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SOTH Council Monthly Committee Report

Committee Name

Treasurer

Report Date

02-16-2020

Items Discussed

January expenses in the General Fund exceeded income by about 4K.
Please note that Synod Contributions ($709) is considerably below our average contribution last year of $1000 in a month where income should be considerably above average.

Income in the general fund for January was about 9K below budget, and expenses were about 5k below budget.

There was no meeting of the Finance Committee this month.

Recommendations/Action

As this is my last Treasurer’s report, I am making a few recommendations which I think the council should consider this year:
1. Moving the cell tower income back into the general fund, as the Capital Fund now has enough funds to pay for new air conditioners, as well as maintaining a substantial residual for major building repairs.
2. Council needs to decide the future of the Building Fund and Capital Funds — continue, eliminate, combine, etc.?
3. Watch the new policy of contributing 5 be on income from the general fund or from all income?
4. Note that a contribution of $1,000 deposited in the IT Designated fund is to be used to offset increased costs of the color copier.
5. Monthly income in the general fund has been trending lower. Much of this will be offset by no building fund expenses; however, this trend should be monitored carefully. A large contribution has been received in April the past few years; hopefully, this will occur again this year as the contribution is about 25% of total yearly income.

Implementation

I have updated the recipients of this report to members of the new council. New members, please confirm to me that you have received this report so I can validate that I have used correct email addresses.
pdf icon SOTHfinancials0120.pdf
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SOTH Council Monthly Committee Report

Committee Name

Worship and Music

Report Date

01-16-2020

Attendees

Pam Brosonski
Joe Foryan
Pastor Schmidt
Rita Schmidt
Marie Johnson
Larry Holihan

Items Discussed

Review of Christmas season activities: (1) Recommend conducting Lessons and Carols during Advent; hopefully, get someone other than Rita to plan worship service; (2) May need a boom to erect and take down Christmas tree; (3) move nativity scene from under altar; (4) review times of Advent services.

Lenten and Easter Schedule:
Ash Wednesday Service – Feb 26 at 11 am and 6:30 pm
Lenten midweek services moved to 11 am. Bring brown bag for lunch.
April 5 – Palm Sunday
Maundy Thursday – April 9 – candles/prayer – 6:30 pm
Good Friday – April 10 – Tenebrae Service – 6:40 pm
Easter – April 12 – Two services breakfast between services
April 19 – Pastor not here. Pastors Steve Tolander and Roy Godfrey will preside. Financial obligations need to be discussed with council.
May 3 – Pentecost – Wear red.k Encourage congregation to bring red flowers.
Move to one service for summer starting May 17.

Possibility of creating more banners, Pentecost, Lent, etc. Cost about $200/banner. Could use Memorial funds or request assistance from Virginia Circle. Rita investigating this.

Need more tables, including wooden table for funerals. Can be funded from Memorial contributions.

The committee discussed going to one service throughout the year. Various opinions on this subject. Possibility of losing members. With two services there is a constant problem with obtaining worship volunteers and low attendance at early service.

Need to order candles for Advent wreath and candlelight service.

Schedule a potluck or fellowship activity in second quarter (maybe hot dog fest?) Recommend Saturday pm for these activities.

Several issues regarding the organist attendance and other issues discussed; committee recommended bringing this issue to council.

Next meeting scheduled for Feb 20 2020 at 6:30 pm

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SOTH Council Monthly Committee Report

Committee Name

Treasurer

Report Date

01-19-2020

Items Discussed

Thanks to strong income in December, we ended the year spending about $4,000 less than our income for the year in the General Fund.

Mortgage balance at the end of the year was $164,518.05 with a reserve of $16,633 .72 in the Building Fund

Raymond Jones achieved an appreciation of $18,430.66 for the year in the investment fund.

The Raymond Jones scholarship fund showed a lower balance than at the beginning of the year, due to a withdrawal of $3,000 from the fund.

Both Raymond Jones funds continued to appreciate in December, due to the strong stock market performance.

The capital fund ended the year with a balance of $49,408 (almost $52,000 as of Jan 19, 2020).

