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WSBA section leaders briefed on FY2026 budget timeline, guidance and per‑member charge timing
Summary
At the Washington State Bar Association spring section leaders meeting, finance staff outlined the FY2026 budget schedule, submission deadlines, guidance on narratives and flexibility, and a placeholder per‑member charge pending May 19 approval.
Maggie Yu, controller for the Washington State Bar Association, told section leaders at the association’s spring meeting that the FY2026 budget schedule begins with materials distributed April 14 and runs through Board approval in September.
Yu said the association will collect first‑draft section budgets and change requests on June 6, with section teams sending reviewed comments back on June 24 and a section budget semifinal deadline on July 15. The Budget and Nominating/Appropriations (BNA) committee will review section budgets on Aug. 18 and the Board of Governors is scheduled to approve the overall budget in September.
The memo explains why the schedule matters: sections must align their executive committee (EC) meeting calendars to allow a timely vote on proposed budgets and attach a short narrative explaining intended uses of requested funds.
Yu emphasized several planning tips for ECs: include a short narrative for each line item so finance staff can match future expenditures and preserve institutional memory; leave modest flexibility in line items so sections can respond to opportunities mid‑year; and remember the budget is a planning tool, not a separate pool of money. She also reminded sections that FY2025 year‑to‑date figures in the packet reflect actuals through Feb. 28, 2025, and leaders should account for expected expenses through the remainder of FY2025 when projecting FY2026 balances.
On per‑member charges (PMC), Yu said the FY2026 PMC will be calculated and scheduled for approval at the BNA meeting on May 19. The packet will contain a placeholder PMC (currently shown as 1,845 for the current fiscal year) until that May 19 decision; staff will insert the final PMC for sections that prefer to wait for the official number.
Shanthi Raghu, the association’s education program manager, urged sections planning CLEs in partnership with WSBA CLE to treat projected seminar splits as estimates. Raghu said net revenue projections in section budget templates rely on assumptions about sales, attendance and historical patterns and should be treated as provisional. She also noted that most routine program expenses (facility, AV, basic refreshments) are generally covered by the program budget and need not be duplicated in the section’s requested funds; sections should budget only for speaker honoraria, travel, special luncheons or other expenses outside standard program support.
Sections were reminded they can submit budget memos later in the year requesting approval to use unbudgeted funds if an unplanned opportunity arises.
The WSBA will distribute customized budget worksheets to each section, including five years of history, account codes and a second tab listing available account numbers so sections can add categories if needed. Yu and staff offered one‑on‑one support for treasurers and chairs unfamiliar with the worksheet.
Sections with questions were advised to contact the finance team ahead of June 6 to ensure timely submission and to coordinate EC voting schedules with the budget timeline.
