Meeting – September 8, 1915

Diocese of Rhode Island

Commission on Finance

Meeting, September, 8, 2015

Higgins Room

Present:  Robert Batchelor; Robert Bergstrand; Dennis Burton; The Rt. Rev. W Nicholas Knisely; The Rev. Erik Larsen; Michael Lofaro; Stephan Sloan; The Rev. Joyce Thorne.

Also present:  Joan DeCelles; Canon Elizabeth Fornal; The Rev. Canon Linda Grenz; The Rev. Edwin Hallenbeck.

Guests: St. Barnabas, Warwick: The Rev Jim Bocchino, Priest in Charge; Mike Marsh SW; Stan Schofield, TR.

St. Mary’s, East Providence: The Rev Alvin Marcetti, Priest in Charge; Mike Boyce, JW. Gordon Hubbard, TR.

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chair Lofaro, An opening prayer was offered by Bishop Knisely.

The minutes of the meetings of June 9, 2015 and August 11, 2015 were approved as distributed.

It was noted by the Chair that COF member Dennis Burton has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, effective September 8. He will continue as a member of the COF until Convention at which time his term expires.

Finance Report for August 31, 2015 was reviewed by Mr. Batchelor. He stated most lines are running about as expected. Funds have now been received for sale of the Charlestown land adjacent to Church of the Holy Spirit. These funds will be placed in the DIT and are available in the Revolving Loan Fund. The book value of the Cathedral of St. John has been added to the Diocese physical plant assets at $4,674,800. The Cathedral is now a Mission Parish. Several questions regarding numbers displayed in the current report were discussed and clarified. Several of these matters are being corrected as the budget for 2016 is being constructed

Apportionment Report. The only church significantly behind at this time is St, David’s, Cranston. It was agreed that Canon Grenz will be in phone follow up.

Appraisal Report for Warwick Neck property. The St. Barnabas, Warwick guests joined the meeting. Fr. Bocchino noted the merger of St. Mary’s Church with St Barnabas in 2009. The merged congregation in the St. Barnabas Church has gone smoothly. The former St. Mary’s property has three sections, all part of a single lot. The Rectory, the former Church, and, the Parish House. There is a memorial garden behind the Rectory. The Parish House has been rented to Heritage Christian Fellowship for five years. They have made an offer to purchase the Parish House, parking lot and old church. There was a lengthy discussion of how best to proceed with negotiations for the sale, keeping the Rectory and Memorial Garden in St Barnabas name. No formal actions were taken, and the St. Barnabas guests found the conversation very helpful.

Revolving Loan Request. St. Mary’s guests joined the meeting. Fr. Marcetti reviewed recent changes at the church, including a thorough cleanup of the Rectory, now rented to the Jonathan Daniels Internship program and an upgrade and cleanup of the Parish Hall. The Loan request includes completing the Parish Hall project and a number of other projects. Discussion revealed that several of these projects, a Handicap Access ramp and Handicap Bathroom facility can be paid for with a Diocesan Grant, details to be worked out with Canon Grenz. The guests left the meeting.

No action was taken on the request pending specific determination of what can be included in the Diocesan grant request. It was agreed to consider both matters at the October meeting.

Policies—Major Gifts Policy. Discussion deferred to October.

            — Policy for Transferring and Bookkeeping of DIT Funds. A statement dated 6/11/2015 for this process was distributed by Mr, Batchelor. Following brief discussion it was Moved, Seconded And VOTED that the Policy & Bookkeeping procedure – Transfer of Funds between Diocese & Diocesan Owned Funds is the official policy for all such matters from this time forward.

Fire Code Status in Churches. A summary chart was distributed stating the responses to five (5) questions. There are still a number of churches who have not responded to our request that they review their status under the new fire code. This can be a very serious matter as any church not in conformance can be closed for public use by the local Fire Marshall. Follow ups will be made to non-responding churches.

St, John the Evangelist, Newport, Mudrak Fund Request. A revised Request for Mudrak Funds to upgrade their sound system for hearing assistance was distributed. This request conforms to the guidelines for the Mudrak Fund. Following discussion it was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to allocate $9,967.90 from the Mudrak Fund to St. John the Evangelist, Newport for the purpose of upgrading their sound system for hearing assistance.

Episcopal Charities Estate Gift. Copy of letter from Citizens Bank acting as Executor of the estate of Beatrice C. Minkins stated that $10,000 had been designated to Episcopal Charities for general use. A check for this amount was received on 6/11/15.

St. Dunstan’s School of Sacred Music. A determination letter dated August 19, 2015 has been received from the IRS terminating St. Dunstan’s status as private foundation. It has been reclassified as a 509(a)(3) public charity, tax exempt under 501(c)(3). This places these funds under the jurisdiction of the Diocese. Mr, Batchelor stated that hopefully this matter is resolved.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:02 P.M.

Respectfully submitted

Edwin F Hallenbeck, Secretary                                  Next Meeting: October 13, 2015

Meeting — August 11, 2015

Diocese of Rhode Island

Commission on Finance

Meeting, August 11, 2015

Higgins Room

Present:  Robert Batchelor; Robert Bergstrand; Dennis Burton; Michael Lofaro; Stephan Sloan; The Rev. Joyce Thorne.

Also present:  Joan DeCelles; The Rev. Canon Linda Grenz; The Rev. Edwin Hallenbeck.

Guests: Church of the Redeemer, Providence: The Rev. Patrick Campbell, Rector; Ed Bailey, JW; William Trimble, Treasurer.

The meeting was called to order at 12:05 p.m. by Chair Lofaro. An opening prayer was given by Canon Grenz.