The major building repairs fund had a balance of $14,305.12 at the end of December. Currently, the fund is appreciating about $1500 a month from receipts for the cell tower lease.

All outstanding bills were paid as of December 31, and we enter the new year with no outstanding liabilities other than our monthly mortgage payment. We enter the new year with a balance of $44,809.53 in our operating fund, an increase of about $4,500 over the beginning of the year.

The 2019 Year in Review brochure has been completed and will be distributed the week of the Congregational Meeting. The yearly Treasurer’s report has been included in the 2019 annual report.

Recommendations/Action

The council should consider taking about $20-25K from the Capital Fund toward mortgage reduction.

I have enjoyed serving as your Treasurer for the past few years. I appreciate all the cooperation I have received from members and council. My special thanks to Tina for her support and cooperation during my tenure.

December financials are attached to this report.

pdf icon financials1219.pdf
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Monthly Council Minutes December 2019

Meeting Date

12-17-2019

Attendees

Diane Bursey, Chris Russell, Larry Holihan, Karissa Schorer, Tina Crawn, Pastor Dennis Schmidt, Tom Klinger, Marian Larson, Connie Kersten & Mike Walls

Absent

Peg Massaro & Joe Montfort

Time, Opening, Devotions, Minutes

Call to Order – 6:50p
Devotion – Mike Walls – Miracles
Minutes of Previous Meeting – No questions or concerns

Treasurer Report

Expenses again exceeded income by more than $10,000.
Church mortgage balance was $169,341.12 as of December 1.
Reserve income:
Bldg Repair $14,305
Capital Fund $29,026
Bldg Fund $16,469
TOTAL $59,800
Raymond James Investment fund gained $1,731 and the Scholarship fund gained $478, as the Stock Market continued its strong performance.

New Business

Church track is no longer offering payroll services. We need to find a new system. Realm: Tina recommends this option- we get six months free with an initial installation fee. If we like this option, we can switch the general member information and financials over as well. We can do this when the ChurchTrac contract is up or we can pay ChurchTrac monthly for membership until the end of 2020. Then switch membership completely over to Realm in 2021.
Motion to move Payroll to Real made by Pastor Dennis, seconded by Karissa, carried

Closing, Next Meeting

Adjournment at 7:09 pm
Next council meeting on January 21, 2020 at 6:30
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SOTH Council Monthly Committee Report

Committee Name

Treasurer

Report Date

12-14-2019

Items Discussed

Expenses again exceeded income by more than $10,000.

Church mortgage balance was $169,341.12 as of December 1.

Reserve income:
Bldg Repair $14,305
Capital Fund $29,026
Bldg Fund $16,469
TOTAL $59,800

Raymond James Investment fund gained $1,731 and the Scholarship fund gained $478, as the Stock Market continued its strong performance.

pdf icon SOTHfinancials1119.pdf
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SOTH Council Monthly Committee Report

Committee Name

Treasurer

Report Date

11-18-2019

Items Discussed

Expenses in the General Fund exceed income by more than $10,000 in October.

Mortgage Balance as of November 1 is $ 169,341.12.

Reserves for Building/Capital Fund as of November 1:
Building Fund – $16,803.72
Major Bldg Fund $11,263.36
Capital Fund – $21,212.00
TOTAL – $49,279.08

Appreciation in the Raymond Jones Fund (due mainly to stock market appreciation):
Scholarship Fund – $ 405.27
Investment Fund – $1463.44

Outreach Contributions in October
Disaster Relief – $2,120.00
FNC $ 20.00
Change for Change $ 393.50

Implementation

Church budget for 2020 was approved at the October council meeting.
New counters are being trained for weekly offering counting.
A new computer is being purchased for counters (old one unusable).
pdf icon SOTHFinancialsOct2019.pdf
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Council Meeting Minutes – Oct 2019

Shepherd of the Hills

Minutes from October 22, 2019

Amended November 20, 2019

Attendees

Diane Bursey, Chris Russell, Tina Crawn, Pastor Dennis Schmidt, Tom Klinger, Joe Montfort, Marian Larson, and Peg Massaro

Absent

Larry Holihan, Karissa Schorer, Mike Walls, and Connie Kersten

Time, Opening, Devotions, Minutes

Call to Order – 6:30p

Devotion- Tom Klinger

Minutes of Previous Meeting – No questions or concerns

Treasurer Report

Looked over September 2019 Treasurer’s report. No questions or comments.

