Feb 24,2025 Budget Comm Minutes
Last updated
Last updated
Attendees:
Name
Attendance
Role
Dave Dionisio
Yes
Observer
J.J. Siler
Yes
Former Voting Member, Mentor, IOG STaff
Jose Maria Francisco Otegui Alvarez
Yes
Observer
Jose Velazquez
Yes
Former Voting Member
Kriss Baird
Yes
Voting Member, IOG, Catalyst
Kristijan Kowalsky
Yes
Voting Member, Tweag
Lawrence Clark
Yes
Intersect Secretary
Lloyd Duhon
Yes
Budget Secretary
Mercy
Yes
Voting Member, WADA
Nicolas Cerny
Yes
Observer, Cardano Foundation Staff
Prof. Steven
Yes
Former Voting Member, Mentor, Chairman of Intersect Board.
Rita Mistry
Yes
Former Voting Member, Cardano Foundation.
Shunsuke Murasaki
Yes
Former Voting Member, Mentor, Emurgo
Simo Simovic
Yes
Intersect Staff
Recording:
Review and Adaptation of the New Budget Process: Discussion focused on pivoting to a DREP-centric budget model, including changes to vendor selection, the new advisory role of committees, and addressing community feedback on these shifts.
Budget Structuring and Financials: Topics covered splitting the overall budget into multiple proposals, the specific request to separate core maintenance funding, and ongoing discussions regarding the Net Change Limit (NCL) and its constitutional implications.
Enhancing Committee Operations and Communication: Addressing internal issues like ClickUp access, strategizing to improve the reach and clarity of budget communications, and receiving updates from the Audit and Tax working groups on their progress and needs.
Topic
Discussion
Action Items
Recent Events & Budget Process Pivot
Discussion commenced on recent events and their impact on the budget process. Lawrence Clark clarified that while some committees had already started work on vendor selection, the recent feedback (including from Charles Hoskinson) indicates a significant pivot towards direct DREP engagement in these areas.
Vendor Selection & Open Tendering
Mercy suggested a hybrid approach where specialized, large budget items could be pre-agreed with entities, while other items would be open to transparent tendering. Dave Dionisio emphasized the need for Intersect and committees to facilitate supplier engagement rather than drafting detailed specs themselves, to avoid overcomplicating the process and limiting participation.
Role of Committees & Decentralization
Jose Velazquez expressed a desire for Intersect to provide clearer roadmap and vision. Lloyd Duhon stressed that roadmaps for Cardano and the budget as a whole need to be decentralized processes, with Intersect facilitating rather than dictating.
Budget Splitting & Multiple Proposals
Micah Kendall asked if the budget could be split into multiple sub-budgets for individual voting and earlier funding of urgent items. Lloyd Duhon confirmed the current idea is for multiple on-chain proposals per funding priority (or "bucket"), and Kriss Baird noted the misconception in the community that there's only one overall budget vote.
Core Maintenance Funding
Jose Velazquez requested splitting "core maintenance" and "Intersect operations" into different budget buckets to ensure core maintenance is funded and approved without risk. Lawrence Clark agreed to note this as an action for future revisiting.
Lloyd Duhon to add the request to split core maintenance and Intersect operations budgets as an action item for future discussion.
Net Change Limit (NCL) & Constitutional Debate
Lawrence Clark updated on feedback regarding the NCL proposal on governance pages. There's debate about the 50%+1 approval threshold versus the 67% parameter in the constitution. This will be a key discussion point in an upcoming public conversation with CF.
Promoting Budget Committee Communications
Micah Kendall inquired about the CBC X (Twitter) account and asynchronous planning. Lloyd Duhon, who currently runs the account, encouraged promotion to increase reach. Mercy emphasized the need to hardwire socialisation efforts into the 2025 budget, leveraging regional hubs and community leads.
Lloyd Duhon to send the onboarding deck to Micah Kendall. <br> Lawrence Clark to add all committee members' emails to the ClickUp space for full access to planning documents. <br> Jose Velazquez to filter his desired communications for the CBC Twitter account through Lloyd Duhon.
Working Group Updates
Lloyd Duhon called for updates from working groups. Kriss Baird mentioned preliminary work on additional supports and structures for budget proposals. Jose Velazquez expressed concern about defining audit terms of reference and budget without clear DREP input, and the need for auditor selection input from DREPs.
Working Group Chairs (Jose Velazquez for Audit, Kristijan Kowalsky for Tax) to coordinate with Lloyd Duhon to schedule meetings and agendas. <br> Kristijan Kowalsky to send an invite to his tax/audit meetings.
Audit Working Group & Vendor Selection
Jose Velazquez sought guidance on incorporating DREP opinions on audit processes and selecting auditors. Lloyd Duhon suggested an RFI-type process to gather information from potential vendors to present to DREPs. Kristijan Kowalsky highlighted the need for global audit firms due to Intersect's diverse membership base.
Constitutional Debt & Future Workstreams
Jose Velazquez inquired about updates on the delegate committee proposing a budget for future workstreams related to constitutional debt. Nicolas Cerny stated they brainstormed 15 workstreams but no budgets are finalized. Mercy noted they are struggling financially.
Mercy to get details on the financial needs of the constitutional debt workstreams and prepare a proposal.
Motion to Adopt New Process & Timeline
A motion was made by JJ Siler and seconded by Jose Velazquez to move forward with the new timeline and budget process proposal in its early state, including the net change limit plan.
Vote on New Process & Timeline
The motion was put to a vote. Andreas Pletscher and Mercy voted no, expressing concerns about complexity and clarity. Kriss Baird also voted no, specifically on delaying the NCL by four weeks. The motion passed with 6 'Yes' votes to 3 'No' votes.
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