BOARD REPORTS 2002

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN EUGENE
Board of Trustees
MINUTES
October 10, 2002
Present: John Wagner, President; Anita Cowling, Vice President; Ken Ross, Secretary; Jean Weick, Treasurer; Carolyn Colbert, Minister; Candee Cole, Director of Religious Education
Members-at-large: Nancy Bell, David Bockoven, Barbara Greenley, Ruthie Manley, Nancy Terry, Olga Turner

I. OPENING BUSINESS.

A. The chalice was lit at 7:08.
B. Good words were spoken by Nancy Terry.
D. The minutes for the September 12 Board meeting were approved by email.

II. REPORTS

A. Report of the Executive Committee (EC). See attachment #1.

B. Report of the President (John Wagner). John commented that, "when things happen, people step up (to help)." He said that was great, and he gave two examples that involved the building and grounds.

C. Report of the Vice President (Anita Cowling). Anita deferred her report to agenda item III.A.

D. Report of the Treasurer (Jean Weick). See attachment #2. Jean indicated that September was a good month, aided by the fact that there were five weekly deposits. The budget could be about $7500 behind where we hope it will be at the end of the year. We need about $16,000 income for each of the three remaining months (October, November, December). The full budget is a bit off, because we underbudgeted the administrator's benefits. Our total assets have dropped from over $100,000 to $82,000. 

Jean also noted that our investment accounts at Wedbush & Morgan are now closed; they are all at Charles Schwab. The Endowment Fund, which is now over $45,000, is also held by Charles Schwab.

E. Report of the Secretary (Ken Ross). No report. 

F. Report of the Minister (Carolyn Colbert). Carolyn gave a verbal report. She mentioned that the memorial for Bayard McConnaughey was packed to overflowing. In fact, some people evidently did not attend when they found no parking available for several blocks. Chapin Clark's service will be held at Beall Hall on the University of Oregon campus on Sunday, October 13, at 2pm. Chapin's parish priest at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Father Ted Berktold, will officiate. The current dean of the U of O Law School, Laird Kirkpatrick, and the Rev. Carolyn Colbert will also speak. 

Cindy Pitcairn has offered to edit Carolyn's sermons so that the church can make them available to newcomers and members of the congregation. A five-person steering committee is being formed to work on the Small Group Ministry Program, which will get underway after the first of the year. In Adult RE, the Adult RE chair Bill Tracy will offer "History of God," a reading and discussion class based on the writing of Karen Armstrong. The class begins in November.

G. Report of the Director of Religious Education (Candee Cole). See attachment #3. Candee mentioned that her letter of agreement has been revised; see agenda item V.A. She also drew attention to the campus group start up. Her work has been assisted by a generous contribution of a computer by Ken Colwell. Candee also mentioned the high school kids' sleepover this weekend.

Candee reported on the RE program evaluation. See attachment #4. The evaluation is based on the 30% returns, about 45 out of 150. The evaluation was prepared and assessed by Sheryl Bernheine, Jane Ganter and Jeff Wright.

III. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

A. Program Council (Anita Cowling). The Program Council will have its second meeting this Sunday (October 13). John mentioned the letter from the Finance Committee (written by Jim Weldy) to the Program Council; see agenda item IV.A. Anita will circulate the draft of the bridge budget at the Program Council meeting. She mentioned that the EC discussed the question at the last Program Council meeting regarding how the Program Council will pick up the holes now left since we no longer have Board liaisons. In this connection, it was agreed at EC that committee reports should go to Anita Cowling, Ken Ross and the office.

IV. OLD BUSINESS

A. Continuing discussion of the church finances. One reason for this continuing discussion is that John had to miss the last Board meeting. John began by stressing that budget projections are a valuable tool, but aren't perfect and change with time. John discussed the last Finance Committee meeting on October 7. The Finance Committee analyzed pages 2 and 3 of attachment #2. At this point, it appears likely that there will be about $4000 shortfall in income at the end of the year.

On behalf of the Finance Committee, Jim Weldy sent the following message to Anita Cowling, facilitator of the Program Council.

**You each need to be aware of a potential financial situation that may develop over the next few months. The finance committee has analyzed our history of both expenses and of income and we project from that analyses that we could have a shortfall in December. While we will know more next month we feel you should begin to look at the areas in your control and at the year end expenses you expect to incur. We realize this is a very rough financial year for many of us and we need to be prepared.