Pastor Report

Member visits – 7, New Member visits – 0, Prospective Member visits- 5, Hospital Visitations – 3, Nursing Home/Hospice Visitations – 4, Private Communions – 3, Crisis Interventions – 0, Meetings – 5, Consultations – 4, Worship Services – 8, Classes taught – 1, Adult Bible Study – 0, Official Pastoral Acts – Pastor Conference 10/14-10/16

Committee Reports

Property Committee Report – Contractor contacted to finish the garage ceiling. All the Christmas trees have been sorted and moved to appropriate locations. Planning the first Congregational clean up day. Reaching out to janitorial supply company to discuss options with the property committee. 

Worship & Music – No report

Old Business

Mean to Clean- improvements have been made. 

Time & Talent Survey- we will gear up again since our northern members are back. 

Electronic sign- tabled. Personnel and Policy Mission update- tabled

Cross Cleaning Update- tabled

Stewardship Update- Joe M sent out an email the beginning of the month giving members an idea of the direction we are going.

Supply Pastor request- we will secure a hotel for the Pastor on 11/16/19

Update on remodel of copy closet/ storage closet- tabled

Most tabled items were because the appropriate council member was not present to discuss.

New Business

Move Congregational Meeting to November beginning in 2020 so we can go into the new year with the new budget and new council members. Discussion was made about the issue of our northern members not being back to Florida by then. Discussion was to poll our members to see exactly what this true number is.

Changing service times- it was recommended that we return to one service as we only have a select few people at 8 am. This would give all members the opportunity to fellowship and worship together. Discussion was made that there are several church members who would not attend as this would not work them time wise. We will review this again after speaking to these members.

Council retreat- recommended that next year’s council go on a retreat together that will be partially funded by the church. This would give all members the opportunity to work and grow together. Team building and spirituality.

Budget 2020- The budget was presented by Tina Crawn for the 2020 Fiscal Year. The Finance Committee had already met previously numerous times and came to make their recommendations to the council. Overall the budget only increased slightly monetary wise. The biggest change was switching the cell tower income back to a designated fund and not into the general fund. This means contributions will need to increase to account for this transfer. The council has the authority to switch the cell tower income back to the general fund if the expenses far exceed the income. The mission support line was changed from a flat amount to a percentage of donations that come in from giving. This amount will not be reflected by designated giving, only by general fund contributions. The finance committee made a recommendation to start with a 5% giving and see how the year progresses. Joe Montfort is very certain with increased stewardship, the giving will increase as well to cover these changes. There were two line items added to the Christian Formation section. There was money added for Stewardship and for Outreach. Property increased mainly because we moved the custodial cleaning from staff to property since we have an outside vendor performing these services. The property budget has an overall increase of around $13,000 but this is because of this move. We are actually paying less for contracted custodial services than we were with in house cleaning. The staff line therefore decreased significantly to account for this change as well. The 5 staff members we have all received a small salary increase which did not move those numbers drastically. Overall the budget for 2020 had an increase of $6700.00.The overall percentage increase is 2.5%. We believe all the changes made to the 2020 Spending Plan were made being good stewards. There were no drastic changes. Joe Montfort made a motion to approve the 2020 Budget (Spending Plan). Peg Massaro seconded the motion. The motion carried and the 2020 Spending plan was approved by the council members and will be voted on at the Annual Congregational Meeting in January for final approval.

Closing, Next Meeting

Adjournment at 7:56 pm
Closed with the Lord’s Prayer
Devotion for October is Karissa Schorer
Next council meeting on November 19th at 6:30

Posted on

SOTH Council Monthly Committee Report

Committee Name

Treasurer

Report Date

10-16-2019

Items Discussed

The Church Financials for September 2019 are attached. At the bottom of the report I have attached two charts: (1) The 2018-2019 electrical costs. As you can see the cost savings from a/c and LED replacements are starting to take effect; (2) The other chart displays the 2018-2019 general fund balances at the end of each month. Of note, is that a large contribution received in the April-May time period, allows us to keep our general fund in a positive position. Otherwise, our balance would be in a negative position.

