PARISH ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE ENEWS
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Are you ready to ace Parochial Reports 101?
Louis Fuertes, Canon for Mission Finance & Operations
ECCT held a series of meetings early in 2017 to share tips about completing Parochial Reports. Several meetings were in the morning and several were in the evening to provide scheduling flexibility for both lay leaders and parish staff. There was great feedback that attendees all learned something new and that the experience was totally not awful. Many attendees said that they actually had fun. They seemed to mean it, but maybe they were just trying to be nice.
The truth is that it is not obvious how parish financials should be reported on Parochial Reports.
- There is little understanding about which revenues and expenses are “operating” and which are “non-operating”
- There is considerable misunderstanding about where respondents should get financial information needed to complete the report.
Because of confusion and misunderstanding, Parochial Reports often convey an incorrect picture of parish financials. In many cases, reporting mistakes and missed opportunities result in higher-than-necessary Common Mission Support obligations.
Parochial Reports are due on
March 1
, and no revisions to Parochial Reports can be accepted after
June 1,
when we begin budgeting for the next year. It makes sense therefore to prepare your Parochial Reports early in the year equipped with good understanding of the reporting framework.
To help you do all these things, we will again be holding four Parochial Reports 101 sessions.
- January 4 (6:00 - 7:30 p.m.)
- January 16 (10:00 - 11:30 a.m.)
- January 29 (10:00 - 11:30 a.m.)
- February 6 (6:00 - 7:30 p.m.)
These sessions work best when attendees have the opportunity to ask specific questions about their parishes, and attendees are encouraged to bring income statements and balance sheets so we can tailor our answers to the reporting frameworks parishes use. As a result, we urge you to sign up for the time slots you want by clicking on the dates above, as we can support a maximum of 15 attendees at each of these sessions.
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HR Matters
Kayla Tubolino, Human Resources
The last edition of HR Matters
described the four steps of the hiring process. Once you have selected a candidate there is an array of documents needed before the employee may begin work. Here is a guide to what you will need to provide the employee.
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The items listed below will begin the make-up of the employee’s personnel file.
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Secure Search Background:
(This search was described in the
last article
. However it is important to keep the consent form in the employee file along with the application material.)
Letter of Employment:
(Two copies: one for the employee’s record and one signed copy for the file.) Please note that a Letter of Employment is an agreement between employee and employer, not a contract guaranteeing employment. All language implying a guarantee should be removed.
Job Description:
(Two copies: one for the employee’s record and one signed copy for the file.) Job Descriptions should include job title, a brief description of the position, duties and responsibilities, qualifications needed for the job, position type (hourly vs. salaried), and expected hours of work.
State and Federal W-4 documents.
These forms identify to the parish what deductions an employee would like taken from their paycheck.
Employment Eligibility Verification Form also known as the I-9
: Remember to ask the employee to bring identification on their first day of work so that you as the employer can fill out the second page. This form should be kept in a separate file and not with the employee personnel file.
Personnel Handbook or Human Resources Manual:
(if applicable) If your parish has their own handbook please provide the new employee with these polices and it is a good idea to have them sign an acknowledgment form that they have reviewed the material. If a parish does not have a personnel handbook, it is encouraged that the employee be proved policies like paid time leave, employee behavior, social media and data privacy, and technology use.
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Paychecks related forms to provide for direct deposit:
If your parish directly deposits paychecks into employees’ accounts you would need a signed for that it is agreeable to make these deposits. These forms usually ask applicants for a voided check.
Medical, Dental, Life Benefits Enrollment Form
: (if applicable) These forms should be given to all employees who work 1,000 hours or more. The parish is not mandated to pay any portion of the benefits until an employee works 1,500 hours annually however all employees who work 1,000 hours or more annually are eligible to enroll at their own expense or a portion of their own expense given the parish policy. Contact
Matt Handi
for updated enrollment forms.
Pension Enrollment Form:
If an employee works 1,000 hours or more annually they should be enrolled in the Church Pension Group (CPG) Defined Contribution Plan. All employees under 1,000 hours may participate in an employee funded (pretax) Retirement Saving Plan (RSVP) through CPG.
Emergency Contact Form:
This is not a form that is required but it is a good form to ask employees to fill out so that in case something should happen the parish leaders know who to contact.
Safe Church Certification Form:
It is strongly encouraged that all employees participate in the Safe Church Training. ECCT asks our employees to complete the training within the first 90 days of employment.
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This list is not all encompassing but should provide an overview of the main things new employees will need to understand the expectations of their new roles in your parish.
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The Commons, ECCT offices will be closed
December 25 - January 2
The Commons will be closed during the week between Christmas & New Year's, returning on January 2.
This includes the
Mission Finance & Operations office.
