Hmm, I guess we have a bit of a misunderstanding here, now I'm not sure myself. Here's what the grading guide says:
The second thing to check on the CS is the ledger. If a season-end has passed after they started, make sure their living expenses have been deducted. If it has not, politely PM the PC and ask them to make the change. Do not award any grades until this change has been made.
Before you start to grade, it is vital that you read the CS of the person or persons you are grading for. Make sure the CS is up to date. If it is not, you cannot grade, so send them a polite message that they can't be graded until their CS is corrected.
I always thought the "after they started" part was referring to the PC, not the thread in question. Also, it says the CS should be up to date. Surely that includes their ledger? I know grades were awarded to PCs with outdated CSs before, but those exceptions happened mainly because the list of outstanding grades was just too long (as far as I remember, eg. in Syliras).
As for quests.
Yes please! Haha. I love quests and I love it if they're related to city-wide plots! I'd really enjoy an opportunity to influence Lhavit (politics, but that's just me) as a whole. The Gilded Truths thread is moving slowly, but obviously that's not your fault. Since there aren't many PCs in Lhavit at the moment, I think personalized quests would be a great idea, with just one or two PCs per thread - guess that'd depend on your workload as an ST? If you say that's too much work, I'd totally understand that.
Also, this is OOC and people might disagree, but I think it's a great idea if the ST posts in a quest thread, say, every Saturday or every other Saturday etc. It keeps the thread moving and I know I would be more motivated to post on time. Ideally, threads are finished more quickly and the outcome can be plot fodder for the next season (or maybe more realistically, the one after that).
And I better finish my ramblings here, that's what came to mind.
In fact I've been meaning to PM you with a thread idea I've been thinking about for a while... some personal character development. I should probably do that.