Minutes — June 14, 2016

Diocese of Rhode Island

Commission on Finance

Meeting, June 14, 2016

St. Luke’s Church, East Greenwich

Present:  Robert Batchelor; Sarosh Fenn; The Rev. Erik Larsen; Michael Lofaro; Stephan Sloan; David Terry.

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

Guests: All Saints’ Church, Pontiac: The Rev. Philip Devens, Rector; Fred Liddle, Senior Warden; Bruce MacNeil, Junior Warden; Meredith MarcAurele, Treasurer.

The meeting was called to order at 5:02 p.m.by Chair Lofaro. An opening prayer was offered by The Rev. Erik Larsen.

The Minutes of the meeting of May 10, 2016 were approved as distributed.

Finance Report was reviewed by Mr. Batchelor. He noted that the Balance sheet still has not been updated to the 2015 year end number which should be done soon. Income receipts are as anticipated with some timing variations. Expenditures show no significant differences from budget.

Apportionment Aging Report. The only Church significantly behind is St. George’s, Central Falls.

Church of the Redeemer. An application for a Fire Safety grant was considered. Only one bid was available at the time the application was submitted, for $27,625. Additional bids are being requested. The Vestry is considering a line of credit with Thrivent. No firm plan is yet in place. It was noted this is a church that is financially stretched thin. It is suggested that a COF member meet and review possible alternatives, Mr. Terry will do so. Following discussion it was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to allocate up to $10,000 for a Fire Safety grant awaiting additional bids and Vestry action.

CFO Report. Mr. Burton reported on progress with two projects. A) Financial Forecasting. He referred to two documents: First, an analysis of all budget lines, useful for reference. Second, analysis of Income Statement Variances, showing by category where variances occurred in the first four months of 2016, and what the cumulative effect of these is. This provides the opportunity to either explain the variations or plan for appropriate changes.

B) ECC Strategic Planning, especially looking at the financial implications. He asked that this be placed on the agenda for September for a broad consideration.

All Saints’ Church, Pontiac. The guests joined the meeting. An application for a Fire Safety grant and an application for a Revolving Loan were considered. The current low bid is $20,742. Two additional bids are needed. This project is essential for continued use of the church. There was an extended discussion of how All Saints’ endowment funds might be used to secure a loan or for payment of the balance of the cost. There was no firm conclusion with additional research needed. It was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to allocate a Fire Safety grant of up to $10,000 awaiting additional bid;. and further to give preliminary approval for a Revolving Loan for the balance of the project cost awaiting final confirmation of costs and the unavailability of alternate sources of funding. The guests left the meeting.

Endowment Funds at Churches. Following the above discussion the COF agreed that  it is important to review and consider the status of endowment funds belonging to churches. Some are held in the DIT and some managed independently. Of special importance is their status as Restricted or Unrestricted for use and by whom the restriction was made. Mr Lofaro agreed during the summer to take time to begin a review of the status of all churches endowments, especially restricted v unrestricted. It was noted that the COF is responsible for the integrity of such information on behalf of the Diocese. This is important, among other reasons, for pledging endowment funds for loan security, which must be unrestricted.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Edwin F Hallenbeck

Secretary

Next meeting: September 13, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. St. Luke’s, East Greenwich

Or at the call of the Chair, if necessary.