As with any other organization, public or private, the Ministry of Magic needs money to run efficiently and, in turn, a budget to make sure spending does not get out of control. Events, ideas put into motion, and new policies and legislation often take their own spending as well, but are things being done cost-efficiently? That is a issue that anyone stepping into the role of Minister will need to handle and is the subject of debate for the Minister hopefuls.

Should the Ministry be allowed to spend as they see fit, running under the assumption that they already have the best budget put into place as they use their money wisely? Or perhaps you are one who thinks the spending is wasteful and out of control, feeling they should be tied to a stricter budget and cut corners where needed.

Whatever your viewpoint, come hear the thoughts, opinions, and ideas of our Ministerial candidates as they speak about budget issues within the Ministry of Magic.

Candidates:
Jameson Carmichael
Roxanne Carter
Preston Kingsley
Alicia Tanner
Becca Yenorin

Alicia had ideas about the budget of course. They were perhaps less developed or passionate feelings than her opinions on animal testing or the education system in general but they were there and important none the less. She made her way over to the booth and stood there glancing over the names of the other candidates that would be expressing their views today…oh, Kyleigh’s friend Jamie was going to be there, and Preston was good, the only one she groaned at was well, Roxanne. And that was more because it made her think of the speech she had made at the original introduction debate thing…she bit her lip and stood there considering her options as clearly others were well, going to be far more opinionated than she was.

If you wanted to know an organization's values, one need only look at their budget. That was Preston Kingsley's opinion, and so the budget of the Ministry of Magic was not simply a fiscal document. It was a statement of priorities, values, and vision. It was with this in mind that he had developed his approach to the Ministry budget.

Now, just to share it with the voters.

Positioning himself near the booth on the budget, Preston held a few flyers, detailing the points of his budget plan, in the event that someone wanted to give his ideas further consideration.

Feeling more confident now, Roxanne made her way over to the budget tent, a few flyers of her own in her hand. Well, more like a stack. But anyway, she was still shocked that the only people that she'd seen here were some fellow candidates, an Auror, and some woman who she didn't know but seemed familiar. Where were the people? Didn't they care to find out more about the candidates? After all, lack of research led to, well, let's not mention that.

Giving a nod to her fellow candidates, she stood there waiting and feeling like an idiot. Come on, people, this was pathetic!

It was more than likely that Becca's view on the budget was different to the other people's, but she'd explain her feelings on it all the same. She waited for someone to approach so she'd be able to talk to someone. As it was, she approached Kingsley and smiled gently at him. "What's your opinion on the budget?" she asked, interested. She wanted to know what their plans were just in case she DIDN'T win.

If there was ever anything to pique his interest, it was politics... so it was a good thing he wrote about it for a living. The freelance reporter, notepad and biro in hand, found the station which interested him most for his article piece and greeted the candidates stationed there. "Good day, ladies, gentleman," he nodded. The Hungarian was pondering whom to start with first, of course, it would simply be more fun to open the floodgates. "My name's Tibor Toth and I'm a Hungarian news correspondent, I would love to ask about your vision for the future Ministry of Magic, how do you intend on remedying the Ministries current budget issues? Where do you envisage the income coming from?"

Anyone who was willing to answer was welcome to just go for it, he was ready, always ready. He quickly noted at the top of the page those who were present - Tanner, Kingsley, Carter and Yenorin.

Gid was walking through the rally listening to questions and answers each of the candidates were given and answering. He smiled and nodded to those he knew and giving kind smiles to anyone he didn't. He approached the budget issue booth, just as a correspondent spoke asking a question of the candidates that stood there. He only saw four of them there currently and was curious as to where Mr. Carmichael might be. He waited til they answered the question given to them before speaking up and asking his own.

Okay, there were more people now, though still not quite the turnout she'd expected. Really, disappointed in the Brits these days. Back in the day, this place would have been packed!

