# Feb 24, 2025 Budget Meeting Notes

| **Role** | **Name**                            | **Voting Member** |
| -------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------------- |
| Chair    | Steven Lupien                       | Yes               |
| Member   | J.J. Siler                          | Yes               |
| Member   | Jose Velazquez                      | Yes               |
| Member   | Mercy                               | Yes               |
| Member   | Kriss Baird                         | Yes               |
| Member   | Kristijan Kowalsky                  | Yes               |
| Member   | Jose Maria Francisco Otegui Alvarez | Yes               |
| Member   | Rita Mistry                         | Yes               |
| Member   | Shunsuke Murasaki                   | Yes               |

***

### **Attendees**

* **Voting Members** (listed above)
* **Additional Participants / Observers**:
  * Dave Dionisio (Observer)
  * Lawrence Clark (Observer)
  * Lloyd Duhon (Secretary)
  * Micah Kendall (Observer)
  * Montgomery Tilton (Observer)
  * Nicolas Cerny (Observer)
  * Simo Simovic (Observer)

### **Absentees**

* *(None noted as absent from the voting roster)*

***

### **Agenda**

1. **Review of Recent Weekend Events & Community Feedback**
2. **Proposal/Vendor Selection Process & Hybrid RFP Model**
3. **Net Change Limit Update**
4. **Working Group Updates**
   * Audit
   * Tax
   * Treasury

***

### **Summary**

#### 1. **Recent Weekend Events & Community Feedback**

* **Context**:
  * Over the weekend, Charles Hoskinson made comments about how budget items, vendors, and committees should coordinate. Discussions on X (Twitter) and the Cardano Forum highlight the need for clarity on **who selects vendors** and **how**.
  * **Mercy** stressed the importance of avoiding perceptions of “insider deals.” The suggestion is that large or specialized work items might be pre-assigned, but others should be opened to RFP (Requests for Proposals).

#### 2. **Proposal/Vendor Selection & Hybrid RFP**

* **Current Committee Approach**:
  * Some line items already have identified vendors (e.g., TSC uses certain third-party technical auditors). Other line items remain open to RFP.
  * **Key Concern**: The community wants clarity on which buckets or sub-items are effectively “allocated” vs. which are open for bidding.
* **Potential Hybrid Model**:
  * Each line item can explicitly state “RFP: Yes/No,” plus a note if an existing vendor is proposed.
  * This balances specialized “pre-agreed” tasks (e.g., known suppliers for core dev) with open opportunities for new entrants.

#### 3. **Net Change Limit (NCL) Update**

* **Current Status**:
  * A proposed NCL governance action is live on Gov Tools for community feedback.
  * There has been debate over whether a 50% threshold or 67% threshold applies under the constitution vs. the parameter system. The civics committee is discussing it further.
  * A final rewrite of the NCL proposal is planned, with official publication likely the following week.

#### 4. **Working Group Updates**

1. **Audit Working Group**
   * **Jose Velazquez** noted that the group’s initial Terms of Reference (ToR) must eventually align with DRep expectations, yet the group should propose a “straw man” approach to get informed feedback.
   * **Action**: The working group will gather prospective vendors (including Big Four) who can handle global nonprofit audits. Then present options to the DReps/community for final input.
2. **Tax Working Group**
   * **Chris K.** reported that the group continues collecting Intersect’s membership data to gauge a global footprint. Multiple international consultancies may be needed unless one large firm can cover all regions.
   * There is interest in coordinating closely with **Audit** to avoid duplicated costs.
3. **Treasury Working Group**
   * The group is still underpopulated. Lawrence will re-engage potential volunteers, clarifying how treasury management intersects with the budget process (e.g., custodial/withdrawal rules, partial “investment” proposals, stablecoin approaches).

#### 5. **Miscellaneous & Next Steps**

* **Intersect Communications**:
  * There is a dedicated **Budget Committee Twitter account** (@IntersectCBC) managed by Lloyd. Members can coordinate in **ClickUp** (social calendar) to plan announcements.
  * **ClickUp Access**: Several committee members do not currently have access. Lawrence will re-invite everyone to ensure full visibility.
* **Splitting Core & Operations**:
  * Jose V. suggested *separating “Core Maintenance” from “Intersect Operations”* so the community doesn’t risk a single large approval failing and inadvertently defunding core maintenance. This is under consideration.
* **Constitutional Delegates Budget**:
  * Mercy indicated that the Constitutional Delegates group may need short-term funding to keep momentum. They are preparing a breakdown but no formal request yet.

***

### **Action Items**

1. **Hybrid RFP Clarification**
   * **Owner**: Budget Committee
   * **Deadline**: Ongoing
   * **Description**: Update the main budget spreadsheet (line items) to reflect whether each item is pre-assigned or open to RFP. Ensure transparency for the community.
2. **Audit Working Group**
   * **Owner**: Jose Velazquez (+ volunteers)
   * **Deadline**: Set kickoff meeting in coming weeks
   * **Description**:
     * Draft a straw-man Terms of Reference.
     * Identify prospective auditors for global nonprofit coverage.
     * Publish the approach and invite DRep/community feedback.
3. **Tax & Audit Coordination**
   * **Owner**: Kris K.
   * **Deadline**: Next 4–6 weeks
   * **Description**: Coordinate requests for proposals to avoid duplication (same or overlapping vendors). Collect essential data on membership geographies, cost estimates, etc.
4. **ClickUp Onboarding**
   * **Owner**: Lawrence / Lloyd
   * **Deadline**: ASAP
   * **Description**: Re-invite all committee members and relevant volunteers. Provide a short “how-to” doc so participants can review social/marketing postings, meeting plans, etc.
5. **Core vs. Operations Split**
   * **Owner**: Budget Committee & Core Sub-team
   * **Deadline**: To be discussed at next meeting
   * **Description**: Consider separating “Core Maintenance” and “Intersect Operations” into discrete proposals to avoid bundling critical chain maintenance with overhead.