Attendees: Fr. Rob Howe, Patrick Regier, Pam Gandy, Andy Pasztor, Joe Dostal, Dennis Thiel, Judy Gross, Kathy Fothergill
Reported by: Fothergill
Opening Comments:
Pat announced his upcoming retirement and Fr. Rob said there are two candidates applying for Patrick’s job. Fr. Rob also announced that the playground has been transferred to the city, which is in talks with playground designers. We received some grants that reduced our outlay for transitioning the playground to the city. Separately, the Diocese has set a high assessment for this year’s Christ Mission Appeal.
Financial Results as of April 30, 2024: Net Assets for the current fiscal year (which began July 1) increased by $220K as YTD total revenue exceeded expenses. Higher Weekend Collections far exceeded our expenses. Total expenses were down versus Budget, primarily due to lower employee-related expenses. We have filled the Maintenance worker position. We also filled the high school Youth Coordinator position by expanding Melissa Kato’s role (she currently works with RCIA and Young Adult programs). Lay ministers will take over working with Baptisms. YTD Weekend Collections through April were higher than Budget by $35K. Christian Service balance for the current year to date reflects claims for emergency assistance.
2024 – 2025 Budget Assumptions:
We will use the current year budget as the basis for planning the upcoming fiscal year budget.
- Weekend Collections – flat vs. Current Budget; lower than Current FY Estimate
- Other Income – reduce by $4K, due to higher interest income
- Salaries – Merit and COLA increase of 7%, partially offset by filling Faith Formation position internally; Effective July 1, Clergy salary and benefits will be paid by Diocese. Parish will be recharged a flat amount per quarter. Total charge is $67.8K
- Medical Benefits – increase 9% (Michigan Catholic Conference guideline)
- Non-Medical including Dental – small change from current year
- Christ Mission Appeal payment of $45K has been built into the Budget
Patrick reviewed details of the upcoming budget. Compared with Current Year Budget, Proposed Budget assumes Weekend Collections flat with Current Year Budget and Interest Income slightly higher than last year. Excluding Major Expenditures, Total Expenses for the Proposed Budget are roughly in line with Current Year Budget. Major Expenditures for the Proposed Budget are expected to be significantly lower than Current Year Budget, which includes expenses related to the playground replacement project. The timing of the playground transition may shift the final Current Year Budget and Proposed Budget.
The Proposed Budget proposal was unanimously accepted by the Council members.
Facilities Update:
In April, we purchased new audio equipment for the church, which will be installed in June. The new technology will be Bluetooth compatible. We have finalized the playground donation / replacement agreement with the City on May 4. We received $22K in donations from the community to offset a portion of the cost of that donation. The City will send us conceptual designs of the new playground structures.
Roundtable:
An Internal Control Review was conducted by the Diocese and an outside CPA firm (Marner CPA) on
May 7. The review is routine, and reviews are being done across all parishes. The reviewers spent a day with Pat Lautner (bookkeeper) and Patrick on reviewing invoices and reviewing procedures. We will get a report after a follow-up meeting on May 21, which Pam, Fr. Rob and Patrick will attend. When issued, the report will be shared with the Finance Council.
Andy made two suggestions for minor interior changes in the church. He noted that the area near the font is relatively dark, and could benefit from improved lighting. Also, he suggested that the collection baskets be raised higher so parishioners don’t have to bend over to add their contributions.
There will be a joint meeting of the Pastoral Council and the Finance Council on June 12th @ 6:30 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 7:45p.m.