Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church
Unitarian Universalist
BOARD OF TRUSTEES BUDGET MEETINGS
April 23, 2012 and April 30, 2012
In attendance 4/23: Ian Sole, Doug Webbink, Don Landis, Dan Grogan, Jen Lucas, George Jones, Donna Baker, Jean Shepard, Bob Kiefer, Amy Wissekerke, Erik Wikstrom, Heather Garrett
Guests: Burnie Davis (chair of Finance Committee)
In attendance 4/30: Jen Lucas, Amy Wissekerke, Donna Baker, Don Landis, Doug Webbink, Erik Wikstrom, Dan Grogan, Ian Sole, George Jones, Paul Fritz, Bob Kiefer
Guests: Burnie Davis (chair of Finance Committee)
Budget Deliberations:
Process: We decided to begin with income, then move to programs (not personnel related), and then to closed session portions regarding personnel. The main priorities were mentioned again: fairness and support of our existing staff, implementing staffing changes to better support the congregation and existing staff, and making sure our buildings and IT are properly cared for. An additional concern was to make sure more money was also allocated to programming and outreach, as the pledge drive suggested.
Income discussion: Donna expressed that she fully supports Doug’s ambition to create a balanced budget, and to only use fundraising as a way to increase the amount of income if a credible plan is established. Jean asked about the ethics of counting on endowment income (for the Abrahamse Fund and the Bristol Fund) for use instead of allowing them to grow.
Jen expressed that we could expect more plate cash this year. Now that we have an excellent, settled minister, more people come to church and donate plate cash when they come. Bob pointed out that pledge shrinkage this year was much more ($27,000 vs. $10,000) than what was budgeted, and that we should perhaps be more conservative about our pledge income. It was suggested that we use the actual pledge number ($442K) instead of hoping that more pledges will come in (they have slowed significantly since the pledge drive ended). In the end, though, the pledge income amount of $445K was considered a responsible, reasonably accurate estimate.
Programs:
Judging from spending this year, there are some line-items that could be deleted, as follows:
0 for Covenant Groups - none was spent this year
0 for Volunteer Awards - there’s only the Connie Cheetham award, and the cost is just the plaque engraving and postage - this can be rolled into the Board discretionary fund, which is mainly used for awards and gifts to staff.
Music: Amy spoke in favor of keeping the music numbers the same even though not much has been spent this year. This year has been a bit of a blip, with money saved due to Scott’s acclimation as Acting Director of Music, but this is not justification for cutting money for next year. Now that Scott will be a 12 month-employee he will be planning more music requiring professional musicians, ordering music, etc., and will be more likely to use those funds in order to provide for the types of things the congregation has asked for from our music program (outside musicians, coordination of a children’s choir, and so on).
Religious Education: Based on the money spent this year, a tentative amount of $6500 was suggested for RE. Some were against this due to Leia’s scrupulous budgeting and the importance of investing in our children and youth. This suggestion could only move forward if Leia felt it was appropriate and she approved of the number. In the end, the amount for RE was kept at $8,000 as Leia originally requested. Factors influencing this decision were discussion with Leia, consideration of the importance of our children and youth, the desire of the Board to support changes to the O.W.L. program as more training is needed, and our commitment to funding programming based on the pledge drive.
Green Sanctuary: There was previously a line-item for Green Sanctuary (GS) as we were moving toward UUA recognition. Green Sanctuary has now become a part of the Social Action Council. It does not make sense to keep a separate line-item for GS when they are no longer a separate task force and their charge has been fulfilled. Bob spoke to the important work of integrating Green Sanctuary building improvements and maintenance work into Buildings. He felt the money should be put into Buildings, as the work of the GS committee actually has influenced the way we do things, from buying windows to repairs and maintenance. In this case, the line-item funds for GS are actually more appropriate to put into Maintenance and Buildings rather as kept in a separate line-item. In addition, the money previously allocated to GS can be moved to Social Action Council (SAC), which will be increased as well. To show our dedication to our 7th principle, what used to be considered GS funds will be moved to maintenance/buildings and the SAC amount will be increased. The GS line-item will be deleted.
Bob suggested, in the future, that capital improvements and maintenance should be combined.