We do not want you to take action now but we feel it may be helpful to look at the remaining expenses you have planned for the end of this year and consider trying to reduce those expenses or where possible delay expenses until the beginning of January.

Again we are only asking you to make plans so that if we find ourselves in a bind we will have plans to put in effect. As October data is developed and analyzed early in November we will advise you of our projections and work with you as needs require.

Thank you for your help and consideration. For the Community. The Finance Committee. Jim**

It was stated that Jim's email well represented the sense of the Finance Committee. John described the general sense of the Finance Committee as downgraded from "financial crisis" to "financial concern." It is not yet felt that we are bound by the "two percent rule" of the Budget Expenditures Board Policy. See attachment #7 for parts of this Board Policy and a Bylaw that spell out the Board's responsibilities regarding church budgets. John will circulate a memo describing our tight financial situation and encouraging people to help if they can. It was noted that the Fundraising income is down about $2000. This often happens; to make the budget balance the congregation becomes overly optimistic about what can be raised via fundraising. It was noted that a Holiday Fair is scheduled November 23. 

Jean cautioned that, at the end of the year some committees will tend to feel that they should spend the rest of their budget; this can make for very high expenses in December. She hopes that this doesn't happen this year. Jean circulated the current draft of the bridge budget, which will go through a few more iterations. See attachment #5.

B. Update on canvass progress of the Stewardship Committee. Here's their draft schedule for the spring canvass, followed by their proposed budget.
March 9-23 - recruiting of canvassers
[March 23-30 - Spring Break]
April 19 - training of canvassers by PNWD trainer, Janine Larsen
April ? - additional training for those who miss April 19 date
May 3 - canvass kick-off dinner and dance
May 4-25 - face-to-face canvassing of every member and friend
May 26-June 7 - follow-up calls/visits to those who have not pledged

Budget

$ 300 Rental space. Both Ellen and Kay visited the ballroom in the Veteran's building on 16th and Willamette, and it will be a great space for a great price. It's not the Hilton but certainly fine for our purposes :-)). The rental is $300 and we reserved the room for May 3. We need a $150 deposit and if the board is willing to approve that now, that would be great. ACTION ITEM. It's not the same "rush, rush" as it was for the band, but we'd like to get the deposit to them sooner than later. The building itself is being used for a variety of purposes - a chess club, a restaurant (which we may use to cater a simple meal, if it's affordable) and other things, so it's not overly "military". The ballroom (which is rented out to churches for the rate of $300, but costs more for the general public) is MUCH MUCH cheaper than anything else in town for that size and type of space because they have new ownership/management at the building and are trying to attract people to rent space there.

$1200 Food & drink
$ 750 Entertainment
$ 500 Canvass Trainer from District (travel and fee) - may be much less if trainer drives . . .
$ 150 Brochures, Invites, RSVP cards, pledge cards, Envelopes--paper, printing and design
$ 100 Flower/decoration for tables
$ 100 Miscellaneous (perhaps supplies for a kid activity or other activity)
$ 150 Postage if use bulk mail
$ 300 Lead Gifts Event (if we have one)
________
$3550 TOTAL (Note that we could have a suggested donation for folks attending the dinner that could make up for part of the total cost--$10 per family or $3 per person, if folks aren't opposed to that idea).

This information was received by the Board. The following motion passed. MOTION. That the Board approves of the general direction that the spring canvass is going. It specifically approves of the $300 item of the budget for the rental and approves of early payment of the $150 deposit.

V. NEW BUSINESS

A. DRE's letter of agreement. A committee, including John, made some changes and updates to Candee Cole's letter of agreement. See attachment #6. First the DRE advisory committee worked on the letter and then it was worked on by a group consisting of John Wagner, Truman Grandy, Sheryl Bernheine and Pam Dillehay. The changes were minor including some that involved the changed status of the LREDA grant. Nancy Bell raised the issue of the sabbatical, since this has budgetary implications, but it was pointed out that the sabbatical is not planned for the near future. The Board unanimously approved the following motion. MOTION. That the Board accepts the DRE letter of agreement for the year 2002 and beyond.

B. Springfield UU Fellowship. The following announcement occurred on UU-Chat on September 28.

**A New, Religious Fellowship is starting in Springfield. A newly organized liberal religious community, the Springfield Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, will begin weekly meetings on the first Sunday in October at 4 p.m. Regular weekly meetings will be held at the American Legion Hall at 8th and C in Springfield, Sundays at 4.

Jim Weldy will be presenting the subject Intentionality in Our New Fellowship. Feel free to join us for the presentation and discussion. If you need further information please see our web page, http://www.geocities.com/suufso/index.html or feel free to contact Beth or Jim Weldy at 345 5984.**

There was discussion regarding the impact of this new Fellowship on our church and how we can best provide support. This discussion was informed by some email correspondence that took place among John Wagner, Carolyn Colbert and Anne Heller, the Pacific Northwest District Executive of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Some Board members felt that the Fellowship should be encouraged to go through UUA procedures. That provides a natural link to our church, including the website links. It was agreed that the Board Report, which appears in the newsletter and on uu-news, should include the following announcement:

A new UU Fellowship is forming in Springfield. The Board of Trustees wishes them well in their religious journey. For more information, see their web page http://www.geocities.com/suufso/index.html or contact Beth or Jim Weldy at 345-5984.

C. UFOs reappear. (Diane Wooldridge and Dave Hubmann ) The UFO group (Unitarilist Fun Organization) would like permission from the Board to have two fundraising luncheons to raise money for the 2003 Fourth of July all-church picnic. They would have one luncheon in the Fall and one in the Spring, and they thank us for our consideration on this matter. This matter will be handled by the EC.

VI. PLANNING SESSIONS

Planning sessions were deferred to the next Board meeting.

VII. WRAP-UP AND ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 9:44.

Kenneth A. Ross, UU Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.com
home phone: 686-1549

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN EUGENE
Board of Trustees
MINUTES
September 12, 2002
Present: Anita Cowling, Vice President; Ken Ross, Secretary; Jean Weick, Treasurer; Carolyn Colbert, Minister; Candee Cole, Director of Religious Education
Members-at-large: Nancy Bell, David Bockoven, Barbara Greenley, Ruthie Manley, Nancy Terry
Absent: Olga Turner, John Wagner
Visitor: Truman Grandy

I. OPENING BUSINESS.

A. The candle was lit at 7:08.

B. Good words were spoken by Carolyn Colbert.

D. The minutes for the August 15 Board meeting were approved by email.

II. REPORTS

A. Report of the Executive Committee (EC). See attachment #1. Anita Cowling summarized the long EC meeting. By invitation, Truman Grandy and Barbara Greenley attended the first part of the meeting which concerned the budget/canvass process. Note that it was agreed that the Budget Committee shall consist of members of the EC and the Finance Committee.

B. Report of the President. John Wagner was unable to attend the meeting. Vice President Anita Cowling chaired the meeting.

C. Report of the Vice President. Anita announced that the first Program Council meeting will take place Sunday, September 15, 4:00-6:00 pm.

D. Report of the Treasurer. See attachments #2 and #3. Jean pointed out that, as of 31 August, the current 2002 budget is $17,000 out of balance. This is because income is down $7000 from what was expected, and expenses are up $10,000. In September, $3500 of major maintenance expenses will be transferred to the Carley and Repair Reserve Funds, thus reducing the amount of deficit to $14,000. Accordingly, the Treasurer and the Finance Committee are hereby sending a red flag to the Board concerning the church finances. This message had uniform support of members of the Finance Committee. Jean emphasized that we need all pledges and we need to trim expenses. [Because some people had to revise their pledges, total pledges are now $183,000, down $3000 from the total pledges originally obtained.] 

Jean also pointed out that last year we ended up with a $11,000 deficit; in the end, we ended up with a debt of $7000 which we are scheduled to pay off over five years. It was suggested that a task force be appointed to make some specific changes. Nancy Bell volunteered to serve on this task force, and she will be contacted by a member of the EC.

The discussion led to some brainstorming of ideas on how to raise money and how to cut expenses. Other budgetary line items were discussed. It was pointed out that August is the low point of the year, because people are behind in their pledges (hurting income) and many programs like RE are just starting up (creating a jump in expenses). But Jean pointed out that the new budget format is designed to account for our varying patterns of revenue and expenses at different times of the year. It was pointed out that some members of the congregation, especially newer ones, may be unaware of the challenge of balancing the budget in the midst of all the discussion about church growth.

Anita reminded the group about the error in the 2002 budget that is explained in item I.G of attachment #1.