Contributions and donations need to be received in the office no later than December 15 for credit in 2017. Donations for "Bishops' Fund for Children" should be mailed to
Camp Washington
or made through the
ECCT website
.
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Industry Appraisals for 2018
Industrial Appraisals has started work on performing appraisals of all parish real estate and valuable contents. IA has started work in Tolland, Middlesex, and Windham Counties and will continue to work through 2018 to ensure all parishes have been appraised.
The following parishes have had their appraisals completed:
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Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Killingworth
St. Stephen Episcopal Church, East Haddam
St. Paul Episcopal Church, Plainfield
Church of the Holy Advent, Clinton
St. Philip Episcopal Church, Putnam
Grace Episcopal Church, Stafford Springs
St. John Episcopal Church, Essex
The Middlesex Cluster Ministry, Higganum
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St. Paul Episcopal Church, Willimantic
Grace Episcopal Church, Old Saybrook
St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Hebron
Church of the Epiphany, Durham
St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Danielson
St. George's Episcopal Church, Bolton
St. Mary's by the Sea, Old Saybrook
Christ Episcopal Church, Middle Haddam
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Please contact
Matt Handi
at 203-639-3501, x107 with any questions
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Church Insurance Resources:
Church Insurance, which is part of Church Pension Group, has a collection of risk management resources (booklets, brochures, workbooks, posters, etc.) on their website
here
. They also have a free eNewsletter, The Good Steward, with news, tips, and advice on protecting church property and people. Back issues and signup on
this page
.
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Members of the Insurance Board and the Finance and Operations team met with representatives from Willis Towers Watson, the ECCT's insurance broker, this past Tuesday, December 5.
Willis Towers Watson communicated that we should expect to see a 2 to 3 percent increase in premium for 2018. While this cost increase reflects a higher cost for property coverage, we were able to offset a greater rise in premium due to our low rate of claims reported across our plan array.
It is important to note that the size and amount of each parish’s premium increase will vary from other parishes based on variables specific to each worshiping community. Variables include such details as to the amount of property covered, the number of buildings on a specific property, flood risk, and number of employees.
Invoices listing 2018 premiums will be sent out and delivered to each covered entity by the end of the first week of January.
Please contact
Matt Handi
at The Commons if you have any questions about this or require any further information.
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2016 Audit Compliance
During the process of identifying and acknowledging parishes (for Annual Convention) that have fulfilled their administrative and financial practices within the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, the financial offices at The Commons noted that some parishes have not submitted their 2016 audit or that some parishes had a financial review when they should have had an actual audit.
Parishes with total revenues exceeding $500k are canonically required* to have an audit performed by a Certified Public Accountant. These financial statements are useful tools for ECCT and they also provide your church leadership with suggestions for improving the accuracy of parish reporting.
An audit from a licensed CPA can help reduce the risk of financial losses to your parish.
The financial office at The Commons appreciates the hard work of those who keep parish finance offices running smoothly, however we are governed by and depend on the oversight that an annual audit provides.
At this time, hopefully a CPA has already been engaged by parishes that are not in compliance and that a 2016 audit will be submitted to us before December 31, 2017.
* Canon IV 2D – “Business Methods in Church Affairs”
*Note: Beginning at next year’s 2018 Annual Convention, parishes that had a financial review who should have had an audit (Total revenues exceed $500K) will not be recognized as ‘in good standing’.
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Mandated Changes for Clergy Compensation in 2018
- Diocesan Convention voted a 1.95% cost of living increase for clergy.
- Please note that the minimum salary rises annually for each year of ordination up to twenty years. This year that incremental increase is $764 for full-time clergy. It is recommended that the increase take effect January 1 rather than be tied to date of ordination to the diaconate.
- Remember to file a “change in compensation” form with CPG so that pensions are billed correctly. These forms are available through cpg.org
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Increase in Supply Clergy Rate
The Mission Council has approved the following rates for supply clergy for 2018:
- One service $200
- Two services $250
- One eight-hour day $350
Supply clergy are also reimbursed for travel at the IRS standard mileage rate for business, available on the IRS website.
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Reminders
- Vestries must pass the “parsonage allowance” resolution for their clergy for 2018 BEFORE January 1, 2018. See page 13 of the 2018 Treasurers’ Newsletter for suggested language. This is for the part of the clergy’s cash compensation set aside for IRS purposes, separate from any cash housing allowance that is paid. It does not affect the total amount paid by the church to the clergy, and vestries may not dispute the amount in the resolution. Clergy should then retain a copy of the vestry minutes that note the passage of this resolution for their tax records.
- Any DOWNWARD changes made to clergy compensation require a new Letter of Agreement, and thus the approval of the Canon for Mission Leadership and a bishop.
