Government Connections - Summer 2013 - (Page 28) THE MEETING MINUTE Tips to Lower the Cost of Your Meeting When You’re Worried about Sequestration By Virginia Hessels, CMP North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System BUDGET SEQUESTRATION IS a U.S. law that was instituted to limit the size of the federal government’s budget. This law outlines procedures that involve setting a firm cap on the amount of government spending within certain categories as a way to curb costs. However, if Congress later approves spending that exceeds the caps, an across-the-board spending cut is automatically imposed. The caps affect all of the departments and programs in a category by an equal percentage. The amount exceeding the budget limit is held back by the Treasury and not transferred to the agencies specified in the appropriation bills. On March 6, 2013, the House voted to leave sequestration in place, but approved a bipartisan bill to extend the continuing resolution from March 27 to September 30, 2013 to keep the federal government from shutting down. The bill also provides the Department of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs some flexibility to fine-tune the sequester cuts. Earlier in the year, the Congressional Budget Office projected that under sequestration and Budget Control Act caps, DOD spending will be reduced from $670.3 billion in 2012 to approximately $627.6 billion in 2013, a decrease of $42.7 billion. Economists predict that sequestration will slow the 2013 recovery of the U.S. labor market, which, prior to sequestration, had been predicted to produce approximately 750,000 more fulltime jobs. Because many agencies are facing budget cuts as part of the sequestration, management may limit the number of off-site meetings. The perception of management traveling while employees are taking days without pay will have a negative impact. Understandably, government planners may be hesitant to book conferences too far in advance and may need to whittle away at their already lean budgets. Smaller meetings will suffer paring down 28 from the same knife – or may be sliced out of the budget completely. As a government planner, how can you make do with less? Across the country, planners will need to take a hard look at their budgets, consider client needs and come up with a win-win strategy. For the foreseeable future, planners may need to be more willing to consider secondtier cities or might choose dates that they have traditionally avoided. They might consider using e-meetings for groups that do not require networking. They might rethink destinations and timing or meeting in an airport hotel to save attendees money. And now might be a good time to revisit which days of the week are best for your meetings; air travel is generally cheaper for Wednesday flights and room rates are lower Sunday through Thursday. Government planners are certainly not new to squeezing and stretching every dollar and have become quite adept at getting their money’s worth. It’s all part of the job, and it looks like that won’t be changing any time soon. WAYS TO CUT COSTS • Encourage the use of e-agendas and agenda apps. • If you’ve found a hotel brand that meets your needs, try negotiating a package deal for your upcoming meetings, either using the same brand or family of brands. • Reuse as many collateral pieces as possible: name badges, lanyards, signs, company brochures. It’s cheaper AND it’s environmentally friendly. • For smaller meetings (board, committee, etc.) within a larger conference, consider off-site venues, such as restaurants. It gives attendees a break from the hotel and saves on F&B. • Don’t forget the value of the concierge floor for staff, VIPs, etc. It’s a good idea to include it in your contract as a perk. • Use the in-house AV company if comparable to outside vendors to avoid transportation, load-in/out, storage, etc. costs. • Use your CVB to cut your upfront costs – your time is money, too. • If approved by your agency ethics officer, take advantage of FAMs as site visits. Be sure to scope out city attractions, public transportation, restaurants, family activities and shops while you’re there – your attendees will want to know this information, too. GOVERNMENT CONNECTIONS | SUMMER 2013 http://www.sgmp.org Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Government Connections - Summer 2013 President’s Letter Editor’s Letter Going Places Dieting on a Per Diem Plan Green What SGMP is Doing for You as Washington Tightens its Belt 2013 National Education Conference & Expo Focuses on Education Extending the Value of Your Events Supplier Strategy SGMP Nation The Meeting Minute Advertisers’ Index Government Connections - Summer 2013 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMB0118 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMB0217 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMB0117 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMB0216 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMB0116 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0215 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0115 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0414 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0314 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0214 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0114 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0413 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0313 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0213 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/SGMQ/SGMQ0113 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0412 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0312 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0212 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0112 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0411 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0311 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0211 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0111 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0410 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0310 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0210 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0110 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0409 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SGMQ0309 http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com
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