Minutes

Terry opened the meeting at 5:00 pm.

Fr. Chris began the meeting with a prayer.

Present: Terry Brennan, Eileen Grant, Brad DeSaye, Bob Dressler, Keoni Murphy, Anne Welborn, Bill Jacobs

Absent: none

Staff:  Fr. Chris, Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Shelly Cooper

  Minutes Approval:

• Brad motioned to approve the January meeting minutes; Bill seconded it; approved.

  Financial Statements:

• Bill asked if the endowment needs to be recorded in the financials. The diocese requires it.
• Anne motioned to approve the January Financials; Eileen seconded the motion; motion approved.

  Bank Statement Approval:

• Anne reviewed the December bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted
• Keoni reviewed the January bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted
  • Keoni noted that the remaining 2 outstanding checks written from the PNC bank account were voided and reissued from Notre Dame FCU. PNC Bank accounts will be closed tomorrow.

Pastor’s Report:

• Fr. Chris sent a letter to SVD requesting another priest. He is hopeful that someone will be assigned in June. He will call the Bishop in Chicago; maybe a retired priest can be assigned here.
• Fr. Chris is concerned that the concrete patio outside the rectory has been neglected and needs to be replaced before there is a flood in the rectory hallway. Anne asked if the concrete is there for water retention as there is a spring that runs under the church. We need to have a concrete specialist come out to inspect it. Items in the reserve budget may need to be moved around to take care of this.
• The rectory kitchen was renovated 8 years ago but Fr. Chris feels it was done cheaply and needs to be redone.

Parish Manager Report:

• February Collection plate: $87k and online giving: $33k
• A committee has been formed to plan Jubilee Year events. The first event was a Mass honoring our Deacons. Many Jubilee Year visitors are coming to our parish.
• Ash Wednesday is on March 5^th. Starting on March 6^th we will have an additional Mass Monday-Thursday at 5:30pm during Lent.
• The Spanish Lenten Mission will take place on March 10^th and 11^th. The English Mission will be March 23^rd -25^th with Karlo Broussard from Catholic Answers.
• Stations of the Cross will take place each Friday during Lent. English stations start at 6pm and Spanish stations at 7pm.
• Our Advent mission this year will be with a Word on Fire speaker. We will pay travel expenses and take up a good-will offering instead of paying by invoice.
• We are working on a design plan for our new website. Lino Ramirez, a parishioner and website designer, is helping with the design.
• The Council is meeting with Mary Brunson from IFA on February 28^th at 1:30pm to get her recommendations as to how best to invest the money transferred from the BOK sweep account.
• The Charity and Development Appeal kicked off on the February 15^th So far we have 121 donors and $50k donated.
• The diocese has sent out a survey to all employees. They also sent out a survey to parish managers asking if all parishes should be using the same financial and administrative systems. Jim thinks that the parishes should be using the same financial system, but not administrative.
• The St. Anthony Claret painting in the church will be replaced with an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is being printed and framed.

  Old Business: 

• 25/26 Budget: the only changes made were to the reserve budget as we do not have any new information on salaries and benefits.
  • The diocese is changing health insurance providers from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Cigna as of July 1^st. Switching health insurance carriers is usually done to save money. Jim asked the diocese for more information, but he has not heard back yet.
• The funds in the BOK Financial sweep account have been transferred to IFA at a 60/40 allocation per last month’s motion.

    New Business: none

Fr. Chris led the closing prayer.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:28pm

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely

Terry opened the meeting at 5:00 pm.

Fr. Chris opened the meeting with a prayer.

Present: Terry Brennan, Eileen Grant, Brad DeSaye, Bob Dressler

Absent: Keoni Murphy, Anne Welborn, Bill Jacobs

Staff:  Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Fr. Chris, Shelly Cooper

  Minutes Approval:

• Eileen followed up to see if we had put anything in the bulletin about making restricted donations. Yes, messages were placed in the bulletin and flock notes. We have received donations for a used car, technology and building upgrades.
• Brad motioned to approve the December meeting minutes; Eileen seconded it; approved.

  Financial Statements:

• Eileen motioned to approve the November and December Financials; Brad seconded the motion; motion approved.

  Bank Statement Approval:

• Anne reviewed the December bank reconciliation; she will report at the next meeting

Pastor’s Report:

• Fr. Giresse has been filling in for Fr. Biju while he is on vacation.
• The deanery meeting was today. Fr. Chris is trying to get another priest assigned to Sacred Heart.
• Fr. Chris would like us to be more efficient to reduce expenses, such as ensuring lights are turned off after rooms are used.
• The renovation of the confessionals will begin next week.

