January 5th, 2026 Budget Comm Minutes

udget Committee Weekly Meeting — January 5th, 2026

Date: January 5, 2026 Time: 07:57 EST Attendees: Colleen O’Beirne, Georgia Hutton, Kristijan Kowalsky, Lloyd Duhon, Megan Hess, Nicolas Cerny, Otávio Lima, Rita Mistry, Simo Simovic, Dimitri (Dynamic Strategies)

Quorum: Confirmed (Chair + voting members present)

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1. Opening and Welcome Back

• Lloyd opened the first Budget Committee meeting of 2026 and welcomed attendees back from the holidays.

• Brief informal check-in on holiday activities and governance work conducted over the break.

• Roll call confirmed attendance including:

  • Chair: Megan Hess

  • Voting members present: Dimitri, Rita Mistry, Nicolas Cerny, Kristijan Kowalsky

  • Support / staff: Simo Simovic (PM), Lloyd Duhon (Secretary)

  • Guests: Colleen O’Beirne (CF), Georgia Hutton (Intersect)

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2. Primary Topic: 2026–27 Net Change Limit (NCL)

2.1 Status and Risk of Delay

• Lloyd emphasized the urgency: any significant delay risks a period with no NCL in effect, which would halt Treasury withdrawals.

• The NCL draft has been publicly shared (via X and GovTool forum), but:

  • No substantive community feedback was received during the holiday period.

• Lloyd noted the NCL has:

  • Board approval (confirmed as received prior to the holiday break).

  • Admin readiness: Ryan and Elena are prepared to proceed when the committee is ready.

2.2 Current Socialization Approach

• Simo reiterated the original plan:

  • Publish to GovTool forum for feedback, then submit on-chain as an Info Action.

• The committee agreed the lack of feedback is likely due to timing and holiday activity, not necessarily a signal of objection.

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3. Edits to Strengthen Constitutional Read and Rationale

3.1 Abstract Revision: NCL Applies to Treasury Withdrawals Only (Nico)

• Nico flagged a constitutional interpretation issue:

  • The abstract sentence stating NCL applies to both Budget Actions and Treasury Withdrawals is likely incorrect.

  • From Nico’s constitutional perspective, NCL governs Treasury withdrawals, not budgets.

• Action agreed:

  • Remove/adjust that sentence to apply only to Treasury withdrawals.

• Nico offered to make the edit directly in the working Google Doc.

3.2 Rationale Updates: “Unused 2025 NCL” No Longer Accurate (Nico)

• Nico noted the rationale still references unused 2025 NCL amounts.

• With the Critical Integrations budget approved, the “unused” balance is now materially different (approx. 1–2M ADA remaining, per Nico).

• Committee direction:

  • Update the rationale to remove outdated statements and reflect the current facts.

3.3 Replace Forecasts with Actual Collections (Dimitri + Lloyd)

• Nico requested Dimitri update the inflow figures:

  • It is now 2026, so the committee can state actual 2025 inflows, not forecasts.

• Dimitri agreed:

  • NCL should be grounded in historic collections, while forecasts can remain for education/long-term context.

• Lloyd reinforced the strategic intent:

  • The 18-month structure enables future NCLs to be fully backward-looking (e.g., 2027 NCL based on 2026 inflows).

3.4 Supporting Attachments

• Simo suggested including Dimitri’s calculations/forecasting material as supporting documentation (PDF available; IPFS not yet referenced in transcript).

• Lloyd indicated he can update the GovTool forum version directly as edits are finalized.

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4. Decision: Additional Socialization via X Space Before On-Chain Submission

4.1 Proposed Path Forward

Dimitri recommended holding a short X Space prior to submission, to demonstrate:

• Continued openness to feedback, and

• Minimal governance friction (no real delay).

Lloyd proposed a decision today with a tight timeline:

• Finalize text edits and rationale updates in the next 1–2 days.

• Host an X Space on Wednesday.

• Submit on-chain by Friday, if no blocking issues arise.

4.2 Agreement

• The committee agreed:

  • The Wednesday working session will be converted into an NCL-focused X Space.

  • Lloyd will schedule the Space to allow reminders.

• Chris K raised concern about low participation and suggested:

  • Consider an “East” and “West” friendly session if possible.

• General agreement: even if turnout is light, the Space serves as “crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s” before submission.

4.3 Comms Support

• Simo will be out Wednesday (Serbian Christmas holiday).

• Lloyd will:

  • Schedule and announce the Space via Budget Committee account and personal channels.

  • Ask Intersect to repost from the main account.

• Committee members (Nico, Christian, etc.) are asked to help amplify.

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5. Next Topic Teed Up: Budget Process Info Action (BPIA)

• Lloyd stated the committee must move immediately from NCL finalization into finalizing the Budget Process Info Action.

• Chris K asked whether Product’s Vision/Strategy is a blocker.

• Lloyd clarified:

  • Vision/Roadmap is needed to launch the budget process, but not required to ratify the process framework itself.

  • The BPIA is intended to be stable year-to-year, with changes handled via addendum if needed.

Simo shared the current BPIA link for committee review (referenced during the meeting).

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6. Action Items

Action	Owner	Notes
Remove/adjust abstract language so NCL is framed as applying to Treasury withdrawals (not budgets)	Nico + Lloyd	Nico to suggest edits in doc; Lloyd to update GovTool forum version
Update rationale to remove outdated “unused 2025 NCL” framing and reflect current post-critical-integrations reality	Lloyd + Nico	Ensure factual accuracy for socialization and on-chain record
Replace “projected 2025 inflows” with actual 2025 collections	Dimitri	Provide precise figures for the rationale (historic-based)
Confirm constitutional read / final check	Thomas + Nico + Christian	Thomas was on vacation; Lloyd to follow up today
Schedule and promote Wednesday NCL X Space	Lloyd	Simo unavailable Wednesday; ask Intersect and members to amplify
Submit NCL on-chain by Friday (if edits complete)	Lloyd + Simo	Dependent on final text/rationale updates and constitutional pass
Begin deeper work on Budget Process Info Action after NCL submission	Committee	Next major deliverable after NCL

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7. Adjournment

• Lloyd thanked the committee for showing up on the first workday back in 2026.

• Confirmed next steps:

  • Focus the remainder of current week on NCL text updates.

  • Host the NCL socialization X Space Wednesday.

  • Target on-chain submission Friday.

• Meeting adjourned at approximately 00:32:16.