Minutes of the Vestry Meeting - February 15, 2016

Formation

Evening Prayer and Thanksgiving & Prayer Requests
The vestry assembled in the church for evening prayer at 7:00 PM followed by offered prayers of thanksgiving and intercession. Attendance Present: the rector Kristin Orr; the senior warden Anne Edwards, the junior warden Steve Hofer; vestry members Bob Burgwald, Rob Carrier, Alice Creason, Randy Oyster, Ted Stone, and Zoltan Sziky; the treasurer Debbi Huggett, and the clerk Susan Marquis Absent: Cynthia Turnquest, Nichole Dailor, and Hans Zigmund

Parish Stewardship

Minutes
Anne Edwards moved to accept the minutes from the December meeting. Rob Carrier seconded, four people who were not at the meeting abstained, and the motion was approved. Bob Burgwald moved to accept the January budget meeting minutes, Rob Carrier seconded, four people who were not at the meeting abstained, and the motion was approved.

Treasurer’s Report
At the end of the year 2015, Debbi Huggett expected a $5,000 deficit, but instead there was a $7,000 surplus thanks to savings from lower utility bills from mild weather, fewer repairs than expected, and unspent youth and family ministry funds. Even though the revenues came in $2,600 below budget, the savings in other areas made up for it. The church did well in collecting 98% of pledges from last year. Rob Carrier moved to accept the December treasurer’s report. Bob Burgwald seconded, and the motion passed.

Revisit of 2016 Budget
The prior vestry approved a budget in January, but the vestry unknowingly did not have all of the correct numbers available at that meeting. The total amount budgeted for salaries that was approved in January was mistakenly too low. Pastor Orr reviewed the budget that had been approved. The numbers in question were for paid support staff, that is, the office manager, music director, sexton, and nursery director. Referring to the correct numbers, Debbi Huggett presented three options for salaries with effective dates of March 2016. The options were for across-the-board increases of 0%, 1%, and 2%, all of which would result in deficit budgeting. At this point, it is traditional for the rector to leave the room whenever the vestry considers the rector’s salary, so Pastor Orr left, and Anne Edwards led the discussion that included the information that this year’s estimated cost-of-living increase is 0% and that the support staff receive a higher salary than they would receive in other similar positions elsewhere. That information, coupled with a deficit budget, led Alice Creason to make a motion to keep all salaries and benefits at the 2015 level for March through December 2016. Rob Carrier seconded the motion that then unanimously was approved by vote. Pastor Orr re- joined the group. Approval of the January treasurer’s report was deferred because it must be re-worked.

Rector’s Discretionary Account Report
Pastor Orr distributed the Rector’s Discretionary Account Report for the fourth quarter of 2015. An error was noted: the disbursements should have been $150 rather than $0. Steve Hofer moved to accept the report as corrected. Rob Carrier seconded, and the motion passed.

Signers for Church Accounts
With the new vestry in place, we need a new set of authorized people to sign checks from the two church bank accounts. Rob Carrier moved to authorize Anne Edwards (senior warden) as the primary signer, Steve Hofer (junior warden) as the secondary signer, and Kristin Orr (rector) as the emergency signer. Alice Creason seconded the motion, which then passed on a vote. 

Information

Rector’s Report
-Pastor Orr asked the vestry, and especially new members, to submit short autobiographies to her by Thursday of this week. These will be collected and made available as a document that helps parishioners better know their vestry members.
-Pastor Orr distributed copies of the diocese’s policies on alcohol and gambling.
-Pastor Orr distributed guidelines for leadership and board functioning, and the vestry read aloud the lists of positive and negative actions.
-The door from the parking lot to the guild room hallway has been replaced, although it is not yet keyed to match existing church keys. When the door is unlocked it remains unlocked and needs to be re-locked with a key. The door can be fitted with an automatic opener in the future.

Wardens’ Reports and Reports from Parish Organizations
There were no reports.

Upcoming Parish Events
This year’s Lenten Study Series begins this Wednesday from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. The topic is the psalms and their use throughout history.

Discussion and Decisions

Columbarium Project
Pastor Orr is working on acquiring additional funding for the project. The vestry will explore this more at the next meeting.

Church History Project
Steve Hofer has volunteered to spearhead the writing of an extensive church history. He will post information in the undercroft meeting room about the project and about what information is being sought.

Vestry Retreat
All vestry members present are able to meet for the annual vestry retreat on Saturday, April 2nd from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Pastor Orr will contact absent members about this date.

Closing

Following prayer, the meeting ended at 9:17 PM. The next meeting will be held on March 21st.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis
Clerk of the Vestry

Approved by the vestry:  March 21, 2016