Mountain Freehold Financial Policy is based on the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (SCA) Financial Policy, and the East Kingdom Financial Policy, and does not repeat the requirements set forth in those documents.
Financial Committee
The Financial Committee shall consist of the Branch Seneschal, the Branch Exchequer, and a third paid SCA member who is mutually acceptable to both. The Financial Committee will communicate as necessary for the smooth running of the Shire. The obtaining of necessary signatures will be done either in person or by mail, as the Freehold has a tradition of holding business meetings as rarely as possible.
Bank Account
Mountain Freehold currently has a dual-signature checking account, with the signatories being the Shire Exchequer, the Deputy Shire Exchequer, the Shire Seneschal, and the Kingdom Exchequer. At this time, our only bank account is our checking account.
Financial Reporting and Disclosure
At any moot (business meeting) held in the Freehold, the Exchequer will be prepared to state the current account balance, and will have several bank statements, including the most recent, available for review by the populace.
Following each event held in the Freehold, the Exchequer will announce, on our local mailing list, whether the event made or lost money, and how much. An event report form will be available, after it has been filed, for inspection upon request by any Freeholder.
Any member of Mountain Freehold may review the branch financial records at the Exchequer’s home, at any time that is mutually convenient.
Once a year, following the submission of the year-end financial report, the Exchequer will make available a printed copy of our Comparative Balance Sheet and Income Statement.
Expense Authorizations
Event autocrats must submit an event budget in advance, to be approved by the Financial Committee, before the event can be publicized. If the budget is not approved, the event is a no-go.
Expenses of over $100 that are not related to events will be discussed openly at the next moot. If a moot is not currently on the schedule, and the need is pressing, discussion of the expense may take place on the group email list. After considering the wishes of the group at large, and the state of the group’s finances, the decision whether to authorize such expenses will remain with the Financial Committee. Ideally, the cost of such expenses will be offset by fund-raising for that purpose.
Expenses of less than $100 that are not related to events may be authorized upon consensus of the Financial Committee. These expenses will also be brought to the attention of the populace through the group email list.
Pennsic Expenses
Pennsic expenses for our Freehold Camp are not normally funded from the Freehold Treasury, for two reasons. First, a certain proportion of people in our camp are not actually Freeholders. Second, most Freeholders do not attend Pennsic. Therefore, each year’s Freehold camp will have a management committee to set a camp budget, to determine the fee for that year’s camp. Each year’s camp should be self-supporting, with a slight surplus built into the budget for future years to allow for future large or unexpected expenses. Camp fees vary year by year. Typically, Pennsic camp fees are designed to cover necessities and amenities such as:
1) Storage fee for all of the equipment left from year to year.
2) Firewood.
3) Shower plumbing, propane, and other hot water supplies.
4) Propane for cooking.
5) Infrastructure improvements for common use such as sunshades, tables, benches, and camp walls.
6) Some drinking water for general use.
Family Pricing
At the Sept. 8, 2019 moot, we voted to handle family pricing as follows. Families will pay the applicable adult site fee(s), and site fees for up to two children. Additional children in that family will be admitted to the site at no cost. Optional feast and dayboard fees will still be paid by all who choose to partake of them.