Mar 31, 2025 Budget Meeting

Budget Committee Weekly Catch-Up Date/Time: March 31, 2025 – 10:58 EDT Location: Virtual Meeting (Update-Only Session, No Quorum)

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Attendees

• Committee Members/Presenters:

  • Lloyd Duhon (Chair/Facilitator)

  • Dave Dionisio

  • J.J. Siler

  • Jack Briggs

  • Kristijan Kowalsky

  • Lawrence Clark

  • Marc Gorman

  • Mercy

  • Prof. Steven

  • Shunsuke Murasaki

• Observers/Other Participants:

  • Nicolas Cerny

  • Simo Simovic

(Note: No quorum was established; thus no formal votes or decisions could be taken.)

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Agenda

1. Budget Ratification Task Force Updates (Presented by Marc Gorman)

2. Request for Clarity on Internal Budgets, Events, and Travel - Postponed

3. TSC Proposed Budget Process Update - Postponed

4. Meeting Times: UTC vs. BST/Daylight Savings Considerations

Because there was no quorum, the meeting was informational only.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Budget Ratification Task Force / Vendor Proposal Updates

• Proposals Launch:

  • Marc announced that a new proposal submission form (Gov Tool) would go live on April 1 (subject to final QA).

  • Approximately 50 proposals have been received so far; more are expected throughout April (notably from CDEC & IO).

  • Once published, proposals will be publicly visible unless they require confidentiality due to security considerations.

• Voting/Delegation Integration:

  • Up-/Down-voting, stake delegation, and temperature checks will be added to the Gov Tool soon, allowing DReps to gauge community sentiment.

  • An API will be available so other community-driven tools (e.g., Tempo) can fetch and display proposal data.

• Community Engagement & Roadshow:

  • Plans for virtual sessions or “roadshow” events will allow DReps to meet vendors, discuss proposals, and make informed decisions.

  • Topical workshops and roundtables are expected to run in April to provide clarity and gather feedback.

2. In-Person vs. Virtual Reconciliation Workshops

• DRep Survey Results:

  • A survey was conducted to assess whether DReps would prefer an in-person workshop.

  • Overall, smaller-stake DReps showed higher interest in in-person; however, most high-stake DReps (≥1% voting power) preferred a virtual format.

  • Conclusion: An in-person reconciliation workshop would not capture the majority of the high-stake voting power; thus, virtual workshops are recommended.

• Next Steps:

  • Formal communication on the final workshop approach (virtual) will be published soon, pending feedback from absent voting members.

  • Community-led “pizza party” events and local hubs can still be organized independently to discuss proposals in an informal setting.

3. Proposed Path: From Proposals to Budget Reconciliation

• Process Outline:

  1. Proposal Submissions: Proposers self-tag alignment (e.g., TSC Roadmap, Governance, Marketing, etc.).

  2. Committee Reviews (in Parallel): Relevant committees (Technical, Governance, Marketing, etc.) analyze proposals for quality, overlaps, or gaps and provide non-binding assessments for DReps.

  3. DRep Prioritization: DReps use voting and delegation tools to rank/weight proposals.

  4. Topical Workshops: Virtual sessions during April (see below) to address specific categories and gather community input.

  5. Reconciliation Workshops:

     • Aim to confirm up to ~70% of the budget quickly on widely supported proposals.

     • More complex or controversial items can be deferred or require deeper discussion.

  6. Finalize Budget & On-Chain Actions: Potentially in early May if reconciliation workshops go smoothly.

• Committees’ Role:

  • Committees do not have veto power; they provide expertise, technical assessments, or identify duplication/gaps. DReps still decide final prioritization.

4. Proposed April Workshop Topics & Dates

(Dates are subject to change; final schedule pending.)

1. NCL (Net Change Limit) & Overall Budget Size

2. Product Roadmap, Open Source, and Critical Infrastructure

3. Growth, Marketing, & Community

4. Governance, Audit & Oversight, Intersect Administration, and Open Topics

• Format: Each workshop is expected to last around three hours. Two time slots will be offered (e.g., 4–7 p.m. UTC and 2–5 a.m. UTC) to accommodate global time zones.

• Rationale: Group proposals by theme to streamline the discussion; encourages vendors and DReps with relevant expertise to attend sessions most pertinent to them.

5. TSC Proposed Budget Process Update

• There is ongoing coordination to clarify TSC proposals (for core roadmap items) vs. individual vendor proposals.

• This topic was deferred since the requesting committee member was absent. It will appear on a future agenda when more details are available.

6. Next Steps on Net Change Limit (NCL) for 2025 and 2026

• Lawrence Clark noted confusion about how multiple NCL info actions might overlap or replace each other.

• The Constitution wording indicates only one net change limit can be effective at a time; adopting a new limit fully supersedes any previous multi-year limit.

• A revised 2026 NCL draft exists; committees will review it, but the issue will likely come forward only after the 2025 NCL is settled.

7. Smart Contract & Treasury Withdrawal UI Testing

• Intersect, IO, and Sundae Labs are developing smart contracts for treasury withdrawals and administration.

• Volunteers (from the Budget Committee or community) are needed to test UX/UI for these tools.

• The next working session is tentatively planned for Thursday (time TBD). Anyone interested should contact Lawrence Clark to coordinate.

8. Meeting Time (UTC vs. BST)

• Due to daylight savings changes, the meeting shifted by one hour from the original schedule.

• A final decision on meeting time alignment (i.e., strict UTC vs. local daylight time shifts) will be made when a voting quorum is present.

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Action Items / Follow-Ups

1. Virtual Workshop Confirmation

   • Task force to finalize and publicly confirm that all reconciliation workshops will be virtual, given DRep feedback.

   • A memo will be circulated, and absent members are asked to provide any objections or additions promptly.

2. Topical Workshop Scheduling

   • Publish final schedule for the four proposed workshops (late April).

   • Consider adding a fifth workshop if necessary (especially for complex product roadmap items).

3. Committee & Vendor Reviews

   • Committees are encouraged to begin reviewing newly submitted proposals, focusing on technical feasibility, overlap/gaps, and objective feedback.

   • Vendors should proactively request committee feedback or present to the community.

4. Net Change Limit Clarifications

   • Budget Committee to review the updated 2026 NCL language provided by Lawrence Clark.

   • Clarify whether adopting a new 2025 NCL automatically supersedes any 2026 reference.

5. Smart Contracts UI Testing

   • Committee members (and any interested community members) to contact Lawrence Clark about joining Thursday’s session (time TBD).

   • Provide input on contract structure, user interface, and auditing requirements.

6. Meeting Times

   • Conduct an asynchronous poll or discussion in the Budget Committee Discord to decide on a fixed UTC time or keep the current timeslot with DST shifts.

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Closing

• Meeting ended at 00:51:58 (recording duration).

• Next Meeting: Date/time to be confirmed (pending finalizing the meeting time approach).

These minutes reflect an update-only session. No formal decisions or votes were taken due to the lack of quorum.