
| − | Fund 1 100 15 215
| + | |
| − | after allocation 200
| + | |
| − | This means that at January there has been 100 money in the Fund 1, the budgeted allocation from NR central
| + | |
| − | treasury is 100 money also, so after allocation in the beginning of the year, when the budget has been confirmed
| + | |
| − | by new administration and the Senate there is 200 Money in the Fund 1. During the year there are some
| + | |
| − | donations and some expenses making the total 15 Money (donations - expenses). So in the beginning of year 2
| + | |
| − | there is total 215 Money in Fund 1.
| + | |
| − | Of each special Fund there is a bank account established and they have their own balance Excel file with detailed
| + | |
| − | items of income and expenses. The main budget file contains only the totals.
| + | |
| − | The Special funds are:
| + | |
| − | Emergency Fund (= NR main bank account)
| + | |
| − | Aedilian Fund (Magna Mater project)
| + | |
| − | Land Fund (for getting land for NR)
| + | |
| − | Scholarship Fund (for supporting Magna Mater Project)
| + | |
| − | The Magna Mater Project Fund is administered by Curule Aedilician Quaestor(s), and can be used only by
| + | |
| − | permission of the Curule Aediles and Consuls. There is a Senatus Consultum about this. The Scholarship Fund
| + | |
| − | is for general Scholarship, but the first such sponsored scholarship has been reserved for Magna Mater Project,
| + | |
| − | however this fund is administered like rest of the special funds by Consular Quaestors.
| + | |
| − | Ideally budget is balanced in a way that there will be some extra fund generated but still with maximum usage of
| + | |
| − | money, it is very little use for NR to have thousands of USD sleeping in the bank accounts.
| + | |
| − | 3.1.2 Payments in and out
| + | |
| − | Most payments coming in are donations and taxes. These have to be recorded into files. About tax collecting
| + | |
| − | please see chapter 3.1.3 Tax Collecting. For every donation a thank you letter has to be sent for the donator, this
| + | |
| − | is because these letters can be used for tax redemption by the donator, and evidently it is a nice way to
| + | |
| − | acknowledge the donator that his donation has arrived and is appreciated! Simple email-message is enough. The
| + | |
| − | donations usually arrive via PayPal service and from there the arrived money should be transferred into proper
| + | |
| − | bank accounts. For example if the donator has specified that his donation should be used for Magna Mater
| + | |
| − | Project, then the donation has to be transferred into that account. Procedure is thus simple: record the amount,
| + | |
| − | date, possible PayPal fee and donator to files, transfer the money in to proper bank account from PayPal system,
| + | |
| − | send thank you email for donator, inform the quaestor in charge of Magna Mater account about new donation.
| + | |
| − | Other procedures are of course possible.
| + | |
| − | Payments out are usually handeled by the consular Quaestors accroding to the command of the Consuls. Consuls
| + | |
| − | themself act under the supervision of the Senate and in the limits set by budget. Quaestor may not without
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| − | explicit approval do any payments out. Payments out consist various expenses that change yearly. Perhaps the
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| − | most important one are tax returns for the provinces, more about this is in the chapter 3.1.3 Tac Collecting.
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| − | 3.1.3 Tax Collecting
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| − | Before tax collection can begin, the rate of taxes for the various nations must be set with reference to the
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| − | national GDP. (If possible, get a very short lex passed at the very beginning of the year allowing these figures
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| − | to be averaged across countries, otherwise it's quite a complicated job to check that all the payments are right as
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| − | they come in - it would be easier to check by province.) The Senatus Consultum which refers to this is to be
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| − | found here:
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| − | http://www.novaroma.org/tabularium/senate/2002-11-09-results.html
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| − | Citizens will begin to pay taxes as soon as the Consul publishes this list of current rates (this was the
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| − | beginning of February in 2004).
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| − | Taxes can be paid directly to the central treasury by Paypal (to payments@novaroma.org) or cheque (in US$), or
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| − | can be collected by provincial governors. IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TO ENCOURAGE
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| − | PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS TO COLLECT TAXES LOCALLY, PARTICULARLY FOR CITIZENS
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| − | WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO PAYPAL AND WHOSE HOME CURRENCY IS NOT US$ - it might
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| − | even be worth writing to all governors outside of the US and suggesting this to them. Provinces are also
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| − | entitled to retain half of the tax revenue (not including late fees) for use on NR expenses within the province -
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| − | many will not do this, but some will, particularly European provinces.
