Feb 10, 2025, Budget Meeting notes

Role	Name	Voting member
Chair	Steven Lupien	Yes
Member	Jeffrey Siler	Yes
Member	Kriss Baird	Yes
Member	Shunsuke Murasaki	Yes
Member	Rita Mistry	Yes
Member	Mercy Fordwoo	Yes
Member	Jose Velazquez	Yes
Member	Kristijan Kowalsky	Yes
Member	Pepe Otegui	Yes

Attendees

Andreas Pletscher, Dave Dionisio, Gerard Moroney, J.J. Siler, Jose Maria Francisco Otegui Alvarez, Jose Velazquez, Kriss Baird, Kristijan Kowalsky, Lawrence Clark, Lloyd Duhon, Lloyd's Notetaker (Otter.ai), Mercy, Nicolas Cerny, Rita Mistry, Shunsuke Murasaki

Absentees

Steven Lupien

Agenda

• Committee Budget proposals - Decision sought to commence with community review

• Net Change Limit - Decision sought with posting as a proposal or Governance Action

• Project ideas from other sources - discussion topic

Summary

The meeting focused on discussing the budget proposal. Key topics included the posting of the draft budget proposals, net change limits, and addressing gaps in the current budget process. Lloyd Duhon presented updates about the budget forum implementation and socialization process. The committee discussed concerns about project proposal submissions and intake processes, with Dave Dionisio highlighting the lack of clear pathways for community members to submit proposals. The meeting also addressed specific Budget Committee budget items, including media services, audit working group expenses, and tax consulting costs. The committee approved posting the draft budget proposals on the Cardano Forum for community feedback and discussed strategies for handling price fluctuations in ADA during the budget year. The meeting concluded with discussions about potential gaps in the budget process and how to better integrate various project proposals into the funding system.

Budget Proposal Process and Forum Implementation

Lloyd Duhon discussed the implementation of a new area in the Cardano Forum for posting budget proposals in draft form. This forum will allow for community feedback and discussion over the next six weeks. The committee plans to run AMA sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Saturday to address community questions.

The committee approved version 0.2 of the Draft Budget Proposals to be posted on the Cardano Forum. Lawrence outlined that the 80-page document had been separated into:

• The administrator

• Overview of the budget

• Budget proposal per bucket.

Rita reiterated that any positng should outline that this a draft and subject to change.

Motion taken by unanimous decision post version 0.2 of the draft proposal onto the Cardano Forum.

Budget Committee, Budget Items Review

The committee reviewed specific budget items, including media services, audit costs, and tax consulting expenses. Discussion included potential changes to budget amounts and the process for approving individual line items.

Motion taken by unanimous decision that the budget committee asks numbers where accurate but the noted actions must be completed prior to submission.

Action: Mercy to update the wording associated with the DRep budget Summit

Action: Lawrence to update the description for SME, to note that should this continue beyond 2025, then it will go via the procurement process, thus as an open tender.

Net Change Limit Discussion

The committee discussed the proposed net change limit for 2026, with members expressing concerns about potential risks and implementation challenges. Mercy and Jose V raised questions about how to handle future changes to the limit and its impact on existing budgets.

Motion taken by unanimous decision submit the Net Change Limit as a Governance Action.

Project ideas from other sources

Dave Dionisio outlined that each committee had a specific focus and wondered if the project had fallen through the gaps because they did not know where to go or did not align with a committee. This group of suppliers is currently receiving funding from IOG and/or Catalyst. The committee discussed the merits of Catalyst's remaining funding them, along with discussing how the Budget Process working group should investigate closing this gap. More details are required on the current funding; however, all agreed that the new procurement process should cater to these types of requirements.

No decision was taken.

Action Items

Motion taken by unanimous decision post version 0.2 of the draft proposal onto the Cardano Forum.

Motion taken by unanimous decision that the budget committee asks numbers where accurate but the noted actions must be completed prior to submission.

Action: Mercy to update the wording associated with the DRep budget Summit

Action: Lawrence to update the description for SME, to note that should this continue beyond 2025, then it will go via the procurement process, thus as an open tender.

Motion taken by unanimous decision submit the Net Change Limit as a Governance Action.