Though, there was finally someone asking questions. A Hungarian newspaper correspondent. What interest could they have in the British Ministry elections? America was the world's powerhouse, Britain just kept to themselves and only butted in when needed. But it was a question and a good one at that. "Good question, Mr. Toth," she began. "See, I don't think the problem is lack of funds, necessarily. I think it's more in the way those funds are used. For one thing, why does the Ministry need to rent out a whole 'nother venue for orientation when we have a Atrium that can fit the whole staff plus some? And why is the Ministry throwing autograph parties for Quidditch teams, when that can be done by the teams themselves? I believe that if we cut those type of behaviors, we would have enough money in the budget for things like wages and improving security." It might be a hard pill to swallow for some De La Garza, but it was a sage and sound idea for the economy. One that had worked for many a government (both Muggle and Magical) and regular households alike. "Cut out wasteful spending, that's my plan for righting the budget."

"But doing that, wouldn't that mean taking away some very big revenue from Diagon Alley shops that help sponsor those events. I know for a fact since I did publication for the prophet on the Quidditch event that many of those shops donated items and money to help make that successful and in return got a good amount of face time that brought in new costumers. Isn't a Minister suppose to think of them as well as just the Ministry?" Yes, Jorge Cristo De La Garza had been standing there when Ms. Carter started to open her big mouth again. He picked this very spot, because he knew she'd put her foot into it again and he clearly wanted to watch.

"What do the rest of you think?" He eyed the other candidates. "Should the ministry cut funds for departments that clearly run the success of others and already get help from the community to help fund their events, which in the end might hurt not only the department and ministry, but also the community that the ministry is there for?" He had his parchment out and self writing quill waiting on all to answer. He didn't really want to be at this event, but being the ministry person for the Daily Prophet as well as his wife being a department head he had to be, so why not stir the pot a little and make it worth writing about.

Preston nodded in greeting as Mrs. Yenorin approached. He recalled that they had had a brief, though nice, conversation at the mixer for the candidates. However, before he could respond to her directly, conversation had popped up at the booth and it was a conversation that Preston greatly wanted to hear.

He would never say, or show, his displeasure at having to share booth time with one Roxanne Carter given her display at the first event, though it was certainly not his ideal. Never-the-less, she was first to answer the question posed by correspondent and it seemed her words had drawn a reaction. Was that man a journalist? It seemed an awfully loaded, and slanted, question for someone supposed to provide objective coverage.

"Budgets are not simply fiscal documents," he interjected, joining the conversation and nodding toward Mrs. Yenorin, as this would answer her question as well. "How we allocate funds is a reflection of what we value and it is my position that the budget of the Ministry of Magic should reflect what is important to us."

Speaking to the other candidates, as well as the reporters present, Preston continued, offering hi materials. "Events that build goodwill toward the ministry are important. Activities and wages that promote employee longevity are vital, as qualified, long-term employees are the single greatest resource the Ministry possesses. Funding for new and innovative research and experimentation are the key to ensure our continued prosperity."

Preston paused before continuing. "The key, here, is to consider how to allocate what are surely not inexhaustible funds and set priorities, while considering potential new streams of revenue."

Hadley wandered into the next booth. She looked at the topic and rolled her eyes. Budget. She couldn't think of anything much more boring than that. But… she had to come up with something to ask. She took a deep breath and walked up to a random candidate.

"Hi, my name is Hadley Willowgrass and I work in the Department of Magical Creatures. I just wanted to know about budget for independent projects. I myself am writing a book on spirits and poltergeists, specifically on how to communicate with them, and I'm intending it to be used as a textbook for those who wanted to learn more about spirits, but I was wondering… do you support those independent projects? How would you go about creating a budget for these projects?" She asked in a kind, inviting tone of course. And if they didn't support independent projects? Well, that was okay too. This was for her to get to know the candidates, not for her to drill them.

Sigh. She could now understand why Jorge had been treated the way he had under the MLE's care that one time. Because he was quite possibly the most infuriating and dense man she'd ever met. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Roxanne replied, "Mr. De La Garza, your wife is Mrs. De La Garza, the head of Magical Games and Sports, right?" So, yeah, some bias there. "Honestly, if the Ministry could afford to keep throwing events like that, it would be all well and good. But between the Quidditch party, the orientation at the beginning of the year, and the magical carpet expo, there wasn't enough money to keep the Specialties department open. Now, it would be even worse for the Diagon Alley shops if people kept losing their jobs just so the Ministry could keep throwing events like that, because then people wouldn't have the money to shop in said places." You know, since he seemingly hadn't bothered to think of that in his support of his wife. "The next Minister wouldn't be a very good one if they allowed that to happen, now would they?" And anyway, wasn't the point of this to be about the Ministry's budget as a whole? Don't make it about just one thing alone, De La Garza.

Was this girl lost or something? Because Roxanne was pretty that what she was looking for was a publishing house. "While I do support independent projects, I don't think that books-even textbooks-are something the Ministry, or any Ministry, has any business dabbling in. Too easy to be accused of propaganda. I'm sure that if you asked your department head, Skylark, I believe?, she'd more than willing to help you with research and maybe even finding a publisher." There you go.

Hadley listened to what this woman was saying, but for a second it didn't make sense. Publishing? Propaganda? HUUHH!? But then it clicked. Hadley blinked once, realised her question had been misinterpreted, then started again. "Yes, I understand all that. I'm not looking at being published BY the ministry, it was more a question of uh… research. My ultimate goal of my book is to help people in understanding the creatures I work with, but I was more asking about the ministry supporting workers who wanted to do an independent research project." You know, the book would be her finishing goal, but she couldn't support her research 100% by herself. Field trips, bringing in spirits to speak with, researching in and out of work… that sort of thing.

Oh had he hit a button already? See now this was more like his style of work. Getting to the point and showing the truth, which seeing her rub the bridge of her nose was showing she couldn't handle leadership. Turning his focus on the man that had been speaking he nodded, the man was taking a more vague stance, but a stance that wasn't so one sided. "And how would you go about finding and putting all that into place Mr. Kingsley?" He'd like to hear more about that.

Ms. Carter was now putting her foot in her mouth again and all he could do was grin. Still as calm and cool as ever he moved a bit closer to the candidates. "That she is, but I am also the Ministry Liaison for the Daily Prophet, so I get my information not just from my wife and unfortunately I think your memory has failed you on a few things. It's okay though, because mine hasn't. I'm sure you will remember soon that you were mistaken at the last event and my wife had told you and my colleague had placed in her article about the event, that the Quidditch event, that you keep pushing to speak about was not funded by the ministry really at all. It was done by donations and sponsors. The event was held at one of the teams stadiums and the players were not paid extra to be there. So when you keep trying to throw that event as your big reason, you need to get some facts straight." If she was going to blow steam she needed to make sure to do her homework first. "Also, you keep saying it's the teams business to do this type of stuff, yet the department is the teams. They organize them, document and run the matches, form the tryouts, file the regulations, work with the world cup, and this is all under the ministry. So professional quidditch is in all actuality the ministry. Without the department doing all of this including holding events for the pubic, there wouldn't really be a department, which would be a loss of jobs and I'm sure that isn't what you are trying for now is it Ms. Carter or is there something else you have against Quidditch itself that makes you keep bringing up the event as such a bad thing for the ministry?" He so enjoyed pushing the buttons and seeing how a person would react.

"Now you have brought up a very good point about the specialty department, but from my understanding in my meetings I've had with the ministry the department itself hasn't been closed. There are still a full staff in that department. What changed was their department head had resigned and the position was just not filled. One position not an entire department. The department is just under different department heads." So not really accurate saying an entire department was closed because no money, when that department was still very much there.