Balances in other key funds as of September 30 are as follows:
Building Fund – $16,804
Major Building Repairs – $11,262
Capital Fund Drive – $20,614
TOTAL $48,686

Church Mortgage balance as of October 1, 2019 is $172,491.

The Finance Committee met on September 26 and October 10 to formulate a 2019 budget proposal. The proposal will be presented by Tina Crawn at the October council meeting with a proposed approval date at the November council meeting.

A new computer has been purchased for counters, as the old one is no longer working. Several individuals have volunteered to act as counters and are in the process of being trained. More volunteers are still needed.

Our Raymond James investment account is valued at $110,990 at the end of September compared to $97,697 at the beginning of this year.

pdf icon SOTH-Financials-0919.pdf
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Monthly Council Minutes -September 2019

Meeting Date

09-17-2019

Attendees

Diane Bursey, Chris Russell, Larry Holihan, Karissa Schorer, Tina Crawn, Pastor Dennis Schmidt, Tom Klinger & Joe Montfort

Absent

Marian Larson, Peg Massaro, Connie Kersten, Mike Walls

Time, Opening, Devotions, Minutes

Call to Order – 6:30p
Devotion – The Lord’s Prayer
Minutes of Previous Meeting – No questions or concerns

Treasurer Report

Church Mortgage balance as of August 1, 2019 was $174,630.05.
At the end of August monies available for A/C upgrades and/or Building reduction totaled:
Bldg Fund – $18,120
Major Bldg Repairs – $ 9,868
Capital Fund – $ 2,670
TOTAL $30,658
Income in the General Fund in August was not enough to cover August expenses. However, a surplus from earlier months covered this loss.
The Altar Fund is in a negative position for the first time this year. Money from the General Fund (Worship: Florist) was used to cover this loss.
Pam Brosonski conducted an audit of the finances this month. A report will be forthcoming. One major deficiency she noted involved improper procedures in counting weekly offerings: two people are required to count funds each week, funds must be counted on church premises, and signatures affirming the deposits need to be on deposit summaries.
Raymond James figures delayed so they are not on this month’s financial report. Joe will work with Raymond James to get Tina access online to see the information herself
Implementation
The deficiencies noted above were corrected as of September 8, 2019.
A meeting to discuss the 2019 budget will be held on Thursday, September 26 at 6:30 pm at the church. Larry Holihan, Tina Crawn, Pam Brosonski, Joe Montfort, and Marie Johnson are on the budget committee. The meeting is open to council members who may want to attend.

Pastor Report

Member Visitations – 16, New Member visits – 7, Prospective Member visits – 5, Hospital Visitations – 3, Nursing Home/Rehab Visitations – 4, Private Communions – 7, Crisis Interventions – 3, Meetings – 6, Consultations – 7,
Worship Services – 6, Classes Taught – 0, Adult Bible Study – 0,
Official Pastoral Acts – Baptism of Tess Elizabeth Brodie – 9/15/2019

Committee Reports

Property Committee Report – Motion to accept proposal by Platinum Landscaping by Chris, seconded by Joe, motion carried. Garage is ready to paint

