Our Executive Board creates our annuual budget, with the treasurer doing most of the detail number crunching, and the board looking over her shoulder. After the board is satisfied, the treasurer presents the budget to our members at our first meeting of the year. We make it clear that this budget is the result of careful consideration by the board (and thus not really open to being modified at the general meeting). The treasurer explains each line item, even presents a couple of pie charts to make it easier to understand, fields questions, and then asks for a vote to approve.

With 30 or so people in the room, it would be impossible to effectively rework the budget at the general meeting. We ask the members to entrust the board and support the budget that the board develops. We also won't start doing financial transactions for the year until the budget is approved, so it's important we not get caught up in tons of discussion that might make the members vote to table the budget approval for a month. We need it approved as presented, at the first meeting.

I am writting up a budge for the first year PTO and after it is approved by the board, do we then present the budge at the general meeting along with the financial statements? It is not stated in our bylaws. I wanted to know what everyone else does.