Diocese of Rhode Island
Commission on Finance
Minutes, January 11, 2011
Higgins Room
Present: Robert Batchelor; Robert Bergstrand; The Rev. Dcn. Edwin Hallenbeck; The Rev. John Pallard; The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf.
Also present: Canon Ty Creason; Canon Elizabeth Fornal; Ronald Turnbull.
The meeting was called to order by acting Chair Bergstrand at 10:10 am.
Bishop Wolf offered an opening prayer.
The Minutes of the meeting of December 14, 2010 were approved as distributed.
The Treasurer’s Report through December 31, 2010 was presented by Mr. Batchelor, noting that while this carries a year end date, it does not represent final end of year numbers, and should be regarded as an in process document. Apportionment receipts were strong with total 2010 receipts through this meeting date at 97% of the amounts pledged for the year, see below. The $96,513 apportionment budget surplus listed will change. It is significant that the Diocese carries no debt. It is hoped that final figures will be available for the February COF meeting. It was agreed to receive the report and place it on file.
Apportionment Report. Mr. Turnbull distributed the report as of today stating this is the lowest outstanding number of parishes and dollars due within recent memory. There are five (5) months of apportionment funds due from 3 parishes, a year ago there were 50 months due from 14 parishes. The Bishop stated she would send a letter to all parishes thanking them for their cooperation in a difficult year.
| # | Months in Arr | Parish / Location | Comments | |
| 2009 | 2010 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Spec | St. Michael’s, Bristol | Negotiation in process |
| 36 | 0 | 1 | St. Matthew’s, Jamestown | |
| 67 | 1 | 1 | St. John’s, Providence | |
| 78 | 4 | 3 | St. Mark’s, Riverside | E. Fornal following up |
| 85 | 12 | — | St. Mark’s, Warren | Closed, due at property sale |
The two parishes due one month usually pay with a month lag. The COF views this as an outstanding effort and expresses our appreciation to all.
Old Business. St. Michael’s, Bristol. An update on conversation with this parish was not possible due to the absence of Mr. Nicholson from the meeting. He is requested to report next month.
New Business: Issues regarding missing parish reports.
• St. John the Evangelist, Newport. A meeting has been difficult to schedule, several dates are under consideration.
• St. Mary’s, Portsmouth. Some data has been faxed, no written reports as yet.
• St. Mark’s, Riverside. Some reports in, but incomplete.• Holy Trinity, Tiverton. Mr. Batchelor is in touch and working on it.
Update on St. Mark’s, Warren property sale. It was agreed to request a third appraisal, which not been undertaken at this time.
2015 Task Force for Strategic Needs and Planning. The 2010 Convention created the 2015 Task Force, not yet convened, calls for one member from the Commission on Finance. Following discussion it was agreed that The Rev. John Pallard would represent the COF.
Transparency in Finances Resolution, adopted by the 2010 Convention requires all Commissions to provide summaries of meetings posted to the diocesan website. Deacon Hallenbeck suggested that COF minutes be posted. It was agreed to post minutes for each meeting after the following meeting has approved them, with the reservation of redacting portions to protect privacy matters as appropriate. The Secretary will be responsible for providing the postings.
Cathedral Close Project. The Bishop stated that funds are available and a proposal accepted to undertake the Feasibility Study for the Cathedral Close Property. It should be ready to go in the near future. The Cathedral staff has been working on securing better financial and planning data to aid in considering options looking forward as related to the parish role in the Cathedral Close project.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 am.
Respectfully submitted
Edwin F Hallenbeck, Secretary
Next Meeting: February 8, 2011 at 10:00 am.