"All we keep hearing is what you will cut, but what else will you do to help with the budget? What if you get in there and find out that many of the departments aren't using a lot of the funds and are going with other ways to afford these events, will you still try to make them stop doing them, then what would you do to help the budget?"

Then there was another person there asking about books and research and he just smiled and laughed inwardly as she again made herself out to not be very employee friendly. He'd comment on that, but the lady had spoke up again, so he didn't need to.

He stood listening to the responses back and forth in particular from Roxanne. He'd gotten along with her fairly well when she had become department head but over time she had become quite a character, and her time in France hadn't exactly softened her all that much. Her opinion of the ministry spending in some ways might be true but for instance in his department after the chizpurfle infestation, they had raised funds to readd to the level and done what they could to save as much as possible. He had questions that kept coming to mind but so far he was just listening to the proceedings his hand on his chin balanced on his other arm across his chest, thinking and listening.

Alicia glanced at the Hungarian news correspondent and gave him a quick smile. She would have spoken up but before she could, Roxanne had begun speaking. Oh Roxanne that sounded so boring Alicia kept smiling though and nodded at the parts that she agreed with….which lets face it those were hard to come by.

“Mister De La Cristo brings up a good point,” Alicia smiled, “as well as what Mr. Kingley has said,” she nodded. “In my own humble opinion I believe that having events that benefit the public interest of the Wizarding Community will further benefit the ministry greatly.” Alicia girnned and looked happily toward Mr. Toth, turning then toward Miss Willowgrass and again smiling.

“Miss Willowgrass I believe that is a great question,” Alica smiled, “I believe that we the wizarding community need to help further our education standards and one way that we can do that is by funding independent projects.” Alicia looked around at everyone trying to make eye contact. “With these independent projects we can even branch out and have some be donation based projects, and these donations can be collected through various ministry events or by mail-in donations through the Daily Prophet and other news sources as well as in store donations. I myself am planning on cutting the cost to most deparments coffee and ‘treats’ funds by supplying coffee and to all of the departments that ask for it” she smiled and nodded.

This was going well…right?

Blue eyes raised when someone approached them and asked how to resolve the current budget issues. That was a good question. She listened as other people answered and waited her turn politely. Her eyebrows shot up at Carter's answer and an amused smile appeared when the reporter who was married to the woman she'd assaulted at the mixer spoke up and shot her to the ground.

When she finally got her chance to speak, Becca spoke deliberately. "I believe that a Minister should think of the many people who will benefit from an event. If there is a lot of revenue being brought in to the surrounding businesses and they are shown to make a profit, then the Ministry should keep running events like that as long as we're not making a huge loss. We need to make up for that in other areas. I do agree with Mr. Kingsley though, and to gain new revenue, I would suggest hosting more events and maybe asking those who attend to donate some money whilst there. Fundraising events that are not a strain on the Ministry would be a way to raise money. Departments have already done their best to minimise costs after the infestation that the Ministry had forced them out and it would be unwise to ask them to cut anything else since they're already stripped to their bare essentials. Money cannot be taken from nowhere and another of my plans would be to reduce the salary of the Minister. If the employees and public are not benefitting, then why should the Minister be? In short, if the economy isn't thriving, then the Minister themselves shouldn't be either."

When a woman from Creatures approached and asked a question, she nodded to show she was listening. "Ms. Willowgrass, I would assume you're already in the Spirits division?" Obviously if she'd chosen that subject. "I suppose I'd just do my best to get the Ministry to give you the ability to do your research in the safest way because it will eventually benefit us when your book is written. I do agree that you'd have to find a publisher to print it, but once it was printed, I'd make sure to have a copy of the book in the department. I myself have used books other people have written to fix problems that have arisen and they're indescribably useful." Was that clear? "I would just give you the necessary tools and time to research because you're still effectively doing your job, you're just writing things down for your own research at the same time."

