Opening prayer led by Fr. Raj at 5:30

Meeting held by Conference Call

Present: Bill Jacobs, Brad DeSaye, Anne Welborn, Dan Putschoegl, Terry Brennan, Eileen Grant, Yvonne Napolitano

Absent:  None

Guests: Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper, Mike King

  1. Capital Campaign Report: figures as of April 29, 2020
  • Pledges and donations paid to Capital Campaign: $2,539,877

 

      Completing the Mission Report: figures as of April 29, 2020

  • Pledges Made: $461,980
  • Total Contributed: $443,125
  • Balance on Reserve Fund Loan $0
  • $3,600 was paid toward the reserve loan
  • Thank you to Eileen for all her hard work and dedication over the last few years!

 

  1. Minutes Approval: March Meeting Minutes approved
  • Dan motioned to approve the March minutes, Bill seconded it; motion passed

 

  1. Financial Statements: March Financials approved
  • Eileen asked if the $120k net loss was due to the stock loss or pandemic. It is due to stock drop. Also asked where Catholic Community Foundation has our endowment since it decreased quite a bit. Jim will send the council the investment details of our endowment. We have decided to only take out 3% of our endowment for this coming budget.
  • The council also questioned the large expense in Furnishings & Equipment. It is due to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Painting, Statue of the Risen Christ and the new St. Anthony Claret Painting.
  • Eileen motioned to approve the Financials, Yvonne seconded it; motion passed

 

  1. Bank Statement Approval:
  • Terry reviewed the March Bank reconciliation virtually, no discrepancies noted

 

  1. Pastor’s Report:
  • Raj explained how the church is responding to the community during the pandemic: we are keeping the church open daily from 6am-7pm, we are live streaming mass at 9am daily and the Spanish mass on Sundays at 1pm. We have sent out two letters to our parish families, which is over 1800 families. Fr. Raj gets the idea that people are happy but they want to come back to church. Fr. Ralph has been very faithfully calling parishioners and Sr. Anne has started calling inactive parishioners. The office staff are working, continuing the mission of church. The lockdown may continue through May 15th. Plate collection has been affected, though not badly. The school is doing a great job with online classes. He hopes that the council will be able to meet in person next month.
  • Dan asked Fr. Raj how many of the letters we received back with incorrect address; about 60. None were returned from the second letter.

 

  1. Parish Manager Report:
  • Jim gave collection totals so far for April: Online Giving-$45,215, Regular collection: $54,571, Easter-less than $9k. The new lock box has helped with bringing in tithes. We are very fortunate. We are doing well comparatively to other parishes. Jim attends the diocesan advisory meeting each week so he keeps up to date on what is going on throughout the diocese.
  • Governor Ducey continued the lockdown through May 15th. Jim explained that there are 3 phases for re-opening. Faith based businesses are not subject to executive orders however we have to limit meetings to under 10 people. Jim believes that May 15th is phase one.
  • Jim will be on the call tomorrow with the diocese and he will send out his update email on Friday.
  • The 30 day plan will expire at the end of May. We cannot extend furloughs beyond 30 days. Letters will go out to our furloughed employees that they should return to work May 11. The expense freeze has worked, we have money in the bank, and Jim is glad we did not take the Paycheck Protection money. Jim feels that this is a problematic law for churches, as we would be subject to federal regulations. The federal government enacted a sick leave policy where an additional 2 paid weeks of sick leave can be used if an employee is exposed to the virus, or needs to care for a family member who may have been exposed or parents who have to take care of children. We do not have anyone here that falls under this. Jim hasn’t let anyone come to work who has been sick.
  • Terry asked if the diocese is going to defer the bishop’s assessment another month. Jim has sent an email but no answer yet.
  • School Roof update: it is in the dioceses’ hands. The contractor from St. Germaine’s looked at the roof. We haven’t heard anything from the solar company so Jim is on their case and we may work with Lollar Electric to continue with the project. Eileen asked if there was any parking structure resolution. We are waiting on an answer from the diocese.
  • We have some good news: there will be no increase in benefit costs for 2021. Our open enrollment is during May. We have a 2% increase in the budget for benefits which Jim recommends leaving in since we don’t have salary increase recommendations from diocese yet. If there is a salary increase over 2%, we have a cushion. We can amend it if not more than 2%.
  • Dan said that the Knights of Columbus have received a loan to help parishes. Jim has not heard about it. Jim said we do not need it but will continue to do the monthly cash flow statement and keep expenses low.
  • Budget: Jim sent a summary of the changes made. The parish was close to zero budget so the remainder was added to collection income but with the lack of 2% increase in insurance we are even closer. To balance the school budget we decreased tuition revenue since it is budgeted so much higher than usual.
  • Dan asked if the Tree of Life budgeted revenue is realistic at $10K. Yes we exceeded expectations this year. He also asked if Deacon Joe’s salary is part of clergy salary, which it is.
  • Yvonne asked if it is realistic to keep janitorial supplies expense the same as last year. Yes, we haven’t been using a great deal of supplies, so we have a reserve.
  • Bill asked if we should increase electronic giving revenue as more people should be encouraged to give online. We will leave as is as our parishioners are still wanting to use the regular way to give.
  • The council discussed delaying Jim’s pay raise. Or defer it. Jim would not feel comfortable taking the increase if the diocese says no pay increases. Fr. Raj should make the decision.
  • The increase in Clerical expense is due to Stacy going full time. We have been training her for succession planning for possible retirements.
  • Anne asked Shelly if she had concerns about the collectability of tuition. Shelly explained that tuition increased about $80 per family to pay for the new tuition management system. CEA is allowing the school to use reserve funds to help with tuition, $40k for current school year and there is another $100k available to dip into for next year. More parents have been paying tuition now since they received their statements. Shelly was also asked how many students were budgeted for this year. She is not sure about current year-maybe 142. Previously there wasn’t any science behind projections. Shelly is working closer with CEA. Jim also stated that the school will be getting an additional $7,850 from the original $60k bequest that the school could use for tuition scholarships for families in need. Dan stated that we will have to make families aware of this money. Shelly has been working closely with families to let them know to contact her if they need assistance. Shelly is personally calling families if they haven’t paid any tuition and sending letters.  Final statements were sent.  Mike King stated that he appreciates Shelly trying to help families.
  • Jim asked if the council would like to approve the budget with the thought that we may need to amend it. Brad asked what would be the benefit of approving now or waiting for May. None, only change will be benefit change and salary. Raj was supposed to be gone in May so originally we scheduled the budget approval for April. The council decided to meet in May to approve the budget. The meeting will be May 27th.

Fr. Raj led the closing prayer at 6:31.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely