Setting
Over zoom, with no cake provided. DB is in his car for some reason. EM tells us an anecdote about a naked man zoom bombing a meeting.
Present: RJ (FCO), JC (Vice-President), EM (President), SR, KM, MW (FCO Elect), DB, SWC (President Elect), AB
Apologies:
Absent:
Overall budget
RJ: There were quite a few things in last year’s budget that were quite unrealistic, so I’ve tried to fix that this year. We’re trying to run a deficit. We tried this year and didn’t manage it. We aim to be between £2k and £8k deficit. But it’s likely to be smaller because a lot of things don’t get spent.
*No issues*
Boatclub (implications for football and rugby)
RJ: The boatclub requested £9,900 for this year, but have worked out that they could have asked for more. So they want to know if they can get the extra money.
JC: I think they should resubmit the budget. That’s how we would normally, deal with budget changes, and although they could have asked for more they didn’t when they first passed the budget. And if that does happen, I think it should probably go to the JCR given how much they’re asking for.
AB: I agree.
SR: Are they asking just for the sake of it? They’ve got through the year without it.
RJ: I think S&S are entitled to run surpluses. I agree that they seem to only want the money because they could have it.
RJ: I’ll tell them that it will have to go through as a budget in the JCR meeting. I’ve looked at a few other budgets that could do the same. So should I mention this to them?
DB: For transparency, maybe let them know.
AB: The boat club has big things that they purchase sporadically, so they have more reason to build up reserves.
SR: What happens if a society requests more funding then gets less subs?
RJ: Then they get less funding.
*Agreement that this will go to a JCR meeting, and RJ will contact other relevant societies for transparency*
RJ: The second point is about calculating matching. If the subs are above a threshold per person, we provide more money. There’s a question about people that might pay two different memberships. They’re assuming that it counts as one person paying a higher sum.
AB: I think it’s fair to consider it as one payment.
JC: Could we look at it as the average payment per person?
RJ: That seems a bit complicated. It has merits, but might not be worth doing.
EM: I like it considered as one payment.
RJ: Last point is that the boatclub have bought 2 boats this year. They charge high subs, which I understand, but I don’t think it’s justified. They’re charging high subs to save up for new boats. But I’m unsure if there’s a good plan behind it. Their budget this year will take their reserves straight to £12k.
AB: Can we ask them what their plans are?
Action: RJ to discuss this with the boatclub exec.
SWC: With the way it’s spread out, the high subs are only for people who are quite committed. Novice and non-competitive subs are much lower. So the people who shoulder the costs are the ones who will benefit from new boats. But I agree that they shouldn’t charge that much if they don’t need to.
MW: I agree with SWC. It seems unfair to charge a lot if they don’t have a plan.
SR: It’s kind of in their interest to ask for as much money as they can, but it’s our role to oversee and distribute money fairly.
Individual S&S budgets
Art
AB: They have no assets. They plan to do some online art events.
RJ: They operate as a pay as you go society. So they pay half the costs of workshops.
AB: They have some reserves because of event cancellations. They have no plans to use it. But it’s small so I don’t think it’s an issue.
RJ: The JCR has always paid for the art exhibition separately. So that’s accounted on for on the overall budget.
Badminton
AB: They have some assets. It’s all fairly standard. One issue was the funding requested from the JCR. It’s more than their expected income.
RJ: That’s because some people pay more than £20 of subs.
AB: They’re planning to make a loss this year, because they have some reserves.
Basketball
AB: Not much to say. They’re making a loss to eat into their reserves. There was one discrepancy, which was on the value of their assets. Their putting aside some money to buy more expensive balls. But I don’t think that’s a major issue.
Big Band
AB: They included the team photo on their expenditure.
RJ: This came up last year. It was because it goes in the music room. So it belongs to the society rather than the individual.
AB: That’s fine with me then. They have large reserves, but they may want to spend them at some point.
Bodcon
AB: They talk about the new Cuth’s building.
EM: That’s been postponed for a year.
AB: Their budget assumes that it will be free for them to train.
RJ: The current model doesn’t work for them. If they don’t have membership they’ll make a loss.
AB: We also discussed their deficit earlier this year.
RJ: My instinct is to wait and see what the club will look like before they redo the budget.
AB: I think we should tell them that there’s no urgent need to start paying off their debt.
Note: Conversations need to be had about this next year.
Futsal
KM: They were only set up this year so they have no assets. They’ll make a surplus of £1 this year, and they have no need to build up a surplus.
Hockey
KM: They’ve requested a lot from the JCR.
RJ: Their subs are over £20 per person. A lot of clubs haven’t made use of that in the past, so I mentioned it to them this year.
KM: They’re looking to get a new Goalie’s kit. So they’re generating a surplus. But a goalie’s kit is ~£1k. They have a plan for the reserves so I don’t have any issues.
Netball
KM: They’re planning to spend some of their reserves because they have no other plans for them. Their subs are already low, but they could be lower.
RJ: This year they overcharged for subs, so now their reducing subs and can make netball cheap.
Pool
KM: They’re looking to buy something for the table.
RJ: Whatever’s left in the pool table at the end of the year goes into their reserves, and they use it to fix the table.
KM: They want to invest in a table trolley with their reserves. This way they can also afford an emergency recloth.
Ripped Off
KM: Their subs are voluntary, so it’s fine that they have a reserve. That way they can survive without payments. They were expecting £50 in subs and £20 of fundraising. But they might not get all that.
Men’s Football
KM: I was unsure why footballs aren’t included in the cost of their assets.
RJ: I think they probably just didn’t fill in the form properly.
KM: Their expenditure is fine. They have a two different rates for subs. They’ve requested an appropriate amount. They’ll make a surplus this year, but they have negative reserves, and it seems like a good amount to pay off.
RJ: It is a lot of debt to burden the club with this. So this seems like an appropriate sum to pay off.
Action: RJ to speak to football captain about this.
Financial Procedures
RJ: I proposed some changes, they’ll go to the trustees in the next meeting. I’ve changed the part that said we should always turn a surplus. I’ve also reduced the part that says that levies will automatically increase every year. I’ve changed some of the policies surrounding bank accounts and the safe.
*No issues*
AOB (Squash + Table tennis)
RJ: There are a few clubs who don’t have budgets because they say they don’t need them. But Team Durham charges league entry fees, and I don’t think they realise this. So should we tell them they need to have a budget, or just pay the costs for them?
KM: I don’t see any issue with telling them to charge subs and create a budget.
AB: I agree.
Action: RJ to speak to squash and table tennis clubs about submitting a budget.