The Budget Process

One of the key responsibilities of the General Secretary-Treasurer’s Office is managing the budget process. I take this responsibility very seriously. 

The total IAFF budget is $48,988,425 -- $38,803,320 from per capita and $10,185,105 from non per capita revenue.  The budget was approved at the November 2010 Executive Board meeting.  Prior to submitting the budget for Executive Board approval, we follow a detailed process to ensure every expense is identified and justified.   

Many of our expenses are fixed for items we must incur to keeping the IAFF running, such as rent, salary, utilities and insurance.  In addition, there are expenses for the many membership benefits and services that are made available to you.

For example, in conjunction with Resolution 24 passed at the August 2010 IAFF Convention, we have developed a Pension Resources Department to provide pension-specific resources to assist affiliates in combating the widespread attacks on pension plans.  This new department helps assure resources are in place when IAFF affiliates need them.

As part of the budget process, the General President and I meet with each division to review their plans and projects for the coming year, along with their proposed budget.  Here’s where we work diligently to ensure we are managing expenses judiciously.  Once complete, we submit the budget to the Budget and Finance Committee, which then conducts a line-by-line review of every expense category to ensure we are spending your per capita wisely. 

Next, the proposed budget goes to the full Executive Board for final review and approval.

This is a lengthy process, and it doesn’t end with Executive Board approval. I’ve instituted a quarterly review session where our Comptroller meets with each department head to review expenditures, assess where we stand against budget and to discuss any adjustments to make sure we are spending dollars where we can get the most benefit. 

A final review of the budget is conducted by our Board of Trustees. This involves a thorough examination to ensure we are following best practices.  Historically, this final step has resulted in recommendations we can introduce quickly to bring more efficiency to our operation.