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| − | Paypal payments arrive in the NR paypal account, and citizens ought to include their NR name in the 'notes'
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| − | field. Please contact your immediate predecessor (C. Fabia Livia in 2004) for the password to the Paypal
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| − | account. You should check the paypal account at least every other day until the tax deadline (and weekly
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| − | thereafter - it will only take a couple of seconds if no payments have been made).
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| − | Patricia Cassia collects cheques from the P.O. Box in Maine, and pays them into the NR bank account - she
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| − | should also advise you of what payments have been made by which citizen. You should get in touch with her at
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| − | the very beginning of the year, introduce yourself, and explain what details you need about each payment.
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| − | For each payment received, several things need to be done:
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| − | ==
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| − | 1) If the amount is less than $12, check that the citizen has paid the correct amount for their
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| − | province. If they have not, get in touch to ask them for the remainder - don't process their payment any further
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| − | until this arrives.
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| − | 2) Enter the details of the payment in to a spreadsheet file. The column headers we have previously used are
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| − | (with explanations in brackets):
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| − | * Date (of payment)
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| − | * Citizen (Roman name for which the payment was made)
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| − | * Province (in which that citizen lives)
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| − | * Paid by (Macronational name of whoever made the payment - ie. the name on the cheque or the paypal
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| − | account)
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| − | * Method (PP=paypal; CHQ=cheque; MO=money order; CASH)
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| − | * Code (this will either be the paypal reference number, the cheque number, or similar reference
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| − | number)
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| − | * Amount recieved by treasury
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| − | * Amount retained by province
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| − | * Paypal fee (paypal charges a fee for each payment received, which should be accounted for separately here
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| − | where possible, rather than subtracted from the 'amount recieved')
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| − | * Notes (any other relevant information)
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| − | We also had a column for any donation included with taxes.
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| − | It is also suggested to include a column for 'Late fee' to make calculations easier at the end of the
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| − | year.
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| − | THIS SPREADSHEET MUST BE SENT TO THE CONSULS AND/OR OTHER QUAESTORS EACH
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| − | TIME IT IS UPDATED (or uploaded to a mailing list from which they can access it). There should be a
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| − | password on the spreadsheet which you should give to the Consuls and the other Consular Quaestor.
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| − | 3) There is an essential tool for Quaestors at: http://www.novaroma.org/bin/quaestores/list
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| − | You should ask the webmaster (or M. Octavius Germanicus) for a password to use this, before the tax collection
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| − | starts in earnest, because you will need it. The page is very slow to load, so once it's open, it makes sense to
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| − | open the links in new windows.
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| − | You can use your browser's 'find' function to find the name of the citizen whose payment you are processing,
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| − | and then open the red 'edit' link next to their name. You will then be given the opportunity to enter some
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| − | information such as the amount paid, reference number, etc. This information is all stored on the citizen's
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| − | record, and can be checked later. The citizen's status will automatically be updated to 'assidui (this year)'. You
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| − | should always leave the 'mail receipt?' box checked, so that confirmation will be sent to the citizen concerned.
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| − | ==
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| − | Once you've done these three things, you can go on to the next payment and start again!
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| − | The busiest time of year is before the tax deadline (the beginning of May), but tax payments will continue to
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| − | come in after the deadline, and ought then to be accompanied by late payment fees (of an additional 50% of the
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| − | original amount). Exceptions to this rule can be made by the Consuls where there are extraordinary
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| − | circumstances, and an exemption from the late fee is automatically extended to new citizens who wish to become
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| − | assidui.
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| − | At the end of the year, you will need to be able to supply the following figures:
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| − | * total amount of tax revenue recieved (including amounts retained by the provinces, but excluding late fees)
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| − | * total amount of revenue retained by provinces
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| − | * total amount of late fees paid
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| − | * total amount of paypal fees
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| − | =========
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| − | 3.2 Aedilician Quaestors
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| − | (This is from 2.3)
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| − | The Magna Mater Project has its own bank account and own records and it gets tens of donations per year from
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| − | mere few USD to hundreds of USD. The upkeep and of the project website and other activities bring about costs.
