Proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2014
At the May Business Meeting a preliminary presentation suggested two alternative budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. In either case Western Quarterly Meeting (WQM) was faced with a deficit; in light of this, it was decided to withhold action on the budget until further consideration by the officers. On June 18, the linked revision was adopted for recommendation to the membership at the July 21 Quarterly Meeting and consideration at the September 3 Business Meeting.
The largest components of WQM’s annual budget are the income obtained through the covenants committed by the monthly meetings, the amount derived from these covenants disbursed to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and the residue available to cover the expenses of WQM. Typically, the PYM covenant absorbs about 80% of the total covenants; WQM’s residual amount has averaged about $35,000 over the past three years, which, with modest additional income, has been sufficient to cover other operating expenses.
For the upcoming fiscal year, this pattern will change. Increased expenses owing to restructuring of staff and more effective methods of communications with members are only partially offset by a modest increase in income from covenants. As a result, overall expenses are expected to exceed income by over $6,000. In the view of your officers, the reserve position of WQM, which includes over $80,000 not required for other obligations, is ample to absorb this overage. Obviously future planning must consider ways in which a balanced budget can again be achieved, but your officers are convinced that, to maintain the fresh momentum to WQM’s programs produced by the improved staffing and operational changes, the application of reserves to balance the 2014 budget is justified. Click here to view the proposed budget, accompanied by comparative figures for the current fiscal year.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela Leland, Clerk, and Dick Logan, Budget & Finance Clerk
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