Annual Budgeting Protocol

  1. Staff will start the annual budget process with council and committee chair and USDF Executive Board (EB) input, thirteen months prior to its implementation date of April 1st, of the following calendar year.
  2. Staff will submit a preliminary budget to the EB at the annual spring meeting.
  3. The budget will have an annual "budget reserve line item" of 1 percent; with as low as a ½ % reserve with USDF Executive Board approval.
  4. All foreseeable council and committee budget requests for the next fiscal year must be received by the USDF office by September 15th.
  5. The revised preliminary budget will be rolled up by approximately October 15th and posted on the USDF Web site for review by approximately November 1st.
  6. If the preliminary budget has a deficit as of October 15th, the Management Committee of the EB, with the assistance of staff, will develop a proposal to balance the budget. The proposal will be made available in writing for review on the first official day of the annual convention to the EB, delegates and council and committee chairs.
  7. An open meeting will be held on the first official day of the annual convention. At this meeting, the USDF Management Committee of the Executive Board, the executive director, and the director of finance and accounting will be available to discuss and answer questions on the proposed draft budget.
  8. Only those councils and committees which have new, unforeseeable budget items not included in the September 15th requests, or have motions to come to the USDF Board of Governors (BOG), will report to the EB during the meeting of the EB/council and committee chairs held on the day prior to the BOG meeting.
  9. The proposed budget will be presented to the BOG for discussion near the beginning of the BOG meeting, and voted on later in the BOG meeting.