She paused to look over at Tanner mentioning the coffee and treats budget. Most people didn't get that. They brought their own in from home. Surely she knew this? Deciding to speak up about that, Becca glanced at the people she knew were from the Ministry. "I know that when I worked in the Ministry, I brought my own drinks and teabags. The only thing the Ministry is required to give is clean, running water. You can boil that to make tea or coffee and most people do bring their own in because it's what they're accustomed to and find that generic beverages are not as nice."

Having written some for the Prophet, as well as spent some time in Basil's office, he was familiar enough with De La Garza and his approach to journalism. It wasn't particularly to his taste, but he could appreciate the man's provocative style even if it was very different to his own. Nevertheless, he nodded a greeting at the reporter.

Attention on Ms. Carter, Tibor toon steady notes on his pad, his eyes never leaving the subject. It was an interesting view she had to share at the least, "And where would you direct the Ministries funds, Ms. Carter?" he asked, though he had barely gotten the words out before De La Garza indeed stepped in to dissect the woman's statement.


He was perfectly at his leisure just listening in to their banter - De La Garza making a number of valid points that Carter didn't seem to navigate very well. Was the pressure getting to her? Perhaps.

...

Mr. Kingsley's and Ms. Tanner's views were also noted on his pad, which was accompanied by him flipping page, after page, after page as he was filling them.

"With regard to the allocation of funding and the like, which areas do you believe require more development, and as a result which areas do you anticipate would be impacted by such changes under your administration?" And the question directed to either of the candidates.

"Well, I'm sorry for misunderstanding you then, Ms. Willowgrass," Roxanne started with a kind smile. "If elected, then I would not object to opening up all needed and available resources to you or any employee that wished to take on such a project. I believe that research such as yours is a very important part of advancing our society as a whole." And it was, she dared anyone to disagree with her.



Yeah, Roxanne wasn't even listening to him anymore now. Okay, maybe she was, but he was just digging himself a hole. "No, it is you that keeps bringing the conversion back around to your wife's department's event. I also mentioned both the orientation party that the Ministry throws every year, which since you know everything, you know is thrown by the Minister's Office and the magic carpet symposium, which was thrown by the Transportation Department. I appreciate that you are trying to support your wife, but maybe you shouldn't do it at the expense of your journalistic integrity." And that was all she was going to say on the topic. If he wanted to continue to attack her, he would get his questions ignored.

Finally, he was moving on. To another topic that was a thorn in her side with this Ministry. "I appreciate you correcting my misinformation on this topic. Perhaps the Minister should be more upfront about this type of thing in the future, no?" Or maybe the Ministry Liaison should actually be doing his job instead thinking of ways to 'get' her. "But surely the fact that a department has to be split up between other departments is still a cause for concern?" In her eyes, it was most definitely.

"If that is, in fact, the case," which she highly doubted, but okay, "then I will ask them to relinquish those extra funds in order to help another department that is in desperate need of the money.

Another thing that I believe would help is if more people started eating in the Ministry's Food Court, something that I welcome employees to come forward about if they have something they wish to see there. Also, supporting research such as Ms. Willowgrass'."

[SIZE=1][B]OOC: Seriously, please cut it out, it's getting ridiculous.[/FONT]



No, the pressure was in fact not getting to her, it was how much that De La Garza sucked as a journalist and a human being. But if that's what people wanted to believe.... "A another good question. I would direct the Ministry's funds towards more worthwhile projects, such as projects like Ms. Willowgrass', as well as better training for all departments and their employees in things such as self-defense." Because government officials really needed to be able to defend themselves.

The woman was stubborn, as was De La Garza... it made things interesting to say the least. Perhaps he could offer a scrap of gossip to Kerese after all.

"Mmhhmm..." Tibor nodded, noting down the candidates response. Self defence training for all departments... interesting... "And how would these projects benefit the wizarding community? Bearing in mind that only a proportion of the wizarding public actually hold positions within the Ministry." And was this to be done anticipating attacks on the institution?

