June 23rd, 2025 Budget Comm Minutes

Attendees:

Name	Role
Kristijan Kowalsky	Voting Member, Tweag
Kriss Baird	Voting Member, IOG, Catalyst
Megan Hess	Voting Member
Lloyd Duhon	Budget Secretary
Gerard Moroney	Board Member, IOG Staff, Budget Task Force
Marc Gorman	Program Manager Budget Task Force
Mercy	Voting Member, WADA
Dimitri	Former Voting Member
Rita	Former Voting Member, Cardano Foundation.
Nicolas Cerny	Observer, Cardano Foundation Staff

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JjlTq23dfw5zGYT0lhj7vICqvdncuryeLpVa1YavcbM/edit?tab=t.4pmub8841uh4

Agenda 1.16.25

• Review and Action on Budget Withdrawals: The committee is focused on reviewing 39 upcoming governance actions for budget withdrawals, ensuring their constitutionality and readiness for the board's final approval on Wednesday.

• Reforming Committee Governance Documents: The core of the meeting involved in-depth discussions and initial edits on the committee's foundational documents, including the Code of Conduct, Arbitration, Escalation & Grievance, and the Charter, to refine roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols.

• Enhancing Committee Communication and Outreach: Strategies were discussed to reactivate and improve the Cardano Budget Committee's X (Twitter) account for better DREP engagement and transparent updates, including a shift to anonymous attribution in public reports.

Decisions/Actions

Topic	Discussion	Action Items
Attendance & Quorum	The Budget Committee Secretary confirmed quorum with voting members present: A committee member, another committee member, The Chair, another committee member, and two more committee members. Observers included a board member, a CF representative, and a budget task force representative.
Budget Withdrawal Actions Tracking (GitHub Link)	A committee member provided a GitHub link where all 39 governance actions for budget withdrawals will be publicly available for review. The committee is tasked with reviewing these for constitutionality and potential showstoppers.	All committee members to review the governance actions in the provided GitHub link for constitutionality and potential issues.
Board Final Go/No-Go Decision	The board is scheduled to meet on Wednesday for the final go/no-go decision on the budget withdrawal actions. These actions are expected to be ready for submission soon after.
Reformation of Committee's Terms of Reference (ToR)	Discussions continued on proposed changes to the committee's ToR, specifically focusing on the charter and other governing documents. Members acknowledged skim-reading but had not yet added detailed comments.	All committee members to add comments and suggestions for changes to the charter and other governing documents in ClickUp before next week's meeting.
Breakout Sessions for Document Review	The Chair suggested using breakout sessions to review the charter and other governing documents (Code of Conduct, Arbitration, Escalation & Grievance, Community Engagement). It was agreed to review all four documents individually for 15 minutes, then spend 30 minutes on the charter.	All members to review all four governing documents for 15 minutes (individually) during the meeting.
Code of Conduct - Conflict of Interest	Discussion on the Code of Conduct's conflict of interest disclosure. It was suggested that disclosures should occur at the first meeting of each month, in addition to immediate disclosure if conflicts arise.	The Budget Committee Secretary to add language to the Code of Conduct stating that conflict of interest disclosure shall occur at the first meeting of each month.
Clarity on Roles (Chair/Secretary)	A committee member noted a lack of clarity in roles like Chair and Secretary in the documents. It was clarified that more detailed role definitions belong in the Terms of Reference.	Committee to consider adding clearer definitions of roles (e.g., Chair, Secretary) to the Terms of Reference.
Escalation & Grievance Process	A committee member suggested adding a confirmation to the board when an implementation in the Escalation & Grievance process is completed. Another committee member proposed clarifying resolution types and specifying data for the annual grievance report.	The Budget Committee Secretary to update the Escalation & Grievance document with suggested changes regarding implementation confirmation, resolution types, and annual report data.
Governing Document Approval Process	The Chair identified outdated language in the Escalation & Grievance document stating approval by the "Executive Steering Committee." This needs to be updated to reflect that the board is now the approving authority.	The Budget Committee Secretary to update the approval authority in the Escalation & Grievance document to "board" instead of "Executive Steering Committee."
Committee Communication Strategy (X Account)	The Chair proposed reactivating the Cardano Budget Committee X (Twitter) account for DREP engagement on withdrawal actions. A committee member suggested regular post-meeting summaries for public consumption to ensure consistent communication. Another committee member preferred anonymous attribution in public reports.	The Budget Committee Secretary to add post-meeting summaries to the X account as part of the standard process, following Chatham House Rules (anonymous attribution for individual comments). <br> The Budget Committee Secretary to set up a process for committee members to request social media posts with a 24-hour SLA.
Next Steps for Document Reformation	The Budget Committee Secretary will create draft replacement policies for the Code of Conduct, Arbitration, and Escalation & Grievance based on today's discussions. The committee will vote on these drafts and then tackle the charter next week.	The Budget Committee Secretary to create draft replacement policies for Code of Conduct, Arbitration, and Escalation & Grievance for review and vote next week. <br> All committee members to prepare to discuss the charter next week.