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Ongoing Parish/worshiping community surveys
Thank you to everyone who has completed their "summer project" from ECCT - the parish/worshiping community surveys. (And a reminder and advance thank you to those still working on them!)
ECCT published a special eNewsletter (link
here
to read) and mailed out print information packets about the survey over the summer. You can also read more
here
.
We believe the information will help by documenting the ministries that are active at ECCT parishes, and identifying parish leaders. This will help you and all of us participate more fully and more collaboratively in God's mission. We encourage other parishes to join this list so they, too, can gain access to the information from participating parishes!
If you have any questions about completing the survey, please email or call our Operations Manager, Matt Handi, at 203-639-3501, ext. 107, or
mhandi@episcopalct.org
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Thank you to the following parishes and worshiping communities:
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St. Luke’s, Darien; Trinity, Brooklyn; Christ & Holy Trinity, Westport; St. Paul’s, Southington;
St. Michael’s, Naugatuck; Grace, Windsor; St. Luke’s, South Glastonbury; Emmanuel, Killingworth;
St. James’, Glastonbury; St. John’s, Waterbury; Christ Church, Redding; St. John’s, Essex;
St. Paul & St. James, New Haven; St. John’s, North Haven; Christ Church, Sharon;
Church of the Good Shepherd, Orange; St. Stephen’s, Ridgefield; St. Stephen’s, East Haddam;
St. Mary’s, Manchester; St. John’s, East Windsor; Holy Trinity, Enfield; St. James’, Farmington;
St. James’, Poquetanuck; St. David’s, Gales Ferry; St. James’s, West Hartford; Christ Church, Ansonia;
St. Peter’s, South Windsor; St. James’, Danbury; Christ Church, Greenwich; Christ Church, Bethany;
Grace Church, Yantic; St. Andrew’s, Madison; St. Mark’s, Mystic; St. Paul’s, Fairfield;
St. John’s, West Hartford; Grace Church, Broad Brook; St. Paul's on the Green, Norwalk;
St. Paul's, Brookfield; St. Peter's, Monroe; St. Peter's, Hebron; Church of the Good Shepherd, Hartford;
Church of the Epiphany, Southbury; Trinity, Portland; St James' New London; All Saints, Wolcott;
Christ Church, Easton; St Ann's, Old Lyme; St. Alban's, Simsbury; St. Thomas', Bethel;
Grace, Stafford Spring; St. Mark's, Storrs; Old St. Andrew's, Bloomfield; Trinity, Trumbull;
St. Mark's, Bridgewater; Christ Church, Middle Haddam; St James', Higganum; Trinity, Hartford;
St James', West Hartford; St. Timothy, Fairfield; St. Alban's, Danielson; St. John's, New Milford;
Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford; Grace Church, Hartford; St. James;, Farmington; St. John's, New Milford; St. Mark's, Bridgewater; Trinity, Newtown
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Bishops' upcoming 2017-2018 visitation schedule
December 17
- Ahrens: St. Michael's, Litchfield; Douglas: St. Saviour's, Old Greenwich
January 7
- Douglas: St. Peter's, Oxford
January 14
- Ahrens: St. James', Preston; Douglas: St. Francis', Stamford
January 21
- Ahrens: St. Stephen's, Ridgefield
January 28
- Douglas: St. Andrew's, Madison
February 4
- Ahrens: Christ Church, Sharon; Douglas: St. John's, Waterbury
February 11
- Ahrens: St. James', Farmington; Douglas: Christ Church, New Haven
February 18
- Ahrens: St. Paul's, Woodbury; Douglas: St. Peter's, South Windsor
February 25
- Ahrens: St. Mark's, Bridgeport
March 11
- Ahrens: St. James', Danbury; Douglas: Church of the Epiphany, Southbury
March 18
- Ahrens: Trinity, Milton; Douglas: Chrurch of the Holy Spirit, West Haven
March 25
- Ahrens: Trinity, Hartford; Douglas: St. Barnabas', Greenwich
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Parish admins invited to join a listserve
Want to chat with colleagues about ACS vs PowerChurch? Offer tips on more successful mail merges? Get suggestions on names for a new campaign?
Alison Hollo
, Senior Administrator for the Office of the Episcopate, invites parish administrators to forward her their names and email addresses to be added to an ECCT listserve for parish admins.
As a member of Bishops' Executive Secretaries Together (B+E+S+T), Alison has participated in their listserve and wants to make the same opportunity available for parish admins in ECCT.
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2018 Treasurers' Newsletter can be found
here
:
Included: Clergy compensation, Insurance, Lay Pension, Church Records, Supply Clergy, Tax and other IRS information, and other management operations.
2017 Treasurers' Newsletter can be found
here
.
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The next issue of the Parish Admin & Finance eNewsletter will be published mid-February
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