Parish Manager Report:

• January Collection plate: $110k and online giving: $43k
• The PNC Bank transition to Notre Dame Federal Credit Union is almost complete. We are waiting on 2 outstanding checks to be cashed.
• Notre Dame FCU has been great to work with. The courier picks up deposits on Thursday which are deposited at NDFCU the following Monday. Jim spoke with the diocese about this since we are required to deposit the Sunday collection within one day. They said it is not a problem. The diocese asked that we have a written procedure in place.
• Solutio will be our new website provider starting this summer. We will save $12,000 per year as they use advertising to generate income rather than billing us.
• The Charity and Development Appeal kicks off the weekend of February 15^th. Bishop Dolan’s video has been posted to our website and Facebook page. Our goal has been increased to $175k from $138k.

  Old Business: 

• The PNC CD matured. We were able to cash it out.
• All of the treasury bills matured and are sitting in the sweep account. Brad thinks that the next 6 months will be turbulent, so he suggested putting the money into a 3- or 6-month treasury bill. The council prefers IFA over BOK Financial. Fr. Chris asked Jim and several finance council members to meet with Mary Brunson from IFA to get her recommendations.
• 233 N. Summit lease renewal: our Director of Catechesis is renting 233 N. Summit at a reduced rent. A discussion was held about how much to increase rent. The council recommended to Fr. Chris increasing it by $100 per month and the tenant would pay all utilities.
• Eileen asked about setting up a fund for a new organ. Fr. Chris suggested looking at churches that are closing to see if they have an organ we could purchase. Brad commented that there would still be travel costs involved. Brad made a motion to set up a restricted fund for an organ. Eileen seconded the motion. All approved.
• 25/26 Budget:
  • Should stole fees continue to be collected for funerals?
  • We will increase rents incrementally to get closer to market value. We moved reserve funds for the Atrium renovation to 229 N. Summit, which needs renovations before being re-rented next year.
  • The only salary increases included in the budgets at this point are for the teachers since the diocese has not provided salary schedules yet.
  • If we get a used car for visiting priests we will need to add the insurance cost into the budget.
  • Depreciation will need to be increased due to confessionals and rectory kitchen renovations and having parish owned cars again.
  • Capital Reserve budget: due to ongoing problems with the chiller system installed during the renovation, more repair work needs to be done to the system. Once the work is done, we need to sign a maintenance agreement for ongoing work.
  • Solar panels: Scout solar will inspect the inverters to see if they need to be replaced
  • School: raise tuition by $150 per student
• New Business: none

Fr. Chris led the closing prayer.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:07pm.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely

Terry opened the meeting at 5:12 pm.

Fr. Chris arrived at 5:30 pm

Present: Terry Brennan, Anne Welborn, Bill Jacobs, Brad DeSaye, Bob Dressler

Absent: Keoni Murphy, Eileen Grant

Staff:  Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Fr. Chris

  Minutes Approval:

• Brad motioned to approve the October meeting minutes; Bob seconded it; approved.

  Financial Statements:

• Anne asked if we were aware how much the Bishop’s assessment was going to increase this year. We did not know that it would increase as much as it did. We ‘jumped brackets’ which increased our assessment. It is based on our income. We would like to advise parishioners to designate their contributions to a specific project, which would be exempt from the assessment. It was decided to put this information into the bulletin and flock notes. It was also suggested to add the restricted letter form to the website.
• Anne motioned to approve the October Financials; Bill seconded the motion; motion approved.

  Bank Statement Approval:

• Brad reviewed the October bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted
• Bill reviewed the November bank reconciliation; no discrepancies noted

Pastor’s Report: none

Parish Manager Report:

• November Collection plate: $79k and online giving: $44k
• The Advent Mission with Patrick Sullivan was successful. A free will offering was taken and given to Patrick and the church paid for Patrick’s hotel and travel expenses.
• The rectory bedroom renovations have been completed. We are getting estimates for the rectory kitchen and confessionals’ renovations.
• Julie Walker’s brother came to Prescott to make funeral arrangements for her. He would like to set up a scholarship and donate money toward the confessional renovation.
• Fr. Chris would like the budget process to be more informal so there will not be a budget letter sent to the directors. First draft budgets are due by January 24, 2025.
• Jim and Fr. Chris met with a website design company. Switching to this company will save us $12k a year since they ask for sponsors instead of charging a fee. The website will be simpler to use. All the directors will be trained so they can add their own information.
• All the paperwork is complete for the change to Notre Dame Federal Credit Union from PNC Bank. We are hoping to have the next payroll go through Notre Dame. We made an initial $200k wire transfer from PNC Bank. We are in the process of setting up the new credit card merchant services for credit card processing.
• The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is on December 12^th. Fr. Chris is encouraging the whole Sacred Heart community to attend. Mananitas is at 5am, Mass is at 6:30pm followed by the play, “The Miracle of the Flowers.”
• The Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation is transferred to Monday, December 9^th from Sunday, December 8^th which is the second Sunday of Advent.
• The book, ‘An Introduction to Prayer’ by Bishop Barron will be given out to parishioners starting the week before Christmas.
• The Peace Pole was delivered today. It will be placed outside the parish office. The Jubilee Mass is on January 5^th at the 9am Mass with Bishop Dolan. We will cancel the 11am Mass that day since Mass will be longer than usual and a reception will follow.
• The large bequest that we have been expecting is waiting for refunds from the IRS and Arizona before it can be completed.
• Jim will be away starting tomorrow, December 5^th. He will return December 16^th.

