Finance Report March 2011

Jay Martin reviewed a new way of tracking giving and forecasting income by week, based on results from the previous three years. This gives a great improvement in precision which will make our work significantly easier. Thanks to Jeff Childs for suggesting the software and to Jay Martin for implementing it. Based on this analysis, through the first week in March, giving is about $5.5k ahead of where it needs to be to meet our $367.5k General Fund budget by year-end.

A review of the General Fund budget through February shows that giving is $59.5k in 2011 vs. $56.2k in 2010, while expenses are $65.4k in 2011 vs. $63.7k in 2010. Apportionments have been paid in full during this period. A major variance is insurance on our properties. The conference is looking into this.

The Staff Parish Relations committee made several recommendations to the Finance Committee:

Our new Pastor will receive $4.9k in increased compensation during the remainder of 2011, compared with the current Pastor. The SPRC recommends that this increase be approved, along with support for his moving expenses, which are estimated to be between $3k and $10k. In addition the SPRC recommends that our current Associate Pastor be offered a half-time position starting in May and a contribution toward health insurance. This change will cost about $8.7k more than currently budgeted. The total of these recommended changes is likely to be at least $16.6k in additional costs through the remainder of 2011.

There was a thorough discussion the need for these changes and the significant financial impact they are likely to have on the 2011 budget. The Finance Committee recognizes that our General Fund budget is likely to be unbalanced by these recommendations. These obligations to Larry Baird and Nate Lange will likely require expenses to be reduced to balance the budget during the course of 2011. With this caveat, the Finance Committee recommends that Nate Lange be offered a half-time position effective May 1st

The Finance Committee also thanks Reverend Jeff Childs for all his efforts in support of the Committee and the congregation during his tenure. Without all his tireless work, we would not be in the position we are today.