Troop Proposed Budget

[donomiser]

Who is suppose to make up the proposed budget for the next scouting year: the SM and the treasurer or the CC and the treasurer? Who has the say in allocating the funds?

[John-in-KC]

In an ideal Troop,

 

The Scoutmaster and the SPL lay the program requirements upon the table for the Committee to support. The Committee budgets the money and sets the per capita amount.

 

The Scribe, under his Warrant from the Scoutmaster and supervision of the SPL, is accountable to collect the money and ensure it gets to the Treasurer. Ideally, the Treasurer attends Troop meetings to receive funds from the Scribe.

 

OK, that's the theory. Now, how is it currently working in your troop? We keep commenting that we cannot help folks if we simply get questions to answer. We can give theory (and in more than a few cases, practice), but we cannot tailor to your circumstances without ... your circumstances!

[FScouter]

BSA recommends:

The treasurer, Scoutmaster and troop scribe prepare a draft budget.

The PLC reviews and finalizes it.

The committee approves the finished budget.

 

The annual planning conference needs to be done first because the purpose of the budget is to support the program plan.

 

Refer to:

Scoutmaster Handbook, chapter 17

Troop Committee Guidebook, chapter 6

Unit Budget Plan 28-426 available at the council office or at

http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/Home/Forms/Rechartering-UnitBudge/

 

A Cub Scout version is at

http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/packbudget/index.html

 

None of this is theory; it is proven practices that work.

[Beavah]

Yah, the reality in troops is all over the map, eh? And there are a lot of troops out there with proven practices that really work. Funny enough, they do things differently. Conceptually, they all sorta follow the BSA model that FScouter describes, which involves the youth leadership and the SM/ASMs, then the troop committee. The nuts and bolts are different in each place, though, bein' adapted to local circumstances.

 

Yeh really have to give us some background, donomiser, if yeh want us to offer any meaningful advice. But here's what I'd offer:

 

Who is suppose to make up the proposed budget for the next scouting year: the SM and the treasurer or the CC and the treasurer?

 

Yah, all three, and the SPL and the PLC. SM and PLC boys as being the primary drivers for the program planning (outing costs, short-term gear needs); CC and individual committee members as being the primary drivers for parts of the budget related to support services (parent mailings, award purchases, long-term gear depreciation & replacement, training, etc.).

 

Who has the say in allocating the funds?

 

Donors . People who make a charitable contribution get to say how they want it spent.

 

As for the rest, final say is da whole troop committee when they vote to approve the budget. But that should really be an "up or down" vote, without micromanagin' the work the PLC, SM, QM, Treasurer, Scribe, and CC put in.

 

Beavah

 

[FScouter]

Who has the say in allocating the funds?

 

The purpose of the troop budget is to finance the operation of the troop. The expense side of the budget is determined by the program plan put together at the annual planning conference, then presented to and approved by the troop committee. The purpose of dues and money earning projects is to generate the income side of the budget. The treasurer writes the checks, and ensures that expenditures have already been approved by virtue of being included in the budget.

 

Too often the temptation is to hold a fundraising event, then figure out what to spend the money on. That approach can lead to heated discussions about the worthiness of ideas, and who has spending authority. Successful fundraising can also lead to a huge war chest with no clear purpose. Boys dont join Scouts to do fundraising and build up a bank account. A money-earning project should have a clear purpose, such as to finance a Philmont trip, or to replace the troop tents, or buy troop t-shirts. Boys get a better understanding of money when they see the direct results of their fundraising efforts.

[donomiser]

We plan a APC in August with the SPL, ASPL and the PL's to plan the year calendar with monthly camping and 1 or more long weekend trip and other weekend activities traveling, along with council activities.

The SPL did a presentation to the TC and they accepted it. We did some major fundraising but did not spend a third of it. A lot of money was left over and the TC did their own budget draft without any of my (SM) input. We never allocated any funds to any 'scout accounts' and "their" scouts did not participate in our "high adventure" so the TC put a large amount in a "high adventure" account because their scouts are going to Sea Base and Philmont. Myself and 8 scouts went to National Jamboree in 2005 and did not receive any funds from the troop. None of these fundraisers were allocated to any scouts so the Troop (Scouts that want to participate in Troop activities) funds should go to Troop adventure, not individual scout adventure.

[John-in-KC]

1) You and PLC appear to have only planned the basics. It is meet, right, and salutary to plan in HA for some older youth, Jambo for some older youth, NOAC for some older youth, World Jambo, and so on, and so on.

 

2) When you and the PLC plan in activities, you take ownership of them. As the PROGRAM side of the unit, you and the PLC set an expectation the Committee will support them. If the Committee doesn't support them, and then supports other events, you have every right to throw the baloney on the table.

 

3) I will not address Scout accounts.

 

4) From my last sentence in 2) above: If there is an issue of fairness in funds allocation, that is a matter for you to take offline with the CC. Public chastisement of the Committee rarely gets you places. If you and he disagree, then it can be bumped to the COR for a decision. After all, the Chartered Partner owns the unit.

 

5) Again, my general comment is: If Scouts are going to do the activity, get it on the annual plan and make the Committee budget against it!

 

My thoughts.

[Beavah]

Yah, I've seen a lot of da "my money" set over the years. My scout account, my fundraisin' time, my money.

 

Nope.

 

Like any other group people do fundraisin' for, the money goes to the organization. PTO money goes to the PTO, Church money goes to the church, etc. - not to the kids of the parents who worked. Fundraisin' is an act of charity. Yeh don't get anything from it. You give to make the organization and community stronger.

 

Sometimes young units or units with a lot of turnover don't have any norms or policies for how they handle finances. That's somethin' every unit should have in place, so that people understand the basic lay of the land. "Excess" or capital funds might go to "mandatory cash flow reserve" first, camperships for needy kids second, capital expenses like troop gear third, support for "big" outings last. That gives yeh a good way of sayin', "OK, we have enough cash flow reserve so we're not borrowin' money from scouters or parents to pay reservations, etc.; we've covered the kids who need help to participate this year; we're set on gear; wow, we still have $1000 we can use for a special event/subsidize camp/high adventure."

 

If that's where the troop is at, helpin' with high adventure costs is an OK thing, eh? Especially if it's a great scout unit and those high adventure kids are leaders/instructors in the troop, and will bring back their skills to share. If yeh have a better idea, it's up to you as SM to bring it up. Supportin' TLT or NYLT for boys would be another good one.

 

The important thing is that any decision should be based on what is best for the unit, long term. Never on what kids or families are "owed," because they ain't owed anything. Jazzin' up high adventure opportunities might be a good use or not, dependin' on where your troop is at.

 

If after all that you still have an issue, I agree with J-KC and #4 above. I would add that it's helpful to have a few non-parents on troop committees, folks with a longer-term, program-centered view. Helps prevent older boy parents from runnin' away with things for their own kids.

 

Beavah