Meeting — October 10, 2017

Diocese of Rhode Island

Commission on Finance

Meeting, October 10, 2017

St. Luke’s Church, East Greenwich, RI

Present: Robert Batchelor; Sarosh Fenn; The Rt. Rev. Nicholas Knisely; Michael Lofaro; Stephan Sloan; The Rev. Peter Tierney.

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

Guests: Church of the Ascension, Cranston: The Rev. Michael Coburn, Rector; Susan Wright, Senior Warden; Richard Burlingame, Treasurer.

Church of St. John the Evangelist, Newport: The Rev. Nathan Humphrey, Rector; Christopher Moe, Budget Chair.

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Chair Lofaro. An opening prayer was offered by Bishop Knisely.

The Minutes of the meeting of September 12, 2017 were approved as distributed, with one abstention by a member who was not present at the meeting.

2018 Budget. The complete draft budget was distributed and reviewed by Program and Budget Chair Fr. Tierney. Major changes are dropping the Canon for Program, Canon Fornal is moving from current role to part time Director of Episcopal Charities on a consultant basis, and eliminating the Development Office personnel and replacing staff with consultants as needed. It was noted that the proposed reduction in apportionment from 16.5% to 15,5% will reduce apportionment income by about $108,000. Extensive analysis of projected parish apportionment income indicates current estimates are reasonably accurate for the next two years. Later years will require further study. The budget plan is that reducing apportionment will strengthen parish finances. Following additional discussion, it was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to approve and recommend the 2018 Diocesan Budget to Diocesan Council for further consideration.

CFO Report. Three matters were reported:

• Canon Grenz outlined issues at Sts. Peter and Andrew, Providence, now a mission church functioning under Diocesan jurisdiction. There is no plan in place to address current concerns or working toward the future. The Church owns three houses that have been rented as apartments. Issues in the buildings has resulted in nonpayment of rent by occupants. Review of building conditions, including a building engineer indicate serious deterioration to the point where they should no longer be occupied. Tenants are in the process of vacating. City tax, insurance and utility bills are accruing and need to be paid with no rental income. The Vicar is retiring with no income for a replacement. It is a difficult situation that will be considered as a new start-up. Use of Reserve Funds will be needed to cover existing needs. It was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to recommend to Diocesan Council that the Diocesan Reserve Fund be allocated to pay for City taxes, insurance and utility costs at Sts. Peter and Andrew Church, Providence, specific amounts to be determined.

• Mr. Burton reported that there are three firm bids for the Mobile Station land at 389 Elmwood Ave. Negotiation is in process to complete the sale in the near future. Details of the conditions of sale are complicated by several factors, they should be resolved soon.

• The ECC Solar Farm project development continues. National Grid has confirmed its power grid can accept the anticipated power generated. The acreage is available. Financial analysis is underway. An alternate hydroponic farm option is also being considered. There is an option to consider selling electricity directly, making ECC electricity available to churches at a discount price.

Church of the Ascension, Revolving Loan Application. Guests from the church joined the meeting. A completed application was received for review requesting a loan of $50,000 for five years. Fr. Coburn and Mr. Burlingame reviewed the church proposal and recent history evolving as a bilingual church including dual participation on the Vestry. With little maintenance and no improvements an upgrade to the heating system is essential. A much smaller upgrade of the boiler for the attached rectory was completed recently, which is now rented. The main boiler for the church will be converted to gas and replaced. Income from a small capital campaign over the life of the loan will enable repayment. Several questions were answered. The guests were thanked and left the meeting. Following discussion, it was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to approve a loan of $50,000 at 2.5%, including a .75% reduction for pledged DIT funds, over five years, and forward the action to the Standing Committee for further consideration.

            .

Apportionment Aging Report. At September 30, 11 churches were one or two months behind and not viewed as a problem. Five churches are three or more months behind and need to be watched with care. Two churches are significantly behind and viewed as unlikely to complete payments for 2017.

Church of St. John the Evangelist, Newport, Revolving Loan Request. Guests from the church joined the meeting.  A completed application was received for review requesting a loan of $150,000 for five years. Fr. Humphrey outlined the loan request projects, including work on several aging buildings and landscape revisions to provide accessibility. An objective is to complete all projects soon rather than continuing to expend $30,000+ per year, use that money to repay the loan. The proposed work has several projects, some clearer than others. The churches financial structure and plan was not clear and a number of questions were raised with some unanswered. There was a lengthy discussion. The guests were thanked and left the meeting. Following additional discussion, it was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to defer action on the request until November and to request responses to financial questions raised and ask the church Treasurer to be present at the next meeting.

Holy Trinity Church, Tiverton, Revolving Loan Request, cont. See discussion on September 12, 2017 Minutes. A smaller loan of $30,000 has been discussed, however no written material has been received changing the request or describing any change in the scope of the project. It was agreed to defer further discussion to November and request any changes in writing.

Finance Report. Mr. Batchelor briefly reviewed the September 30 Report, noting that there are no major matters outside budget expectations. The Analysis of Variance sheet distributed by Mr. Burton notes a number of accounts where number do differ from budget. As of 9/30 the net is an under expenditure of about $227,000.

Resolution of Thanks. Bishop Knisely Moved: Very special thanks to Chair Michael Lofaro for his service as Chair of the Commission for the past four years. During that time the work of the Commission has proceeded with increasing strength and diligence, attention to detail, calling upon the wisdom and experience of Commission members and Diocesan staff. His work is deeply appreciated and will be missed as his term expires at Convention. A rising vote of thanks was extended by all.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Edwin F Hallenbeck

Secretary

Next meeting: November 14, 2017. 5:00 p.m.