Facilities Planning: A discussion was held about using endowment funds to pay for a one-time cost analysis (probably between $1,000 and $2,000) in order to move forward with the Facilities Plan. With regard to our staffing priorities, there simply isn’t enough money this year to fund this analysis with our operating budget. At the same time, with all the work the Facilities Task Force has done and our rapidly growing congregation and facilities issues it is important to maintain forward momentum. In addition, as a one-time cost, it may not be appropriate to consider it an operating budget expense. It was argued that this is precisely the kind of expense endowment funds are meant to cover, Burnie suggested putting a line-item in the budget with $1 to show the commitment to planning, and then work with Finance and the Endowment Committee in the fall to justify the expense and garner the funding. George mentioned that the Endowment Committee is hoping to move to be more in charge of investments, while the Board of Trustees are the actual trustees of the endowment funds.
Youth/Adult ministry: An increase from $0-$500 is one way that programming is increased. Despite our lack of regular involvement in the Alliance for Interfaith Ministries, Donna spoke to keeping this number or increasing it. Erik suggested we not cut it, and it IS one of the places that we are doing outreach to the community. Bob pointed out that when Social Action collections are also counted, a significant amount of money is going out of the church for outreach. Erik encouraged us to be able to justify $5,000 in programming and outreach (based on the pledge campaign).
Burnie Davis gave input as well. He felt that the commitment to increasing funds for programs and outreach needs to be honored based on the pledge drive promises, and that justifying money spent on administrative staff as an increase in programming was disingenuous. Others pointed out that staff members have particularly asked for administrative support in order to be free to use their time more effectively for programming. Erik made the point that personnel IS programming, as our personnel makes our programming. He said it depends on how the budget is framed - one could make the argument, from a programming perspective, that paying the electricity is paying for programming. Bob suggested that the Board needs to be very clear about the interrelatedness of personnel and programming.
Outreach:
The idea of using a portion of any surplus to fund additional outreach to the community was raised and endorsed by the Board. It was questioned whether the SAC was the best place to put that money. Paul asked that we invite the SAC to tell us where they could use money for additional outreach, and lifted up that our Building Reserves need replenishing, especially when we have future building needs. Burnie pointed out that even if we do not know specifically how extra outreach money might be used, expansion of our existing commitments to the Food Pantry and PACEM would be effective ways to use this outreach money. Many Board members agreed.
Staffing:
Donna asked what the duties of a secretary would be. There are many administrative tasks with which Leia, Robyn and Scott have said they need or could use help. It was also asked if there was any desire to have a full-time ministerial intern, but Bob pointed out that an intern requires more of the minister’s time in supervision. When asked, Erik stated that he felt he would rather see the Director of Business (DOB) position be given more hours than the Secretary position. It was pointed out that it is easier to recruit volunteers and train them to perform secretarial tasks (copying, etc) than it is to find people who can manage IT or buildings, which is what we have been doing.
Burnie talked about merit pay for staff. Finance Committee recommended against merit pay for staff since it appears we can’t afford it. He suggested that a bonus be used instead of adding to the base salary
At both budget meeting dates, a motion was made to go into closed session to discuss personnel matters and the budget. These motions were seconded and unanimously approved.
Closed session outcomes:
4/23/12: The Board decided to make the pension contribution 10% of salary across all positions, in order to be consistent, save money, and follow UUA guidelines. Some staff members were receiving 10%, some 12% and some none. Also for the sake of consistency, the Board planned to offer pension contributions to all personnel working 20 or more hours per week as they are over the 1,000 hours per year threshold.
4/30/12: Erik will be given a 2% cost of living increase. The DOB position will be funded at 75% (30 hours a week) and Secretary to 50% (20 hours a week). To reflect that we will have additional staff, an increase to the Board’s gift fund, back to $550, was made. Leia was given a merit pay and cost-of-living increase. All other employees were given a cost of living increase as well.
It was moved that we return to open session and unanimously approved.
It was moved that the budget be accepted. The budget was unanimously approved.
Next steps:
The intention to direct some funds from any possible surplus to additional community outreach should be shared with the congregation.
Jen will speak to personnel. Carole needs to get the budget and other items by Monday in order to send it out in time for the congregational meeting. Someone needs to present the budget, as Doug will not be available, and neither will Bob (as future treasurer-elect).
A congregational conversation about the budget needs to happen the Sunday before the meeting (5/13) for folks to have the opportunity to ask questions. This should happen after both services.
Amy still needs to write up a presentation about the term limits discussions. Of note: the staffing changes are also sustainable for next year.
Addendum: (added after meeting)
While these minutes accurately reflect what was said as a Board at the two meetings, Bob Kiefer and Ian Sole, at the request of the Board, thoroughly checked the numbers after these meetings. In doing so they recognized a few minor corrections and adjustments that needed to be made. These included giving the CA a 2% increase similar to that of the DRE to compensate for the reduction in pension contribution. To cover this the Board discretionary fund was reduced back to $400.
