On May 23, Church Council held a meeting. Here is a summary of that meeting:
Jeff Norwood, Treasurer, reported on both first quarter and April. First quarter gifts of $234,099 were received. Expenses for first quarter totaled $196,273, resulting in net income of $37,826. Jeff compared giving in 1st quarter 2020 with 1st quarter 2021. First quarter giving for 2020 was $250,135 (approximately $16,000 more than 2021). Expenses for that period were also higher at $220,571(approximately $24,000 more). This is to be expected since things had not slowed down yet in 2020. Now that activities are picking up again, we will experience an increase in our expenses.
April gifts totaled $74,237 with expenses of $65,805 (net income $8,432). May giving is looking encouraging so far. Total current cash balance is $583,054, less restricted cash of $100,116 leaves cash available for operations of $482,938. The mortgage balance is at $1,118,407 and progress is being made in paying down the principal.
Marti Wayland, Finance Committee Chair, reported several items to note. We received notice on Friday, May 21st from First Horizon that the PPP loan has been granted full forgiveness. This loan kept us “out of the red” this past year. Greg and Marti thanked Tracey Thornton, Allison Evans, and the finance team for their hard work in this process. Greg explained that since our loan was under $150,000, the requirements were less rigorous, yet still challenging. Greg and other Council members thanked Marti for taking the lead in this process and spending countless hours ensuring everything was taken care of properly.
Marti shared that we are seeing an increase in credit card fees for those who give to the church via credit card (rather than debit card or direct withdrawal). Currently, there is not an option to allow the donor to pay the credit card processing fee as is typical for many non-profit organizations. However, the Finance Committee is investigating options to make this possible. Allison Maynard added that 32 families give using credit cards and 34 give using bank withdrawal.
Marti also reported that the audit is in the last phases. She hopes for an initial report by the end of the week. The audit process has been much easier this year, and the Committee is pleased with Henderson, Hutcherson, and McCullough (HHM) and proposes that we continue our relationship with them. Marti praised Allison Evans for her excellent work as our “internal CPA” and for being the liaison between the church and HHM.
Paul Jensen, Trusted Leadership Chair, provided an update on the remaining policies and procedures for designated funds. Memorial and Music policies and procedures have been revised, approved, and in place. There are a couple of minor revisions remaining to make to the Memorial and Music policies to be consistent with what is proposed for the Outreach Fund (managed by Missions) and the Building Fund (managed by Trustees). This request is for approval for the Outreach Fund and Building Fund and in addition, the creation of one universal request form for all designated funds rather than one for each.
One highlighted change to the policies is that language related to budgeting restrictions is removed. Since expenditures must be approval by Church Council, no budget tracking is required. However, we elected to leave the question about whether it is a budgeted item on the form, with the expectation that most items will not be budget items. In the past, if it was not a budgeted item, the process stopped and could not go farther. The modified language will allow all items (budgeted and non budgeted) to continue through the approval process. Another notable addition to the form is asking for the balance of the designated fund and inquiring if an approved request has already been made, but not spent. Church Council approved the new policies and revisions to the past policies as well as the universal form.
Jeff Kelle, Endowment Committee Chair, gave a brief history of the Endowment Fund. He explained that this fund was dormant and inactive for several years has been “rebooted.” This Fund is an estate planning tool where the corpus will be retained, and earnings can be spent. Donors can give through the Holston Foundation or Signal Crest. The Holston Foundation assists with planned giving and the related documents. The program is slow in developing but will provide a legacy giving tool for those wanting to make Signal Crest part of their estate plan. Investment and disbursement policies are already in place by Holston Foundation. Expenditure decisions are still made by Church Council.
Lee Ann Adams, Stewardship Chair, reported that the Stewardship Committee met twice since our last Church Council meeting (April 29 and May 18). Campaign dates are set for November 7, 14, and 21. The theme is “Forward Together” and the scripture basis is Hebrews 12:1-2. The Committee is working on communications, mailings, and videos.
Penny Selman, Staff Parish Relations Committee Chair, reported that the Committee is actively trying to fill Allan Ledford’s position of Director of Music. Three candidates applied and they are now in the interview stage.
There will be two celebration receptions for Allan: June 20th at 10 am during the Sunday School hour and June 27th after the 11 am service.
We are currently holding on hiring a receptionist and kitchen coordinator. Volunteers are filling the receptionist position so far, and that is going well.
Dick Emrath, Trustees Committee Chair, provided an update on the roof, Crest cross, sign, and background checks.
As previously discussed, we have many leaks in our aging roofs. Fred Wildman found someone to repair the damaged sections, which will give us time to prepare for a larger investment. Fred reported that labor and supply costs are up and both are in limited supply. The Sanctuary roof is not leaking yet but is old. The estimated cost to replace the Sanctuary roof is $250,000. The flat roof areas are leaking and must be repaired. The contractor estimated $200,000 to replace the flat roof. The estimated cost to repair/replace the leaking sections is $70,000. Making necessary repairs now and delaying full replacement of the roof will allow time to plan financially, as well as allow the market to adjust to more realistic pricing and supply. Fred can get supplies at no cost so our only expense would be labor costs. The Trustees Committee will continue exploring options for funding. Josh reported that annual building repairs of approximately $19,000 are budgeted and would offset some of this cost.
We are moving forward with building a cross for the Crest Center. The Crest Design Team is reengaged and involved in this project. Another member has volunteered to paint back and sides of the stage black. Both projects will happen together with no cost to Signal Crest.
The new Signal Crest wooden sign is up and looks great. It is very sturdy, rust proof, and will last a long time. A big thank you to all involved in making the new sign and installing it.
The Trustees presented a proposal to background check all of our Youth and Children volunteers and have agreed to fund these background checks at a cost of $20 per person. Rebekah Ducote reported that background checks have been done in the past for many of the volunteers, but we may have some gaps. We will use Holston Conference as a guide for best practices and to help answer questions such as how frequently a background check should be repeated. Church Council approved this proposal.
Rachel Dow, Director of Children’s Ministries, reported that 12-14 children have registered for VBS so far. VBS is July 12-15 and registration may found here. She is also looking for volunteers so if you are interested in assisting, please contact Rachel at Children@signalcrestumc.org
Doranne Lane, Missions Team Chair, reported that Mustard Tree meals are resuming in July and we will be sending 50 buckets to Zimbabwe.
Our next Church Council meeting will be June 27 at 7 pm.
In Partnership,
Greg Cullum
Chair, Church Council
