Setting
Over Zoom again, but DB is no longer in car.
Present: RJ (FCO), JC (Vice-President), SR, KM, DB, AB
Apologies:
Absent:
Boatclub
RJ: I spoke to the boatclub captain about options. They have a plan to spend the reserves in that there’s always more things that they need. They’re also aware of accessibility. SO we discussed reducing the cost of subs but having an optional higher price. They’re looking into changing the subs system for next year.
Action: MW to start this conversation again next year.
RJ: I also spoke to football and rugby, and we’ve edited their budgets accordingly.
BLM Motion
SR: It sounds like a nice idea, but are there legal issues with this?
RJ: There’s been a misconception in Cuth’s for a while about this, that we’ve now cleared up. We are allowed to donate to a charity if our students want us to. And passing it at a JCR meeting signifies that. If the charity was against our charitable aims we might need to rethink.
AB: I have no issues with the motion.
RJ: There’s a slight issue for me with the yearly donation. The main issue with that is that there’s one group of students voting now, but future groups of students can’t decide whether they support it. Might we end up with other worthwhile causes being added as a regular commitment?
DB: Could we add a review clause, that we’ll review it in a year? Or 5?
RJ: I think 3 years might be better because that’s how long most people spend here.
SR: Could it be separated into two motions, and in the yearly donation section express this concern?
RJ: I like the idea of that. And we should also stipulate that it will have to be voted on again after 3 years. I really it’s a small amount of money and an important cause, but we do need to consider this carefully.
KM: I think that suggestion is a good idea.
RJ: So we’ve decided not to veto the motion, which is great. We’ll pass on these thoughts to gov comm.
SR: Would it be a finance comm decision in 3 years of the whole JCR?
RJ: I think whole JCR vote would make more sense.
Budgets
Choir
DB: They have a lot of assets, mostly in sheet music. I think this is something they like to build up. They aim to make a loss of £500 this year, but it doesn’t seem like they have the reserves to cover that. I’m unsure what they’re saying about being funded by college. Also they plan to spend a lot on sheet music this term.
RJ: I think they’re probably planning to spend their reserves on sheet music. They have less than £500 in reserve.
DB: It looks like they’re planning to spend all of their reserves this year though.
RJ: I think they night not understand how we work because their treasurer isn’t from Cuth’s.
Action: RJ to clarify with their treasurer what’s meant by their comments.
Climbing
DB: This adds up. They pay half to the DCC and we pay half. They have reserves in case they need to buy anything.
CRACAS
DB: They have lots of assets. They’re aiming to make a loss because they have reserves.
RJ: Some of the stuff they buy is consumable so it can’t be refunded. But they overcharge for their events, the extra is matched by the JCR and then spent on equipment.
Running
DB: There was no information about reserves.
Action: RJ to update reserves information.
DB: They operate similarly to climbing. They expect to break even.
Darts
DB: This seems fine too. They aim to make a loss, but a lot of their expenditure will actually be covered by the bar. And they have reserves.
RJ: They’re always confused, it’s actually they JCR that pays for the darts board.
FemSoc
DB: Their main spending is on guest speakers at events. They receive donations, which I think the JCR still manages.
RJ: We tried that this year and it worked pretty well, so we’re going to continue.
DB: This income might be quite uncertain then. And they don’t really have any reserves.
RJ: If the first few events have limited attendance, they can increase the price for later ones.
Frisbee
DB: I think their bibs and cones are a bit overvalued. The actual budget seems fine though. They’re making a small loss but they have reserves.
RJ: We’ll change the assets.
Cheerleading
SR: They’ve grown this year, so they want to buy some more equipment. They’re requesting a similar budget to last year. But Hatfield might also be contributing, and I don’t understand how that works.
RJ: They’re a joint society. We’ve established a society where the budget goes through us. Then they can apply for money from Hatfield.
SR: They’re expecting to grow but also expenditure to go down from last year, so I’m concerned there are some costs they’ve forgotten.
RJ: It sounds fine to me.
Swimming
SR: This is like climbing. It should be fairly easy for them to break even.
RJ: They operate on pay as you go. So for every swim, the individual pays half and the JCR pays half.
SR: They haven’t mentioned the monthly pass. The expenditure seems much higher than this year’s.
RJ: Last year they massively overestimated. I’m happy with the numbers as they are, but it’s likely they’ll have fewer people come.
Women’s Rugby
SR: They’re buying some equipment, and want to make a deficit which will eat into their reserve. It seems like the reserve is spent at a reasonable pace.
RJ: They thought it was better to slowly reduce subs.
Men’s Rugby
SR: There are some assets that I don’t think have been bought.
Action: RJ to discuss this/note it on the budget.
SR: They’re spending a lot of money on buying new playing shirts.
RJ: The club used to ask for money for new shirts every year. The captain has said that this year’s shirts are all ripped. They also come in sets of 23. The issue before was that individuals would keep shirts without paying for them. They are allowed to spend this much money, as long as the shirts stay with the club rather than being taken by players. They’re spending more money this year to get better quality shirts.
SR: Thier expenditure has increased because they’re buying new things. Their requesting more money than they raise.
SR: That’s because subs are more than £20 per person so we give them more money. They also expect to turn a large surplus, but they already have large reserves.
RJ: I think there’s a lot that hasn’t been invoiced for this year. But you’re right. The captain said that if this year goes well then they’ll start reducing subs.
SR: The kit which might not have been bought isn’t in this budget.
Cricket
SR: Expenditure is low, but higher than this year.
RJ: This year they didn’t get a season. So they didn’t charge subs.
SR: All seems good.
Gardening
SR: Seems fine.
RJ: They don’t raise any money themselves, which can be an issue. But it’s such a small amount they ask for. And the garden is available for everyone, so we could say they can have the money without raising any income.