Hearing someone else talk his eyes turned to Mrs. Yenorin and listened to what she had to say. A little more impressed with her words then the last time he had seen her, that was good that she was finally taking her stance and talking about the things that needed done, not just asking what people wanted. He jotted a few things down. "Tell me Mrs. Yenorin, what steps would you take to find out which things were making money and which were not? Plus what plans do you have to make the ministry successful and making money instead of losing?" There had to be a game plan with all these candidates, he would think.

His eyes turned back to Ms. Carter and he just grinned, he was the one bringing up. Well he had come to listen and the first thing he heard was her bringing up Quidditch yet again after she was fully corrected last time, but whatever she knew she was wrong whether she admitted it fully or not. "My job's integrity is quite fine." He glanced at his quill as it continued to write. Pointing to correct a few things, then his focus went back to the woman speaking. "That is something that we all can agree on, communication I hope is on the top of all your agenda's along with the budget." He had heard many times about communication being an issue and his own experiences of trying to get info was a struggle at times. "Depends on the importance of the department. Do you believe all departments are equal or if one department is not a big spending/earning department that they don't need as much attention or could go with smaller budgets, such as not a direct department head?"

He tilted his head with her answer on the other departments, especially the part that if a department was finding their own ways to fund an event she'd take that funding from them, but decided to just write it down and let the public decide how they feel about that. What really was an interest was how the food court was going to help the budget. "What steps would you take to bring money into the ministry? You say the food court, but do you feel that would bring in more and how would you go about having employees eat there?" He glanced at his quill once more to make sure it was getting all that was needed.

"Yes, I was getting to that. Currently, the British wizarding public is being served by a set of Aurors who are young, rash, inexperienced and badly trained. With funds freed up, the Ministry would be able to attract more experienced Aurors to watch over the people, catch the bad guys instead getting cursed by them and help train the current Aurors." Hopefully, anyway. If it wasn't too late. Which Roxanne kinda thought it was.

Somehow, she doubted that very much. Especially if this was the way he acted in the office. But at last, he had agreed with her on something. Roxanne couldn't help the little breath of relief she'd let out, though one would have to be paying way too close attention to her to see it. "I do believe that all departments are important in the overall scheme of things. But, I also believe that some departments need to have a little more money, and let's face it, TLC to be as useful to the community as they could be. But all departments need a direct department head in order to be successful and to make sure the employees of every department are focusing their efforts and attention where it needs to be. So no, I won't be doing away with anymore department heads." If that's what he was getting at.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot that not everyone knew that it costs galleons to eat in the Ministry Food Court. Well, it does and I think if we could attract more employees and their children, if they utilize the child care center, to eat there and maybe open it up to visitors as well, then it would be a way to ease the Ministry's budget troubles. So, I welcome ideas from the public on how to make the food court more attractive."

When she was mentioned by name, Becca looked over at the journalist (Bazinga) and finally spoke again after listening to all of the other answers from other people. In her opinion, Carter really needed a time out. "Well, I would look at the expenses. If we break even on an event and it brings revenue to the local area, that is a successful event. If we gain a little more money from an event, that's even better. I believe that some events should have a cover charge for them, but if a cover charge is not appropriate, then we charge for food and drink or find another way to think up ways for people to spend their money and get something in return." Now making the ministry successful? "To make the Ministry even a tiny bit more successful would help. I suggest things like using our already employed, already trained people to handle things that are in their job description instead of having to call people in if something goes wrong. That is an unnecessary expense and if we have already capable people, why should we not trust them to do their jobs?" she asked, looking at the man. "By talking to each of our employees individually and finding out their skills, abilities and willingness to share that with us, I think we can find someone to help out just about everywhere. People have skills outside of their jobs and if they are willing to share their knowledge with us, it can only make us stronger as a whole." Delegation was delightful.