Re: [Debconf-team] WRL (debit card) phone chat
On Thu, Jul 08, 2010 at 11:16:00PM +0200, Moray Allan wrote:
> So using cash that hasn't come through SPI would be another solution?
It would avoid the legal/tax issues, but it still wouldn't solve the DebConf
fiscal responsibility issue of "don't waste DebConf's/Debian's money on
inappropriate expenses." If we want to do cash + documentation, that would work
for either SPI or non-SPI cash.
> The overheads on this card proposal also sound high to me, for the small
> number of meals in question -- and it's not yet clear to me that we can
> definitely get money back off the cards usefully, although you seem to hope
> that we can.
I should be clear, I think it's most likely that we can't get money off of the
cards after the expiration date, and that unless we cancel the whole order we
can't refund any of the cards. However, subject to whatever merchant category
restrictions we impose on the cards, we can certainly ask attendees to return
the cards and then reuse the funds via new purchases before they expire.
Even with a food-only restriction, this could be used to e.g. facilitate an
in-person Debian BSP in the upcoming six months, which would be an accounting
detail entirely internal to SPI's Debian account which the government wouldn't
care about. From a DebConf perspective, Debian could reallocate to DebConf the
funds it would have spent on the hypothetical BSP, if it so desires and if the
Debian/DebConf distinction is maintained.
> > it's a cost of just over $3 per card, which is no worse than likely
> catering costs.
>
> It seems to me that spending the money in a restaurant won't be free of
> 'catering costs' itself. On the other hand, getting boxed lunches, if not
> ideal, would presumably be fine from an SPI point of view and also low
> overhead.
Restaurant meals are of course not free of overhead, but given the economies of
scale of operating a restaurant, the per-meal overhead is way lower than for
catering. (This is especially true at restaurants which don't have waiter
service, where tipping is generally not expected.) For catering there are many
vendor costs which we have to fully cover in the prices, like on-site labor,
which at restaurants are shared with other customers. As you say, boxed lunches
would be fine with SPI and low overhead from a monetary perspective.
If we do go with the cards, I like Phil Hands's idea to allow people who are
receiving food sponsorship to opt out of receiving the cards and pay for their
own weekend + daytrip food (much cheaper than paying their food costs for the
entire time) and skip the hassles.
- Jimmy Kaplowitz
jimmy@debconf.org
P.S. - I know some people want to do their own cooking, and the overhead of the
cards would be even lower compared to DebConf-provided food options for people
who choose to use them at grocery stores. (Still an option with cash of
course.)
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