Meeting Date
01-15-2019
Attendees
Pastor Dennis Schmidt, Diane Bursey, Karissa Bursey, Tina Crawn, Larry Holihan, Connie Kersten, Pam Massaro, Jim Johnson, Tom Klinger & Marion Larson
Absent
Chris Russell
Time, Opening, Devotions, Minutes
Call to Order – 6:33pm
Devotion by Larry Holihan – Devotion by Larry Holihan: What can we do when we put aside our differences to help others that really need us?
Minutes of Previous Meeting – No questions or concerns
Treasurer Report
The month of December 2018 ended with a surplus of over $17,000 in the General Fund. This was primarily due to two generous contributions. The total income in the General Fund was over $42,000 for the month. We ended the year with $40,369.55 in the account. For the year we took in $14,729.04 more income than we spent in the General Fund.
The building mortgage ended the year with a balance of $229,628.38 still owed. We had $35,680.72 in the building fund at the end of the year (we plan to make a principal payment of $20,000 this month to further reduce the mortgage.) We will be adding additional emphasis this year to try to eliminate or significantly reduce the mortgage by the end of this year. An additional amount of slightly over $10,000 for supplemental work on the restoration project was received from Guide One insurance; the entire amount was forwarded to the contractor for work performed.
Our commitment to the Florida/Bahamas Synod was fulfilled, and all known bills were paid by the end of the year. No previous monies due were carried into the new year.
The Raymond James fund was performing ok until December when the stock Market took a big hit. Our Investment fund lost a value of $6,425.35 with most of the loss occurring in December. Our Raymond James Scholarship fund lost a value of $14,80.18, again most of the loss in December. $8,000 was transferred to our Designated Scholarship fund in August and several scholarships were paid.
The Audio/Visual installation costs have been fully paid and were very close to the estimates given to the congregation at the special meeting when the project was approved.
The outdoor lighting installation of LED bulbs was completed in January. Some additional ground lights and other lights are being converted to LED. Over $5,200 was received in donations for this project. A final financial accounting will be presented when all bills are paid, but the expenses were well below the contributions.
Note that there were many renovations/improvements during the church year: new cross, audio/visual system, paraments, rear tables and chairs, parking lot lighting, etc. I am pleased to report that all of these items were paid for by designated funds given by the congregation, and no monies were expended from the General Fund for these items.
The Finance Committee has been meeting periodically (latest meeting on January 13) and the 2019 Proposed Budget is almost complete, and financials are being prepared for the annual Congregational Meeting.
Pam Brosonski will be auditing the 2018 financials.
The conversion of financials to ChurchTrac is complete and working well. The Custodian and Bookkeeper are added/converted to part time employees beginning on January 1, 2019. The conversion to the new Mainstreet Bank account is working well. We have reduced bank charges significantly from the previous BB&T bank.
My sincere thanks to Tina Crawn for assuming the duties of bookkeeper. She has performed a miracle in getting our books in shape and correcting numerous problems discovered throughout the year. My thanks also to Pam Brosonski for serving on the Finance Committee and performing our annual audit.
Recommendations/Action – In 2019 we will be reviewing the latest ELCA financial guidelines and insuring our procedures and policies are up to date and in compliance with these guidelines.
Pastor Report
Member visits – 11, New Member visits – 8, Hospital Visitations – 2, Nursing Home/Hospice Visitations – 2, Private Communions – 8, Crisis Interventions – 4, Meetings – 6, Consultations – 8, Worship Services – 11, Adult Bible Study – 1, Official Pastoral Acts – Welcomed 12 new members into our church family on 1/13/2018, Special Events: Synodical Mtg. w/YAGM on 1/10
Committee Reports
Property Committee Report – Nothing to report
Worship & Music – Nothing to report
Finance Committee – Meeting date: 1/13/19; Attendees-Pam Brosonski, Tina Crawn &
Larry Holihan
Items Discussed – Contents of Financial Report to be presented at Congregational Meeting was discussed. Treasurer’s report will include pertinent financial expenditures for the year and the ending status of Funds. Reports will include: Balance Sheet, Income and Expense of each fund, and Proposed Budget for 2019
Recommendations/Action – New contracts need to be signed for 2019. Previous year financial details from Gizella Guba have not yet been received. These are necessary for church records. Job description for Custodian has not been prepared. Larry will submit a draft to Property Committee for their approval.
Implementation – Pam Brosonski is prepared to audit church books for 2018.
Old Business
Electric Bill: is decreasing slightly, we believe the issue is one of the AC units not working at full power. Use of church by Hispanic Congregation, Pam spoke to them, but they are looking to stay closer to the Citrus Tower area. Parking lot LED lights have all been installed on the tall lights, working on the rest of our outside lights. Electronic Sign is currently under design by Chris Russell. Budget, Larry has presented the 2019 proposed budget.
Salaries –
Music Director increase 2% per year to $14,400, Motion made by Peg, seconded by Tina passed by a 9 to 1 vote
Office Coordinator increase of 3.26% per year to $14,600, Motioned to accept by Peg, seconded by Marion, carried unanimously
Custodian moved to an hourly rate of $13.50, Motioned to accept by Peg, seconded by Marion, carried unanimously
Pastor increase of $2000 to wages, leaving housing allowance the same. Motioned to accept by Peg, seconded by Karissa, carried unanimously.
No change to organist pay
New Business
– Climate Controlled Storage Unit; Larry made a motion to research storage unit options and come back with prices or other options to February meeting, Pastor Dennis seconded, motion carried unanimously. Diane will look at prices of storage units and Peg will investigate the cost of purchasing a storage container. We believe the cost is anywhere between $2,000-$3,000 which would pay for itself in a year if we rented a storage unit at $200.00 a month. If we move in the direction of a storage container, we will need to find out if we need a permit and how we would connect to have electricity and AC. Signage – ask Chris to research the cost of hallway signs that come out 90 degrees (on metal bracket, 12”x 2”-3”) from hallway walls and an outside sign for the church office. We need to define what we consider an active church member and update ChurchTrac to designate “Active Member” or “Associate Member”
Larry found an old custodian checklist and updated to be used in 2019.
Closing, Next Meeting
Motion to adjourn by Diane at 8:40pm, seconded by Peg
Next Council meeting Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 6:30 PM
Devotions by Connie Kersten
SOTHFinancials0119.pdf