Shared ministry budget for 2009 passed
by Ana Watts
Diocesan Council approved a Shared Ministry Budget of $1,633,550 in
expenditures for 2009 that requires $1,405,640 in funding from parish mission and support. Most of the rest of the funding is interest from the Diocesan Consolidated Investment Fund (DCIF) that, in light of the recent market downturn, isn’t expected to perform well in the coming year. This places even greater pressure on the parishes for budget support.
Because the amount of the diocesan budget was effectively frozen by the last synod, the Finance Committee and diocesan treasurer Canon Fred Scott had to base their 2009 expenditures on bottom line figures that are actually four years old. Accommodating inflation is a challenge in itself. An even greater challenge, however, is to convince parishes to improve their response.
“In 2006 the parish response to the funding requirement was 91.7 per cent,” said Canon Scott. “In 2007 it was 90 per cent and our projections for this year lead us to believe the parish response will be about 87 per cent overall. In order to fund our 2009 budget, the response needs to be at least 91.4 per cent. The response rate has been dropping, and it has to grow. We balanced the budget in the past six years, but not because of parish support. We balanced the budget because we didn’t spend all the money – that is success by accident.”
Canon Scott noted two major setbacks are responsible for the projected significant shortfall for 2008. “We have two major players who have always paid their full share of mission and support that can no longer do it. Without that situation, we would probably be projecting a 90 per cent response for 2008.”
Members of council expressed concern about the general economic downturn in the world and the reduced income for parishes that leads to reduced income for the diocese.
Archdeacon Geoffrey Hall, the bishop’s executive assistant asked “Why do we call the church poor when we are rich? We are millionaires – look at the investments.” His reference was to the DCIF that contains diocesan and parish investments.
Archdeacon Vicars Hodge said he was not concerned about the four per cent response improvement from the parishes to meet the 2009 budget. “A good narrative budget explains the connection between the parish and the diocese — communication is essential. Money follows vision. What you are showing us here today will go a long way toward making that connection and that turnaround will happen for us.” (A narrative budget will appear in the January issue of the New Brunswick Anglican.)
Archdeacon Hodge was referring to the revised focus of the 2009 budget. Instead of arranging spending categories to mirror the seven ministry areas identified by Diocesan Council, this budget is arranged according to the ways in which it meets the needs of the parishes.
“It’s a different look but it reflects what the diocese does — it supports parish ministry,” said Canon Scott as he presented the 2009 document to Diocesan Council at its Nov. 5 meeting in Chatham. “We identified the many things the diocese does that impact at the parish level, made list and costed it out.” The seven categories that emerged are episcopacy, governance, training and education, administration, programme and development, mission support, and communication.
In order to keep pace with inflation, the 2009 budget includes an increase of three per cent of the diocesan share of clergy employment costs, three per cent increases in lay staff salaries (subject to evaluation) and some increased travel reimbursement rates. Costs for property maintenance are also up. In order to stay within the limits of the frozen dollar amounts, savings had to be found in other parts of the budget. With no ordinations expected in 2009, the Curacy Program did not require full funding.
Diocesan Communications
02 December 2008
