Updated Budgeting Process

[pwensing]

Planned Spending:

• [x] Pat: Capture the current status in bylaws within this thread
• [x] Pat & Jen Jen: Determine on what details will go in Bylaws vs. P&P
• [ ] Pat to take any Bylaws updates
• [ ] Jen Jen to take any P&P updates

Discretionary Spending:

• [ ] Pat: Provide first-round suggested updates regarding discretionary spending in P&P (including how to make use of the collective discretionary managed by FAB)

[pwensing]

The budget is only mentioned in two locations.

In section 3.4: Vice President for Financial Activities:

The Vice President for Financial Activities, with the assistance of the Financial Activities Board, shall prepare the Society budgets which shall then be submitted to the AdCom for approval before June 30th each year. The Vice President for Financial Activities shall serve as an ex-officio member of the AdCom without vote.

In Section 3.2: Treasurer:

The Treasurer shall serve on the Financial Activities Board and work in strict cooperation with the Vice President for Financial Activities to help the Society to stay on budget.

[pwensing]

My current thinking is that we should:

In Bylaws:

• Add details in each VP section about how each VP is responsible for preparing a budget for the activities of their board
• Add details in the VP for Financial Activities section about how they are responsible for working with the other VPs on finalizing a budget, according to the detailed timeline provided in the Policies and Procedures.

In P&P:

• Detailed timeline of budgeting timeline and procedures.

[JenJenChung]

Agreed, I think that's a good breakdown between the Bylaws and P&P.

One thing that Aude noted in her last email was to allow FAB authority to transfer funds within boards (across initiatives) or across boards for small amounts (<=100K). I think that would need to be presented as a separate motion to AdCom, and if it passes, would then end up in the P&P. What do you think?

[pwensing]

I'm actually quite unclear on the order of some of these updates to P&P and Bylaws. For example, we, in the past, have voted to disband certain standing committees. Later we vote to approve Bylaws updates that include those updates. Other times, we have introduced governmental structure changes in the bylaws edits, and didn't include a separate motion for those changes. My sense is that either is fine, and that any passed motions will "in stone" even if they are not yet reflected in the bylaws. However, if there is a change to P&P / Bylaws that we think could be controversial, then we should have a separate motion on it in advance to avoid that one thing holding up the rest of the edits.

Does that sound reasonable from a governance side? Or is there something you think we should be more careful with?

Regarding the specific item about FAB having authority to transfer funds within boards, I do think this is something we should vote on at AdCom, since most of our existing financial motions are well below the $100K mark.