Worship & Music – Did not meet this month

Presentation by Dennis Wick and Pam Schuetz from Outreach Ministry Team
Mission Statement: Loving, caring for and peacefully serving God’s people everywhere, we will make Christ known and worship God.
Vision Statement: Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, as part of its mission and faith in serving Christ, will serve others: the less fortunate, the needy and marginalized peoples everywhere, just as Jesus set such an example for us to follow.
Upcoming Outreach Opportunities
Tour New Beginnings of Central Florida in Clermont 8/27/19 at 10:30: Completed
God’s Work, Our Hands: 9/8/19 at 9:30a: Completed
Attend 9/11 Memorial Ceremony at Clermont Arts and Recreation Center in Clermont on 9/11/19 at 10am: Completed
Participate in continuing relief efforts for the people of the Bahamas after the hurricane
Observance of Reformation Sunday at SOTH 10/27/19 during service. Brats and beer to follow
Participate in Give Kids the World’s Challenge for Hope in Kissimmee on 9/9/19 at 7am
Observance of Veteran’s Day at SOTH on 9/10/19 at 9:15am with a Cake and Coffee Reception and a Commemorative Poster of our Veterans
Participate in Stand Down at the Counseling and Development Center in Tavares 9/16/19 at 10am
Sponsor Kids for Kids for Clermont Police Department in December 2019
Participate in Breakfast with the Christmas Angels in December
Participate with the teens at the soup kitchen at the Christian Service Center in Orlando 1/5/2020
Participate in Fish Fry at SOTH in January 2020
Participate in Corn Hole Contest for charity at SOTH in February 2020
Thanksgiving Dinner here at the church: Dennis is requesting use of the kitchen this year to cook the turkey here at the church. Dennis and others will lead the planning of the dinner
Maybe do a “Just Say Thanks Dinner”?
Can Outreach become a line item in the budget? Pam can estimate possible yearly costs and submit request to the budget committee to create an Outreach line item

Old Business

Mean to clean; Joe will meet with Rudy our contact to have a discussion regarding items not being completed; i.e. replacing paper towels or toilet paper
Electronic sign and permit- Clermont affordable signs want $850 up front. Larry is going to contact them again to get a firm estimate on the entire installation before giving them any money. Time and Talent Survey (possible Sunday School teacher), Personnel and Policy Mission Team and Education Mission Team updates all tabled until October meeting
Supply pastor request for November 17 and 24; We need housing for the visitors of Food for the Poor on the 17th. Pastor Roy will do the 24th
Nominating Committee for new Council members is usually the outgoing council members
Need to replace a Treasurer, VP, and Secretary

New Business

October’s council meeting has been moved to 10/22/19. Renovation request: Door to storage room from hallway stays and we connect storage room and copy room. Door from copy room to hallway will be removed and sheet rocked. Take that door and bring it into the kitchen to install a door to the right of the stoves after removing the first section of cabinets. Then close off the back part of the sacristy to become a pantry for the kitchen and cleaning supply closet. Motion to approve initial inquiry into the renovation project by Karissa, seconded by Tina, motion carried. Pastor and property committee will bring numbers and estimates back to a following meeting. Need to be more organized when submitting payment requests. Reimbursements requests must have the reimbursement request form filled out completely with original receipt and copy of receipt attached. All forms must be signed by the person making the request. Tina will not process any reimbursement that is turned in with an incomplete form.

Closing, Next Meeting

Adjournment at 8:45 pm
Closed with Pastor Dennis’ devotion on change
Devotion for October is Tom Klinger
Next council meeting on October 22nd at 6:30
Posted on

SOTH Council Monthly Committee Report

Committee Name

Treasurer

Report Date

09-16-2019

Items Discussed

The financials for August 2019 are attached.

Church Mortgage balance as of August 1, 2019 was $174,630.05.

At the end of August monies available for A/C upgrades and/or Building reduction totaled:

Bldg Fund – $18,120
Major Bldg Repairs – $ 9,868
Capital Fund – $ 2,670
TOTAL $30,658

Income in the General Fund in August was not enough to cover August expenses. However, a surplus from earlier months covered this loss.

The Altar Fund is in a negative position for the first time this year. Money from the General Fund (Worship:Florist) was used to cover this loss.

Pam Brosonski conducted an audit of the finances this month. A report will be forthcoming. One major deficiency she noted involved improper procedures in counting weekly offerings: two people are required to count funds each week, funds must be counted on church premises, and signatures affirming the deposits need to be on deposit summaries.

Implementation

The deficiencies noted above were corrected as of September 8 2019.

A meeting to discuss the 2019 budget will be held on Thursday, September 26 at 6:30 pm at the church.. Larry Holihan, Tina Crawn, Pam Brosonski, Joe Montfort, and Marie Johnson are on the budget committee. The meeting is open to council members who may want to attend.

pdf icon sothfinancials0819.pdf