E. Report of the Secretary. No report.

F. Report of the Minister. See attachment #4. Carolyn stressed that, despite our financial concerns, the atmosphere in the church is generally very positive. People are excited about all the activities in the church. Carolyn also mentioned that her Annual Report was primarily educational.

G. Report of the Director of Religious Education. See attachment #5. Candee indicated that RE programs are going very well and that she's very busy.

III. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

IV. OLD BUSINESS

A. Monthly appreciations (Ruthie Manley). Board members supplied Ruthie with several ideas of people in the church who should be thanked, on behalf of the Board, for their good works. Board members should feel free to make such suggestions to Ruthie in the future.

B. Board Policy change approved. At the July Board meeting (agenda item V.D), the Board agreed to start the procedure to change Policy on Policies (5-96.4) to: **A copy of this manual shall be available in the church office at all times. Policies will be grouped together in general categories in this manual, and the categories will be arranged and numbered in a manner determined and revisable by the Executive Committee. Two items will be included in some fashion with each policy, possibly parenthetically at the end of the policy: (1) the date of enactment of the policy and the dates of any revisions to it, and (2) a reference to the number of any bylaw(s) to which the policy is specifically linked. ** Step 2 of the 4-step procedure for making such a change is to announce this in the next copy of the newsletter. This was done in the August newsletter (page 6), and there was no feedback from the congregation. The Board took Step 3 in the process by approving this Board Policy change.

C. Summary of the process for the six-month canvass and budget. Here is a schedule for the budget process this fall, including Kay/Ellen's schedule for October 21-31: "time frame for individual canvassing of folks who have been members 3 years or more but who did not pledge on October 13." This should conclude the canvass except for wrapping it up.
September 26: Budget Committee (EC plus Finance Committee) meeting.
September 28: Canvass Kick-off at 7:00 pm.
October 11-14: Ken submits announcement of the congregational meeting (with very brief agenda) for the November newsletter. [Newsletter deadline is October 18, but Ken leaves for India on October 15.]
November 7: Budget/EC meeting [I tentatively suggest an EC meeting at 6:00 followed by a Budget Committee meeting at 7:00.]
November 11: Finance Committee meeting.
November 14: Board meeting.
December 5: Executive/Finance Committee meeting to revisit budget and make preparations for presenting the budget to the congregation on December 8.

D. Expenses for the six-month and twelve-month canvass. Kay Crider has submitted a Preliminary Spring Canvass Budget to our Treasurer, Jean Weick. It includes $750 for a band that she recommends highly. Kay needs to reserve them this month for the Spring since they're very popular. Kay requests Board approval to sign a contract. A Board Policy allows this: "Church members, committees, and employees may commit church funds only by authorization of the Board or Congregation." Because of concern about the church finances, there was a lot of discussion about the canvass budget and this item in particular. However, the Board voted to authorize Kay Crider to sign a $750 contract with the band that she recommended so highly, since early booking seems essential. The total preliminary canvass budget for the Spring will be considered by the Budget Committee.

V. NEW BUSINESS

A. Music Staff. Jack Stevens, current convener of the Personnel Committee, wrote the following, "There has been mention of putting Tom Sears and Lynn Smith on the payroll as employees, rather than on the fee basis currently in place. Some informal mention has been made, but no official action has been taken, so far as I know. The Personnel Committee will take up this matter when we receive direction from the Board and/or the Music Committee." This is an information item. Jean stated that the Music Committee especially wants to have Tom Sears be an employee. Carolyn reminded the Board that the last Board was strongly committed to abiding by UUA Fair Compensation Guidelines. Estimated salaries are based on these guidelines. She also commented that we are funding "positions" not "individuals". Exploration of this matter will continue as the Personnel Committee is redeveloped and future budgets are considered.

VI. PLANNING SESSIONS

A. Board member responsibilities (September). This item was tabled until a future Board meeting, but it was observed that responsibilities have been well spread among Board members. In particular, Nancy Terry and Barbara Greenley indicated that they are interested in serving on the Board Policies Task Force. 

VII. WRAP-UP AND ADJOURNMENT

Jean pointed out the negative balances in lines 22 and 27 on the last page of attachment #2. She mentioned that the Caring Committee was fundraising to address the negative balance in line 22, and the Board agreed to improve the balance in line 27. There followed a good process check out. The meeting adjourned at 9:19.

Kenneth A. Ross
UU Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.com
home phone: 686-1549

Board Report August 2002

The Board had a warm and productive meeting on August 15.  The Board approved of the new Stewardship Committee with the following charge. "As a standing committee, the Stewardship Committee will enfold the function of the Canvass Committee with the purpose of facilitating right relations in the process of funding our vision for a growing UUCE. This will include ongoing education of the congregation and communication with the Board, the Program Council, and the Finance Committee in providing for a bridge canvass and yearly canvass thereafter. Education of how the church is funded will be ongoing, as well as recognition and appreciation of all the gifts of time and money given by our members and friends to sustain our vision. New members will be canvassed as they join in future years."

The chairs of the Stewardship Committee are Kay Crider and Ellen Pinney. They have been working hard on the next canvass which will cover the six-month period, January through June 2003. This is a transition canvass, because the church agreed to change the fiscal years to begin on July 1, effective July 1, 2003. After serious discussions with both the Executive Committee and the Finance Committee, each of those groups recommended that the six-month canvass budget goal be $105,000. While this represents a 13.5% increase over (half of) the 2002 budget, it represents only a 4% increase of non-compensation line-items. Much of the increase is needed to meet our commitments to fair compensation in keeping with UUA guidelines and also to meet other increased expenses over which we have no control, e.g., expenses for utilities such as EWEB. The Board unanimously approved of this canvass budget goal and is enthusiastically supportive of the work of the new Stewardship Committee.

Board President John Wagner indicated that he's making progress in creating a new committee to follow up on the recommendations of the Growth Options Group. He is also working with several people on the problem of providing more space for our very successful RE program. Vern Cedarlund has agreed to coordinate this activity. There will be a meeting soon to plan the needed expansion.

The Board met on Saturday, August 17 for a three-hour Retreat Wrap-up. This was a follow-up on the very successful Board Retreat on June 28-29. 

The Board approved of the following schedule of Board meetings: September 12, October 10, November 14, December 19, January 23, February 20, March 13, April 17, May 8. The Executive Committee will meet one week before each Board meeting.

Kenneth A. Ross
UU Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.com
home phone: 686-1549

Board Report for July 2002

The Board of Trustees met on July 18, 2002. For each meeting, the first order of business is progress reports from the officers, Minister and Director of Religious Education. This month our President, John Wagner, indicated that he is focusing on three things. First, with help from Gil Osgood, he is in the process of forming the next Growth Options group. This is the group that will continue to examine options for the church as it continues to grow and outgrow our facilities. Second, he attended a meeting of the Facilities Council. They reviewed the administrative needs of that council and identified its top projects. Third, John attended a meeting of the Finance Committee. This is a very good group with a lot of talent. John's main concerns were the interface of this committee with the Stewardship Committee (see below) and with the need for multi-year budget planning.

Our Treasurer, Jean Weick, reported on the budget and expressed concern that right now we are $10,000 short on projected income and $7,000 over on projected expenses. The Finance Committee will keep a close watch on this situation.

Our Director of Religious Education, Candee Cole, reinforced our impression that a lot of wonderful things are going on in our RE program.

The Board approved the formation of a Program Council, with the following charge. "The Program Council shall create and reinforce our organizational infrastructure to strengthen our internal communications, model effective committee functioning, further map out working areas within the church, and minimize overlap. The facilitator of the Program Council will normally be the Vice President." Our Vice President, Anita Cowling, indicated that she plans to have meetings with committee chairs in September, October and November, and then every other month beginning in January.

The Stewardship Committee is a new committee that will take over the responsibilities of the annual Canvass Committees. Its purpose is to put financial issues (like raising money) in the larger context of the stewardship of the church. You will hear much more about this committee over the next few months. The co-chairs, Kay Crider and Ellen Pinney, provided a detailed schedule for the fall canvass, which will be a Bridge Canvass, due to the change in the church's fiscal year to July-June beginning in July 2003. The Board is extremely pleased to have the canvass in the hands of Kay and Ellen. Since the vision of the Stewardship Committee is to be an on-going presence in the church, the Board expects to formally approve of this as a standing committee in the near future.

The Board approved three new or revised Board Policies and agreed to start the process for modifying a fourth Board Policy. See the article, "More on Board Policies" in this newsletter.

