Overview of the FY2023 budget process

Here at Columbia Association (CA), we believe that our organization’s budget is a tangible demonstration of our priorities and values. A new, innovative budget process for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 has allowed CA to better engage the community earlier and more directly. It has also given CA’s Board of Directors more flexibility to consider key variables and their impact on overall financials.

Approving CA’s budget is one of the key tasks and biggest responsibilities the Board of Directors undertakes every year. This is when the Board determines investments in the different programs and services CA offers, allocates funds for capital projects and sets limits for the Annual Charge and membership rates

The budget input and approval process culminates in late February when the budget for the upcoming fiscal year is approved. CA’s annual budgets begin on May 1 and end April 30 the following year. That means FY2023 begins on May 1, 2022. Click here to access past budgets and financial information.

Residents, community groups, advisory committees and village boards are all encouraged to participate in feedback opportunities, including online surveys (click here to participate in the latest one) and information sessions throughout the budget process. It is important to us that your priorities are heard.

Download FY23 Timeline PDF

Pre budget case test scenarios

During the first phase of this process, CA laid out a series of scenario test cases for the budget. The purpose of the test cases was to enable greater visibility into CA operations, providing more clarity and an understanding of trade-offs with various decision points. The CA Board defined three test case scenarios that CA staff then drafted. CA shared these with the community, inviting them to engage through an online survey and a public information session. More than 450 people took part in those opportunities. 

Click here for links to relevant meetings and discussions that have taken place so far in this process.

After discussion, follow-up information and considering public input, the Board voted on guidance for the draft FY2023 budget. You can read more about the factors considered to develop the draft budget in this transmittal letter from President/CEO Lakey Boyd.

If you’d like a summary of what’s happened in the FY2023 budget process so far, click here for an overview.

Draft budget and approval process

After the Board made key decisions around trade-offs and priorities, CA developed the full draft FY2023 budget and published the document on January 21, 2022. Anyone is welcome to read and review the details of this draft budget, which is a direct reflection of the invaluable feedback we’ve gotten from this community.

The draft budget includes a transmittal letter from President/CEO Lakey Boyd, which serves as a comprehensive summary of the process and key investments. If you don’t want to  review the entire draft budget, the transmittal letter can also serve as a summary of key highlights to be aware of. You can read that letter here.

Following a survey of 380 respondents, the Board met to discuss public feedback on the draft budget. Final deliberations and voting took place on February 24. Click here to watch that full meeting on the CA Live Stream YouTube page or click here to read a more detailed synopsis of the process and finalized FY23 budget in this blog post.

As the Board and CA found during this process, engagement in the online survey is one of the best and easiest ways to ensure input is captured and shared with the Board of Directors. If you want to voice your opinion elsewhere, comments can also be submitted to CA Board members virtually. You are also welcome to participate in Resident Speakout at any Board of Directors meeting. 

Budget and Financial information