Excess Budget funds stake sweep

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Biggles
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#51

Post by Biggles »

rknelson wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:19 pm It appears that funds were only pulled from stakes, not wards. Funds were pulled if the amount in the stake budget category on 31 December 2022 (not including ward funds) exceeded 50% of the total allocation of funds to the stake including wards for 2022. This is listed in LCR Finance under "Income and Expense details" / "Budget Allocations" labeled as "Collect 2022 budget excess funds as per PBO notice (15 Jan 2023)". Transfers took place in mid-January.
My ward had funds swept!
BlairEsplin
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#52

Post by BlairEsplin »

rknelson wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:19 pm It appears that funds were only pulled from stakes, not wards. Funds were pulled if the amount in the stake budget category on 31 December 2022 (not including ward funds) exceeded 50% of the total allocation of funds to the stake including wards for 2022. This is listed in LCR Finance under "Income and Expense details" / "Budget Allocations" labeled as "Collect 2022 budget excess funds as per PBO notice (15 Jan 2023)". Transfers took place in mid-January.
I was told in a call to Salt Lake to expect about $43,000 to be taken from our stake and wards but nothing was taken.
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cjbeckert
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#53

Post by cjbeckert »

UPDATE to my original post. I called CHQ on 31 Mar 2023 at the request of my stake president to get a sweep update. All of our units had been on "sweep watch" and have been very frugal with YTD spending. CHQ responded that all sweeps for 2023 have concluded so if the stake hasn't been swept, it won't be this year. CHQ acknowledged the sweep glitch in late Jan but noted that was all corrected and restored (ours was). It was also emphasized, multiple times during the call, that funds would only be swept from stakes, not wards. We've told our units to resumed normal spending but I personally won't be fully at ease until I see at the end of the year that no sweep has occurred. Trust but verify.
BlairEsplin
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#54

Post by BlairEsplin »

When I called in January I asked where the money would be taken from. I was told it would be taken from the stake account because as per the earlier letter, wards were supposed to have transferred their extra money to the stake. I then asked what if the wards didn’t transfer the money? He didn’t have a response for that.
sareid
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#55

Post by sareid »

BlairEsplin wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 1:28 pm When I called in January I asked where the money would be taken from. I was told it would be taken from the stake account because as per the earlier letter, wards were supposed to have transferred their extra money to the stake. I then asked what if the wards didn’t transfer the money? He didn’t have a response for that.
Is there any guidance on how much "excess funds" wards should be sent back to the Stake? I would love to guidance on this.

Also, I'm still a little confused about how to calculate "budget balance exceeding 50 percent of the total 2022 annual budget allocation".

We had a large sweep of funds only from the Stake level, going into a year where we're hosting a Regional Simply Prom, Regional Youth Conference, and increased costs of Stake YM, and YW camps.
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ckmcdonald
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#56

Post by ckmcdonald »

I'm a little surprised this thread went silent back in April. What I hoped to see here is a summary of what has been determined and the community's best projection what we are going to see in the way of sweeps in 2024. I'll summarize what I believe has happened and what we expect to happen and request comments and corrections from the group....

1. Last January (2023) many (but not all?) stakes in the US were swept of funds in excess of 50% of their total 2022 budget?
2. Later that month there was another sweep that also hit some wards but that was done in error and was promptly corrected?
3. From what I gather reading this thread, some stakes with funds in excess of 50% of their 2022 budget were not swept. True?
4. Many stakes made attempts to get their swept funds returned, claiming obligations/plans of treks, etc. Was any ever returned?
5. The plan as far as we know is for this policy to continue and the sweeping of funds in excess of 50% of 2023's budget will be swept in January 2024, but only from stakes, not wards?
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cjbeckert
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#57

Post by cjbeckert »

