Project votes
How council approves a maintenance project, and items added after the vote.
What it is
A maintenance project is approved with one council vote instead of one vote per item. Every project vote lists exactly what it covers and the total it approves. Voting, reminders and offline recording work the same as for a single card.
There are three kinds of project vote. Pleno picks the right one for you.
| Vote | When | What it approves |
|---|---|---|
| Project vote | The first vote on a project that isn't approved yet | The project's own costs, every item at its quoted cost, and the contingency |
| Add-to-project vote | Items were added after approval and fit in what is left | The new items. The approved total doesn't change |
| Budget increase | Items were added after approval and don't fit | The new items, and a new approved total just large enough to cover them |
A card council already approved
When a card council approved becomes a project, its approval carries over: the project's approved total starts at what the card's vote approved (the card's quoted cost when the vote was requested, which can't change while the vote is open), and the card's quoted cost becomes the project's own costs, already approved. The next vote is then an add-to-project vote or a budget increase for the new items only. That is how a change order is voted on: for the difference, not the whole job again.
A project's approved total is only ever an amount council voted. A card with no passed vote, whose last vote was rejected, or whose vote recorded no amount (the card had no quoted cost when it was requested, or the vote is from before Pleno kept the amount and the cost then isn't known) has nothing to carry over: its first project vote covers everything.
What you can do
- Open the project and go to its Items tab.
- Under Council approval, check which vote Pleno suggests and the total it will ask for.
- Choose Request to start the vote, or Record offline approval if council already decided outside Pleno.
- Council members vote from the approval block on the project's Details tab (Open the vote takes you there), or on the mobile app. Each voter sees the lines the vote covers and the total.
The vote emails name the kind of vote and list what it covers: each item and its amount, the contingency, and the total. A budget increase shows the approved total before and after, and an add-to-project vote says the total stays the same. The email sent when the vote passes lists the same lines. Every vote email, the reminders and the one sent when it passes, opens the vote itself. If the project is in another of the reader's buildings, the link asks them to switch first.
When the vote passes:
- Its items are approved. They are marked "Approved as part of" the project and can leave Planning without a vote of their own.
- A project still in Planning moves to In progress. Add-to-project votes and budget increases don't move the project.
- The header shows the new figures. The project header shows the approved total and what remains of it.
Who can do it
- Request, cancel or record offline: admins (president, VP, delegated PM).
- Vote: eligible council members, as for any card vote.
Limits and things to know
- One open vote at a time: a project can have one open vote at a time, and one vote can cover several new items. Recording an offline approval while a vote is open decides that vote, with the lines it already covers.
- Every item needs a quoted cost first: a vote can't be requested while any item it would cover has no quoted cost.
- What a vote covers is fixed: once requested, its lines and total can't change. While it is open, an item it covers can't be deleted, cancelled or taken out of the project; cancel the vote first.
- Raising costs later: raising the cost of approved work uses up what is left, without a new vote. If costs pass the approved total, the header shows how much the project is over. There is no vote yet to approve an overrun; the total only rises when new items are voted in.
- Budget increases ask for just enough: the new total covers the approved work and the new items at their quoted costs, and leaves nothing spare. Any contingency still left is used first.
- When a project vote can be requested: from Planning, In progress or On hold. An approved project moved back to Planning stays approved.
- Removed items: removing an approved item from the project clears its approval. If it is added back, it needs a new vote.
- Deleted items: if an item is later deleted, the vote record keeps its card number, title and amount.
- Turning back: a project with votes on record can't be turned back into a card. Archive it instead.