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| − | 3.2.1 Magna Mater Project
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| − | (This is from 2.3)
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| − | The Magna Mater Project has its own bank account and own records and it gets tens of donations per year from
| + | |
| − | mere few USD to hundreds of USD. The upkeep and of the project website and other activities bring about costs.
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| − | 4. Quaestor as Right Hand of a Magistrate
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| − | Quaestors for Aediles and Praetores are usually with very few if any financial duties. The main duty if these
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| − | Quaestores are then usually be the first assistant of the magistrate in question. This usually includes lot’s of dayto-
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| − | day routines and working behind the scenes for example as main list moderator or doing all sorts of things
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| − | related to arranging the games and festivals. The amount of work varies a lot from magistrate to magistrate, and
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| − | key to success in this position is to have solid communication skills. Ideally the magistrate and Quaestor know
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| − | each other at least somewhat before starting to work, and in any case the Quaestor needs to be informed on what
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| − | the magistrate wants achieve during his period and take active part right from the beginning to the planning and
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| − | organising things. Modern equivalent of Quaestor might be personal secretary.
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| − | 4.1 Praetorian Quaestors
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| − | (This is the same text as in 2.2)
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| − | Pretores are closest to the police-officials NR has and act as judges as well as law-enforcers. Most timeconsuming
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| − | duty they have is the moderation of the NR mailing-lists and keeping up the order. As they don’t
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| − | have any financial duties praetorian Quaestores are most likely to be deeply involved into mailing list
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| − | moderation duties which require regular work and can be time-consuming unless the Praetores are able to find
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| − | enough scribae to help with the work. Fast Internet-connection is more or less required for praetorian Quaestor to
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| − | fulfill his duties.
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| − | 4.2 Aedilician Quaestors
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| − | The role of the quaestor of a curule aedile depends largely on the activities of the curule aedile. As there are no
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| − | tax related duties, it falls on the quaestor to assist the aedile in the performance of his or her position. The level
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| − | of activity of an aedilician quaestor can be large or small. Many candidates for quaestor offer examples of skills
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| − | as accountants or other financial related roles.
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| − | An example of the work of a Quaestor can be seen in the equirria or horse-races dedicated to the gods. This
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| − | traditional event was brought to Nova Roma as a fund-raiser for a special religious fund, as the Curule Aedile
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| − | was also an active pontifex. Contestants would pledge money as a way to improve their chances of winning. It
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| − | was not simply an auction however. The entrants also had to create a written description of their horsemanship
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| − | skills. The Quaestor's role in this was to ensure that the pledges were recorded and that the money recieved was
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| − | equal to that pledged.
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| − | Another role of the Quaestor is that of assistant in the games held throughout the year. A flair for exciting and
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| − | dramatic writing, as well as historical accuracy, is a valuable skill for a Quaestor. These games involve many
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| − | chariot races and gladiatorial contests, and must be presented to the public (in narrative form) in an interesting
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| − | and entertaining way. The Aedile may also request assistance with smaller events in the games, such as cultural
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| − | and historical quizes and poetry contests.
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| − | One of the differences between the plebian aedile and the curule aedile is the supervision of the marketplace. The
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| − | role of the quaestor is again defined by the discretion of the aedile. If the aedile is active in other duties or if
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| − | there are many complaints against businesses, the quaestor may be asked to assume some responsibilty here.
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| − | This might included acting as a mediator between the complainant and the business or investigating complaints.
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| − | This is one area where some experience with negotiations or contracts might come in useful.
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| − | A quaestorship is an introduction to officeholding. It is a valuable step along the Cursus Honorum. Its value is
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| − | not just in the duties that you perform but in learning to work as part of a group for the improvement of Nova
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| − | Roma. As a quaestor, you could be assigned to a number of different magistrates, all with diverse duties.
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| − | Learning about these roles ensures that the next years' candidates know what is required of them so that our
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| − | republic can thrive and grow.
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The purpose of this document is to help newly elected Quaestores to assume their duties as well as preserve information about practices that have been found useful. It is the desire of the creators of this document that it would be updated yearly with newest information.