The Board had a very effective Board Retreat on the last weekend of June, but it was felt that the Board needed to take a few further steps to turn our priorities into an action plan for the Board's business this year. It was agreed to have a half-day Board Retreat Wrap-up in the Social Hall on August 17.

More on Board Procedures
This is a follow-up on the article on Board Policy changes on page 7 of the July newsletter. The Board had reviewed four Board Policy changes and announced them in that article. Subsequent email discussions about the next canvass(es) indicated that the third proposed Board Policy, "Fiscal Year and Canvass Transition Policy (new and temporary)" was too specific and really not needed. Because of this, the Board abandoned this proposal policy and left the canvass transition policy to the Stewardship Committee. The Board approved the three other Board Policies.

There has been considerable discussion in the Board about the numbering of Board Policies. But then it was realized that we would first have to change the following Policy on Policies (5-96.4): ** A copy of this manual shall be available in the church office at all times. Policies will be grouped together in general categories in this manual and the categories arranged in alphabetical order. Within a category, policies will be numbered with the month along with the last two digits of the year in which they were adopted followed by a period.** It is suggested that this policy be replaced by a less specific policy, as follows: **A copy of this manual shall be available in the church office at all times. Policies will be grouped together in general categories in this manual, and the categories will be arranged and numbered in a manner determined and revisable by the Executive Committee. Two items will be included in some fashion with each policy, possibly parenthetically at the end of the policy: (1) the date of enactment of the policy and the dates of any revisions to it; and (2) a reference to the number of any bylaw(s) to which the policy is specifically linked. ** The Board agreed with this proposed change, and is herebyannouncing this as step 2 of the 4-step procedure for Board Policy changes described in the July newsletter article.

Ken Ross, Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

Board Report June 2002
The new Board of Trustees officially begins its work on June 1. The next few Board meetings are scheduled for June 6, July 18, August 15 and September 12.

The Executive Committee consists of the officers: the President (John Wagner), Vice President (Anita Cowling), Secretary (Ken Ross) and Treasurer (Jean Weick). B

etween Board meetings, the Executive Committee (EC) will meet; the next few EC meetings are scheduled June 27, August 1, August 29 and September 26. A Board Policy, established in 1996, authorizes the EC “to act for the Board between Board meetings in such matters as are delegated to them within" the Board Policies or by other actions of the Board. This includes overseeing: administration of the budget; uses of the church and rentals; and church sales and fundraisers. The EC will also analyze Board agendas. Board members, committee chairs and other members of the congregation may propose agenda items for the Board. Such proposals should be sent to the President (John Wagner 687-0757 home; 988-4503 work) and the Secretary, (Ken Ross 686-1549) preferably at least two weeks prior to the Board meeting.

Ken Ross, Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

BOARD POLICY CHANGES
Among the various bylaw changes, recommended by the Bylaws Task Force and approved by the congregation on April 14, were some suggested Board Policy changes. At the time, the task force believed that the six proposed changes were completely straightforward consequences of some of the bylaw changes. It has since been realized that two of the items, Canvassing and Membership, are not so simple and need input from the relevant committees and further analysis. They will be dealt with later. At its June 6 meeting, the Board reviewed the remaining four changes listed below and tentatively approved of them, initiating the first step for modifying or creating policies. This announcement is designed to accomplish the second step.
1. Reviewed at one Board meeting.
2. Announced in the next copy of the church newsletter with a contact person listed. [Contact people are Ken Ross and Truman Grandy.]
3. Approved or rejected at a following Board meeting.
4. Printed in the church newsletter and added to the policy manual within two weeks following passage, and approval of Board Minutes. [Since these changes have been in the membership’s hands since March and are also in this newsletter, we plan to violate the first part of step 4, i.e., we will not print this in yet another newsletter. Newsletter space is precious.]

PROPOSED BOARD POLICY CHANGES
Board Terms Transition Policy (new and temporary)
The terms for the Secretary and Treasurer would be as in the past. Presidents elected in 2002 and 2003 would be elected for one-year terms. After that they would be elected for two-year terms. The Vice President elected in 2002 would be elected for a one-year term. After that they would be elected for two-year terms.

Explanation: This temporary Board Policy is needed to clarify how the revised bylaw 080.1 (which changed the terms of the President and Vice President) will be implemented.

Budget Expenditures
The sentence "Church members, committees, and employees may commit church funds only by authorization of the Board or Congregation." should be added as the first sentence of item 2 of the Budget Expenditure Policy.

Explanation: This sentence arose in early attempts, by the Bylaws Task Force, to create a bylaw (within bylaws 090) that made this statement. Later, it was felt that the statement belonged in the Board Policy rather than in the bylaws.

Fiscal Year and Canvass Transition Policy
The fiscal year shall be July 1 to June 30, beginning on July 1, 2003. In the Fall of 2002, there will be a Canvass to fund a six-month fiscal period of January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003. In the Spring of 2003, there will be a Canvass to fund the fiscal year, from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004. In subsequent years, there will be a Spring Canvass to fund a fiscal year, from July 1 of the year in which the Canvass is held, to June 30 of the following year.

Explanation: This temporary Board Policy is needed to clarify how the revised bylaw 090.1 (which changed the fiscal year) will be implemented.

Nominating Committee Policy
The Nominating Committee is encouraged to invite at-large members of the Board to serve a second two-year term. The Nominating Committee is also encouraged to consider asking the immediate Past President to serve as an at-large member of the Board.

Explanation: This proposed Policy arose during the long discussions about terms for Board members.

Transitional Board Meeting—May 9th

Prior to the May Board meeting, the current members of the Board of Trustees hosted a potluck in honor of the new Board members. This led into a rather jovial meeting. Outgoing Board President, Ellen Pinney thanked each
current member of the Board individually for the unique contributions during the past year; then each Board member thanked Ellen.

Much of the business conducted was routine. This includes monthly reports from the Minister, the Director of Religious Education, and the Treasurer. In addition, the Board authorized the purchase of a new corporate seal for our church. Such a seal is needed for some church business, and the old corporate seal seems irrevocably lost.

In connection with the various bylaw changes recommended by the Bylaws Task Force, suggestions for changes in related Board Policies arose. This issue was deferred to the Board meeting in June.

The schedule for next few Board meetings is June 6, July 18, August 15, and September 12.

Ken Ross, Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

Report of the ANNUAL MEETING, April 14, 2002

CONGREGATION ELECTS BOARD AND CHANGES BYLAWS
The Annual Meeting was held at the church on April 14. The main order of business was elections (of Board members and members of the new Nominating Committee) and consideration of several amendments to the bylaws.

The following people were elected without dissent. President for a 1-year term: John Wagner; Vice-President for a 1-year term: Anita Cowling; Treasurer for a 2-year term: Jean Weick; at-large Trustees for 2 year terms: Nancy Bell, David Bockoven, and Olga Turner; at-large Trustee for a 1 year term to complete the 2-year term which Trustee Anita Cowling has vacated: Nancy Terry.

Continuing members on the Board will be: Ken Ross, Secretary; Barbara Greenley and Ruthie Manley, at-large Trustees. Anita Cowling and Jean Weick are also continuing members on the Board, but in different positions.

The following were elected to the Nominating Committee without dissent. All serve for 1-year terms effective June 1. Joyce Thomas for a second term, Truman Grandy, Martha Osgood, Jeff Wright and Charlotte Writer. Five people were elected because of the change below in the Amendment 080.1.

All of the amendments contained in the document circulated by the Bylaws Task Force (Truman Grandy, chair) were voted on and adopted with the following additions and changes. The first is a “house-keeping” amendment from the Secretary, which reflects current practice.

AMENDMENT 070.4
Twenty percent of the *voting* membership shall constitute a quorum except for calling or dismissing a minister or buying or selling property. In those cases a quorum shall consist of forty percent of the *voting* membership. Passed.

The following two amendments were amendments from the Board to proposed amendments from the Task Force.

AMENDMENT 040.2 Voting Members are the caretakers of the church: A voting member is a member who is either entering ninth grade or 15 years of age or older, who has been a member of the church for at least 30 days and who annually makes a pledge of money and/or time, thus reaffirming membership in the church. In addition, the Board may give lifetime voting member status to individuals whose names are submitted by the Membership Committee for approval. Exceptions for those who cannot meet these requirements can be granted by the Minister or the President of the Board of Trustees. Passed.

AMENDMENT 080.1. The membership shall elect a President and Treasurer for two year terms in even numbered years at the Annual Meeting, and the membership shall elect a Vice President and Secretary for two year terms in odd numbered years at the Annual Meeting. At each Annual Meeting, three trustees shall be elected for two year terms, and five Nominating Committee members shall be elected for one year terms. Terms of office shall commence on June 1 of the year in which elected and expire on May 31. Passed.

