Purpose/Agenda Item

Action/Result

Person(s)

Responsible

Due Date/ Completed

Transition/Chalice Lighting &Opening Remarks

Rev. Dowgiert provided a reflection on sharing gifts of a non-material nature. Board members checked in.

Consent Item/Minutes

MOTION to approve the November 24, 2009 minutes as revised was seconded and approved unanimously.

Follow up on items from previous meetings:

1. Nominations were not made for PSWD positions by the deadline.

2. Information was distributed to the congregation regarding the cash flow problem with successful results.

3. The Endowment Committee hadn’t met since the last board meeting.

In order to assure follow up on items raised during the meeting, the President asked the secretary to develop a tracking tool capturing follow up items from meeting minutes.

Linda Selsor

Informational/Minister’s & Performance Reports

Rev. Dowgiert distributed the minister’s report. There were no questions. Rev. Dowgiert had several items to bring to the board’s attention. The first item related to staff recognition. She stated that UUCT is the only congregation she has been a part of that does not thank the minister and staff publicly. She thought this could be as simple as a newsletter article, gifts, or bonuses. The staff is under stress due to furloughs; there is less time to do the job. Members expressed concern that expectations of staff should be in line with reduced hours; this should be communicated to the congregation. Rev. Dowgiert recommended formation of a Personnel Committee to make sure staff is treated fairly. The Empowerment Team will follow up on formation of a Personnel Committee.

A number of ideas for staff recognition were discussed such as recognition in the service, an article in the newsletter each month focusing on a staff member, acknowledgement of anniversaries, a letter from the board thanking staff, etc. The board decided to do a luncheon for the staff near the end of February depending on staff availability and other events scheduled. Chaz McBride offered to host the event at his home and agreed to confirm the date. Ed Savard agreed to prepare the meal. Patrice Davison agreed to send out the invitations.

The other item Rev. Dowgiert wished to address was concerns about rumors that people are not paying pledges. This appears to be an unintended consequence of the all church e-mail regarding the cash flow situation. She wanted to minimize the anxiety level in the congregation. While it is important to assure the congregation that the cash flow situation is being monitored and managed, regular updates on revenue and expenses in the newsletter would help keep the congregation up to date on the church’s financial status. The suggestion was referred to the Finance Committee for follow up.

Rev. Dowgiert reported that follow up has been done regarding the potential property donation to No More Deaths. The owner of the property is willing to pay for a survey.

ET

Chaz McBride, Ed Savard & Patrice Davison

Finance Committee

ET

Informational/Financial Report

Carolyn Cooper summarized the financial handouts. Pledges are down $12,000, donations are down 23% and the plate is down 11%. The deficit is $16,500 which is due to reduced income not over spending. There will need to be a fairly thorough 6 month budget review. The Empowerment Team and the Finance Committee may have to consider cuts.

Carolyn presented some procedures that might offer a way to forgive some of the outstanding restricted gifts. As proposed, the policies may not be consistent with generally accepted accounting practices for not for profits. Linda Selsor agreed to consult with her employer’s CFO and try to track down accounting guidelines for restricted gifts. Discussion of the policies was tabled pending receipt of further information.

Carolyn raised concern about the size of the personnel expenditures as a percent of the overall budget. She felt staffing expenses should be examined. This was a concern raised by the board prior to approval of this year’s budget. A motion was passed at that time requesting that a staff analysis be conducted prior to development of the next budget; this has not yet occurred. This related to the need to educate the congregation regarding the finances of the church. Ed Savard agreed to work with the Finance Committee to put a plan together to do small group meetings about that church finances.

ET & Finance Committee

Linda Selsor

Ed Savard

Informational/Congregational Poll

The UUA Certification of Membership 2010 Worksheet is due 2/1/10. The Empowerment Team will fill out information on fiscal year, membership, attendance, etc. Frank Valdes will provide information regarding the newsletter. In order to complete the section on study action issues, information on the issues will be provided on Sunday 1/10 and 1/17. Members will be allowed to vote on study action items. Results will be used to complete the worksheet.

ET

Fran Brazzell

Visioning Strategic Plan

There was a concern that the draft plan was too broad in scope with too many priorities/items. The areas of program and outreach seemed to be critical in making sure people know who we are, are attracted and engaged by relevant programming, and stay. If we are successful in those areas growth and finance might well follow. Maintenance of the campus was also deemed critical in attracting new members.

Board members felt it was important to get buy in to the vision like we did for mission and covenanting yet a plan is needed before next annual meeting. Incorporating the visioning process with the stewardship campaign seemed a potentially valuable process. Fran Brazzell agreed to discuss the idea with the Stewardship Champaign Chair.

Fran Brazzell

Transition/Closing Remarks

Rev. Dowgiert provided closing remarks asking each member to share gifts of a non material nature over the coming month.