Finance Council Meeting

Church of the Resurrection

September 26, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were: Dennis Bodziony, Nancy Brown, Joe Domiano, Fr. Mark Hobson, Catherine Mazanec, Norm Perney and Bob Sorin.

Review of August Financial Statements

Dennis Bodziony reviewed the financial results for the first two months of this fiscal year. While offertory collections are up 5.6% compared with last year, operating expenses are 16.7% higher than last year. Timing issues contribute to some of the expense increase. As of August 31, our operating cash was low, at $14,800. The cash balance in the building fund was $180,400. We may need to borrow from the capital account to pay operating expenses.

Our long-term debt is coming down. We reduced our principal by $50,000 in the two months ending August 31, bringing long-term debt from $1.852 million to $1.802 million. The capital campaign is almost completed.

Progress Report

For fiscal year 2008, all major contributions which are not designated by the donor will be split with 60% going to operations and 40% to debt reduction. We need to compare debt contributions with debt requirements on a periodic basis. We will put a monthly note in the Bulletin providing information on debt reduction and operating results compared to goals.

Given the operating shortfall, Christmas and Easter collections will be fully dedicated to operations. Hopefully, over the long-term, one-half of these collections can be put aside for debt or other requirements.

The recent expenditure for the parking lot resurfacing and drainage, portion relating to the drainage problem ($8,700), is a capital expenditure and payment will come from the building account. The portion applicable to resurfacing (roughly $6,000) will come out of the operating fund.

The debt reserve fund includes $40,000 as a general maintenance reserve which was set aside for the painting of the exterior of the parish center. There has been no strong push to initiate this project. The $40,000 will be kept available to cover future unknown needs.

Off balance sheet stock holdings total $74,000. Additionally, the debt reserve fund is at $239,000, or 15 months of debt service. A motion was made and approved to pay $5,000 more in principal payment per month until the debt service reserve balance reaches $200,000. Thus far, additional principal payments have taken 49 months off our debt term. The fixed rate on our long-term debt is 5.9%, and interest income on our investments is 4.9%.

St. Jude’s Land and Buildings

The St. Jude’s property is for sale. Current asking price is $5 million. If the property were eventually sold for $3 million, as an example, the Diocese would recover approximately $1 million and Resurrection would receive the balance. If we were to receive $2 million, we could pay off our debt and have additional funds for other worthy purposes.

The committee agreed to hold off on a new debt reduction campaign because of the potential sale of St. Jude’s. Such a campaign will be tabled for a year, after which we will review the financial situation and determine whether a debt reduction campaign is needed.

Financial Statements for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2007

• Financial Report for Parishioners

An overview of preliminary financial results was included in the Parish Bulletin. The financial statement for the year ended June 30, 2007 should now be included in the Parish Bulletin. Fr. Mark Hobson indicated that Parish Council should see the financial before they are published in the Bulletin. The next Financial Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 17th, and the financials will be published the following weekend.

• Report to the Diocese

The committee reviewed the annual report to the Diocese. Information in this report estimates our parishioners at 3,200, with 1,236 families. Dennis Bodziony confirmed that all accounts are included in our report to the Diocese, and that there is full disclosure, including off balance sheet accounts.

Mass Stipends

Although some parishes charge $10 to have a Mass said, this is not our policy; we do not charge for Masses. We do, however, receive payment from some parishioners for Masses. This money goes into our poor fund (the Charity and Justice Fund).

Reimbursement for Gas and other Driving Expenses

Currently, Fr. Mark has a credit card that he uses to pay for gas, and this is charged in as an expenses. This process will be changed. In future, Fr. Mark (and the other parish team members) will be reimbursed for business mileage at the rate of 44 ½ cents a mile, or approximately $44 for every 100 miles driven. Mileage reimbursement will be tied to the IRS rate.

Retirement Benefits

There was some discussion about the level of retirement benefits a long-term parish employee would receive after many years of service. These retirement payments are very low, but at present, there is no viable alternative to increasing the pension, either through a 401(k) or other savings option.. This issue was tabled for the time being.

Fr. Trivison Anniversary

Fr. Trivison will be celebrating his 60th anniversary in the priesthood very soon. Fr. Mark requested $600 as a gift to Fr. Trivison on this anniversary. The committee approved this request.

Next Meeting

The meeting adjourned at 9:30. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 5 at the Parish Center.