ckmcdonald wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 10:14 am I'm a little surprised this thread went silent back in April. What I hoped to see here is a summary of what has been determined and the community's best projection what we are going to see in the way of sweeps in 2024. I'll summarize what I believe has happened and what we expect to happen and request comments and corrections from the group....
Since I'm the OP, I guess I'll get this jump started again. There's a few things I learned since things calmed down
1. Last January (2023) many (but not all?) stakes in the US were swept of funds in excess of 50% of their total 2022 budget?
1. Yes, many but not all. My stake was one that had a balance over 50% but was not swept. Don't know why. We didn't send any excess because we were trying to understand how to calculate the excess and where exactly the sweep would occur (stake only, wards also?). Some of the wording in the Dec 2022 and Jan 2023 was a bit unclear. By the time we got solid answers back from CHQ, we were told the sweeps had already occurred.
2. Later that month there was another sweep that also hit some wards but that was done in error and was promptly corrected?
2. Yes, my stake and all our wards were hit by that error. All unit budget balances were reduced by the same amount of their 31 Dec 2022 budget balance. It was not only restored by the next day, but the ledgers (Transfer screen in LCR-F) were wiped clean as if it never happened. That last part was a surprise since ledger book errors should never erased. A second entry is usually made to correct the error, or at least that’s what I remember from bookkeeping classes once upon a time.
3. From what I gather reading this thread, some stakes with funds in excess of 50% of their 2022 budget were not swept. True?
3. True, my stake had a balance excess of 50% at year-end along with a few of our wards but the stake (unit) was not swept.
4. Many stakes made attempts to get their swept funds returned, claiming obligations/plans of treks, etc. Was any ever returned?
4. We didn't deal with this scenario so I can’t answer that one. Instructions I received from CHQ in response to a different question contained some interesting information related to your question:

“If after counseling with the bishops of the units, the funds are still insufficient for the activity that they have planned, and they would like to request an exception to keep additional funds. The stake president will need to contact his Area Authority and provide the details of what activity they are planning, how much they expect it to cost and the amount of additional funds they are requesting. This request will be reviewed and submitted to the Area Presidency and DTA and if they approve it will be passed to the Presiding Bishopric for final approval.”
5. The plan as far as we know is for this policy to continue and the sweeping of funds in excess of 50% of 2023's budget will be swept in January 2024, but only from stakes, not wards?
5. Yes, this is what I understand. After asking for a clearer definition of sweeping the stake (stake as a unit or the stake collectively with all units), I received a detailed response that would’ve helped with the process early on had it been included with the original instructions.

In a nutshell, the instructions are for each unit to look at their year-end Budget balance in LCR-F. Each unit, ward and stake, calculates if that number is over 50% of what the unit received in Budget funds during the year just ended. Calculating the 50% point is easy enough. Once the final quarterly budget allotment for the year drops in October, each unit in the stake can calculate the 50% point of Budget funds received for the year. If an excess above the 50% point exists by year end, wards transfer the excess to the stake for consolidation with the stake’s excess, if any. The stake then transfers the consolidated excess to CHQ. The one disconnect with these instructions is the Dec 2022 letter wanted all transfers, including the stake transfer to CHQ, to be completed by 31 Dec, yet units won't know the actual year-end balance to compare to the 50% point until the transfer due date. At least I never do. There's always a mad rush about mid-Dec with "forgotten" receipt turn-ins from earlier in the year. My understanding is any CHQ sweep is based on the stake balance as of 31 Dec. So that was one problem I noticed.

I'm hoping any instructions sent out near the end of this year will have clearer instructions on calculations and due dates.
russellhltn
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#58

Post by russellhltn »

I have to wonder if there's a "minimum amount" you have to be over, or perhaps there is a grace percentage.

I'm not sure if CHQ is going to sweep out a measly $1.49 over, but I'm pretty sure they'd sweep $10,000 over.

Many organizations have analyzed their costs and know how much a transaction costs them to process (even if it's all in the computer). They're not going going to act on something that's too close to their transaction costs.
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ckmcdonald
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#59

Post by ckmcdonald »

After I posted my message above (#56) I called the Global Help Desk and had a long conversations on this topic. I got the exact same answers that CJ gave above (thank you) in post #57 with one exception. On my question #5 about the future I was told there has been no statement from CHQ that the sweep game that occurred in Jan 2023 will repeat. It may or may not, we don't know. They said we'd just have to wait and see if another memo comes out. Does anyone have any differing data that would suggest that answer is wrong? CJ, you said that you got something that suggested this will be a yearly event going forward?
Have anyone heard anything about CHQ having plans to sweep wards?
As far as I know sweeping wards has never been done or suggested.
BRIBRETRAKIM
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Re: Excess Budget funds stake sweep

#60

Post by BRIBRETRAKIM »

So if our 2023 year-end balance is $15,000, our carryover to 2024 will be $7,500, and in addition, our 2024 quarterly allocations will be reduced by 50% as well. Am I reading this right?
Thank you.
Howard
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