1. Revolving Loan Request. A Request for a Revolving Loan from Church of the Redeemer, Providence for $50,000 for the purpose of installing phase one of a heating system conversion from oil to gas was presented for discussion, note guests present. A detailed plan was reviewed, noting that the gas conversion will be undertaken, with one boiler replaced at this time. The church facilities will be changed to zones, enabling heat to be available only where needed. The second boiler will be replaced in phase two. It is planned that the conversion will be completed before the heating season begins. There was a lengthy discussion with a number of questions answered. The guests left the meeting.

      Following review of the proposed loan, it was Moved, Seconded and VOTED , to approve a Revolving Loan of $50,000 to Church of the Redeemer, Providence at 2.25%, less 0.75% (with DIT Fund pledge), net rate of 1.5%, for five years, subject to approval of the Standing Committee.

2. Application for Grant. Canon Grenz distributed an Application for a State Preservation Grant to be submitted to the RI Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission on behalf of the Cathedral of St. John. Project cost for currently planned renovations is $358,767. The application is for $150,000. It was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to concur with the Application and authorize Canon Grenz to sign and forward it for consideration.

3. Draft Conflict of Interest Policy. Mr. Batchelor distributed a draft policy statement and asked that it be reviewed with care and considered at the September meeting.

4. Draft Reporting of Financial, Auditing & Governance Improprieties Policy. Mr. Batchelor distributed a draft policy statement and asked that it be reviewed with care and considered at the September meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Edwin F. Hallenbeck, Secretary

Minutes — June 9, 2015

Diocese of Rhode Island

Commission on Finance

Meeting, June 9, 2015 

Higgins Room

Present: Robert Batchelor; Robert Bergstrand; Dennis Burton; The Rt. Rev. Nicholas Knisely; The Rev. Eric Larsen; Michael Lofaro; Stephan Sloan; The Rev. Joyce Thorne. 
Also Present: Joan DeCelles; Canon Elizabeth Fornal; The Rev. Canon Linda Grenz; The Rev. Edwin Hallenbeck.
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chair Lofaro. An Opening prayer was offered by Canon Grenz.
The Minutes of the meeting of May 12, 2015 were approved as distributed.
The Finance Report for May was reviewed by Bob Batchelor. There are no unusual variances other than the matters of timing which are expected to level out by year end. The 2014 Audit Report is complete and in preparation in final form. There are no substantive issues. Following review by the Audit committee it will be available to the COF.
Apportionment Aging Report. Payments are improving. Reviewing this report over several months is useful in observing trend lines, especially when the following Report is also considered.
2014 Investment Draw Over 5% of Market Value Report. Ms. DeCelles distributed this newly prepared report showing 20 churches at 5% draw or higher. It was noted there are a variety of unique situations in some churches that cause distortions in the figures. As noted, the above data from the two reports begins to identify church situations that need to be looked at with care.
Major Gifts Policy. Questions from last month’s discussion are still pending. It was agreed that Mr. Sloan will work with the Bishop in assisting review by the Chancellor. The matter is continued to the next COF meeting.
Policy and Procedure for Transferring DIT Funds. Mr. Batchelor noted that such changes are frequent during the year. Past practice has been to note changes as they occur with booking adjustments at year-end. The Auditor has suggested that the year-end adjustments be a formal procedure by COF. Following additional discussion it was agreed that the Treasurer write up the current informal practice so that it may be approved as an ongoing policy from this point forward, and bring it to the next COF meeting.
Developing a Forecasting Process. Mr. Burton suggested creating a three year view based on current trends. Especially important is looking at revenue trends, where investment income and church apportionment income have good trend line data. Very

important is to begin looking at possible additional revenue sources. First task is to identify questions needing to be answered. Following discussion it was Moved, Seconded and Voted to designate a Sub-Committee of Mr. Burton; Mr. Batchelor, Rev Peter Tierney, Bishop Knisely and Canon Grenz to begin studying and setting forth how this Forecasting Process can be implemented and carried out. The Sub-Committee is asked to periodically report its progress to the COF.
Fire Code and Churches. Mr. Bergstrand reported on what is happening. Following the Station Fire in 2003. State of Rhode Island substantially revised the fire code, leaving inspections and interpretation to City and Town inspectors. This has resulted in substantial variations. Churches were postponed for 10 years to 2014. Some recent inspections at St. Mark’s, Warwick, and St. John’s, Newport have significant deficiencies. It is agreed that the Diocese needs a uniform way to address this issue for churches facing a significant upgrade cost to meet code requirements. Several ideas were discussed, following which it was agreed to gather data from all churches regarding when was their last inspectionand last upgrade took place and do they face any deficiencies? This will be undertaken by staff and reported to the next COF meeting.
Revolving Loan, possible request. Canon Grenz reported a recent conversation with the Rector of Church of the Redeemer, Providence, indicating a preliminary plan for replacing and upgrading the furnace system. Also included is a significant repainting project. No formal request is available at this time. It was agreed that if a full proposal is received in a timely manner the COF will consider it in July either at a special meeting or by Conference Call.
DIT Investment Committee Overview. Mr. Burton distributed a written Report of his participation on the June 8, 2014 Investment Committee meeting. The report was discussed at length. It was noted that Mr. Burton’s visit was welcomed, the Committee has felt somewhat disconnected from the Diocese and is enthusiastic about the COF interest. It was suggested several next steps are needed. 1. Careful review of the guidelines statement. 2. Periodic abbreviated statements of DIT status should be available to COF and Diocesan Council. 3. We need to help churches to better understand the DIT and what it does for them, or could do for non-members. The Bishop noted that the RI- DIT is consistent with such funds in other Dioceses.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
Edwin F Hallenbeck Secretary
Next Meeting: September 8, 2015
Special meeting in July, on call of the Chair, if needed.