  Old Business: 

  New Business:

Fr. Chris led the closing prayer.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:45pm.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely

Terry opened the meeting at 5:00 pm.

Fr. Chris began the meeting with a prayer.

Present: Terry Brennan, Keoni Murphy,  Anne Welborn, Bill Jacobs (by phone)

Absent: Bob Dressler, Eileen Grant, Brad DeSaye

Staff:  Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Fr. Chris, Shelly Cooper

  Minutes Approval:

• Anne motioned to approve the September meeting minutes; Keoni seconded it; approved.

  Financial Statements:

• Anne motioned to approve the September Financials; Keoni seconded the motion; motion approved.

  Bank Statement Approval:

• Eileen reviewed the September bank reconciliation; she will give a report at the next meeting

Pastor’s Report:

• Fr. Chris expressed his dissatisfaction with PNC Bank. After all the problems with adding the new signers to the account, they sent a letter stating that if we did not call in within 30 days, they would close our accounts. They first called a couple of weeks ago asking to speak with Fr. Raj and when Fr. Chris called, they would not speak to him. Fr. Chris called in again and they asked him questions about our income, how much we deposit each month etc., which took care of the issue.
• Chris would like the confessionals updated. Jim explained that the confessionals were not included in the church renovation.
• Parents are coming to Fr. Chris regarding opening a Catholic High School in Prescott. Fr. would like to know the feasibility of it. Are we able to financially support a high school? Terry said that years ago they did a study and the cost for a school was about $50 million which is not feasible. Shelly commented that the parents do not expect a brick-and-mortar school. It would be a micro high school. Most of it would be online. She is not sure how many families are interested in attending.

  Parish Manager Report:

• October Collection plate so far: $73,855k and online giving: $44k
• Mass counts in October: 2000 people attended consistently each week, which is higher than 2 years ago.
• Fr. Chris has requested that 2^nd collection envelopes be placed in the pews.
• The Heritage Festival was well attended, incredibly positive, and successful. We might change the time of the festival next year. We made over $700 which will be used to help defray the cost of the confessional renovation.
• The PNC Bank CD matured. Jim requested a 3-month CD this time, but it is only earning .02%.
• The Light of the World Retreat is this weekend. 50 people are expected.
• The Advent Mission is December 1-3 with Patrick Sullivan, a lay evangelist. He held a mission for us a few years ago.
• A parishioner volunteered to pay for the flower room renovation. The work starts on Monday, November 4^th. They will work around Masses and events in the church.
• The priests’ rooms are finished. They are still finishing Fr. Ralph’s bathroom renovation. They should be finished this coming week.
• Jim has taken two calls from people who are interested in donating toward the priest kitchen renovation. We are still waiting for the large bequest that should help with the cost of the renovation.
• Bill asked if we still take 10% of the Sunday collections for the diocesan 2^nd  collections. No, we only take 10% of the 5^th Sunday collections for various charities; for others we use the diocesan second collection envelopes.

  Old Business:   Notre Dame Federal Credit Union

• Jim spoke with Angela at the Holy Trinity Newman Center about Notre Dame FCU. She told him that they have not had any problems, NDFCU has outstanding customer service and their CD’s earn between 4.75-5.75% interest.
  • Terry mentioned that NDFCU did not hesitate to give us a loan for the remodel and Jim added that they were outstanding to work with at that time.
  • Anne likes that their rates are better than what we are getting now, and they are a Catholic institution. Keoni agrees that we should proceed with the change but to do so in increments.
  • Anne moved to recommend to the Pastor to change banks from PNC Bank to Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, Keoni seconded the motion; all approved.
  • Fr. Chris approved the move to NDFCU. We will first open the checking accounts with NDFCU and then we will move onto credit cards and investments.

  New Business:

• The 6-month BOK T-bill matured. We did not realize until we received the statement. The $325k is sitting in the sweep account. We have not given them authorization to reinvest the money since the new signatory still has not been finalized. We continue to have concerns with BOK Financial’s conversion. Reports have not been correct since June. Terry asked if we could move those investments to IFA or NDFCU. Yes, but we need to make sure that the signatory is finalized first.
• Martha Lamb indicated to Terry that she would like all of the councils to help with the Common Grounds Ministry (coffee and donuts). Jim will follow up with her.

Fr. Chris led the closing prayer.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:45pm.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely