New Shires: Ministers

Shires are intended as the start-up groups within Adria. Often, the Imperial viceroy will fill all positions at first. The viceroy should be familiar with all ministry positions, and able to step into any of them. That is time-consuming and self-defeating. One of the first goals of a shire is to find ministers to help shoulder the workload.

Choosing Ministers

Ministers serve at the pleasure of the Crown. In the case of a shire, they serve at the pleasure of the Imperial Crown, with recommendations from the viceroy. While you need to be able to work with your ministers, this is not a popularity contest.

The ministers will work directly with the Imperial government. As a start-up group, the ministers are not expected to be experienced, or knowledgeable. The Imperial ministers will help to train them, as will the ministers of the other chapters. (There are e-lists available for every ministry office, which provide discussion areas for all ministers of the Empire.)

Steward

The steward is the treasurer of the chapter. Shires may not have a bank account, but they do need a steward to collect site fees, pay for permits, etc. The steward and the viceroy should never be the same person. It is advisable that they not even live in the same house. While this isn't always possible, the sooner a qualified steward can be found, the better.

Reports

The ministers, and the viceroy, will report regularly to their Imperial counterparts. In many cases, this is simply an e-mail with an overview of the month. In some cases (such as the steward), more detail is required. The specific requirements will be detailed by the Imperial ministers.

The viceroy is the minister who is acting for the Imperial Crown in the local region. As such, they need to keep the Imperial Crown fully informed of everything that is happening. A monthly recap of all activity (an e-mail is fine) should include a summary of activity, an overview of problems and solutions, recap of new members, etc.

Communication

Open and frequent communication is expected of all shires. The Imperial government, including the Imperial Crown, is available for all members of the Adrian Empire. In the past, there have been instances of shires who wanted to be thought of as perfect, and didn't communicate any of their problems or questions. This is totally unacceptable. Shires are not expected to know everything.

Members, whether they are ministers or not, are encouraged to talk to anyone else in the Empire. No one should ever be discouraged from talking to other members, or to Imperial ministers.