[Note. The Task Force will suggest that the Board POLICY for the Nominating Committee include a statement encouraging the Nominating Committee to invite at-large members of the Board to serve a second two-year term.]

CURRENT BYLAW 080.2 (no changes recommended by the Task Force)
The Nominating Committee shall report the names of the nominees to the Board at its March meeting and shall publish the names in the newsletter at least 14 days in advance of the Annual Meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting provided the nominee has given prior consent. No person may serve in the same position on the Board of Trustees for more than two consecutive terms. No person may serve in any combination of positions on the Board of Trustees for more than five consecutive years.

The following “house-keeping” amendment was adopted because all members of the Board will be elected for two-year terms.

MOTION That the number “five” be changed to “six” in bylaw 080.2. Passed.

Ken Ross, Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

Report of the April 4th Board Meeting
The Board met on April 4, 2002. Since there was essentially no business carried over from the March meeting, this meeting was short and efficient.

The Secretary reported that he is working on a couple of committee projects: a new History Committee and the resuscitation of the Publicity Committee which will be renamed the Communication Committee. The Minister, Carolyn Colbert, shared her enthusiasm for the latest Newcomer series. She announced that the President, Ellen Pinney, has appointed Dianne Watson to the Committee on Ministry.

With regard to the Annual Meeting on April 14, the Board reconsidered its amendment to amendment 060.1 (specifying that Past Presidents serve on the Board) in light of the discussion at the second Town Meeting on the bylaw proposals, held on March 17. The Board decided to withdraw this amendment to an amendment.

There was a discussion of the scheduling, planning and purpose of the Board Retreat in June. Finally, the Board approved two fundraising requests from Candee Cole on behalf of youth groups.

Ken Ross, Board Secretary
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON APRIL 14
The Annual Meeting will be held at the church on April 14. The main order of business will be elections (of Board members and members of the new Nominating Committee) and consideration of several amendments to the bylaws. The following agenda, written March 15, is tentative and may change when more input comes from the Town Meeting on March 17 and/or the Board meeting on April 4.

TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR ANNUAL MEETING
Introduction of the present members of the Board of Trustees and acknowledgment of retiring members.

MOTION (from the Nominating Committee). Election of the following slate: President for a 1-year term: John Wagner; Vice-President for a 1-year term: Anita Cowling; Treasurer for a 2-year term: Jean Weick; at-large Trustees for 2 year terms: Nancy Bell, David Bockoven, and Olga Turner.

Continuing members on the Board will be: Ken Ross, Secretary; Barbara Greenley and Ruthie Manley, at-large Trustees. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting provided the nominee has given prior consent. If anyone is nominated for an at-large position, then unless the person making the nomination from the floor explicitly requests otherwise, each voting member may vote for any three of the candidates. A written ballot with the above slate, and space for additional nominees, will be provided.

The nominee for Vice President, Anita Cowling, is currently serving her first year as an at-large Trustee. If she is elected, she will immediately resign her at-large Trustee position effective May 31. The following motion is in accord with the bylaws.

MOTION (from the Nominating Committee and the Board of Trustees). Election of Nancy Terry for a 1-year term as Trustee to complete the 2-year term which Trustee Anita Cowling has vacated.

The next order of business is electing a new Nominating Committee with one carry-over from the current committee.

MOTION (from the Nominating Committee). Election of the following three for 1-year terms on the Nominating Committee, effective June 1: Joyce Thomas for a second term, Truman Grandy and Charlotte Writer.

A noncontroversial part of a bylaw amendment (080.1) would increase the membership of the Nominating Committee from three to five. If this amendment is approved, then the Nominating Committee will recommend two more members for the new Nominating Committee. It seems reasonable for the congregation to vote on them at this time.

MOTION (from the Nominating Committee). If the new bylaw amendment is adopted, election of the following two additional persons to the Nominating Committee: Martha Osgood and Jeff Wright.

The next order of business is consideration of amendments to the bylaws. The motion for several amendments is contained in the document circulated by the Bylaws Task Force (Truman Grandy, chair). The motion will be separated into four motions. The first three will deal with amendments that appear to be controversial based on input from the Town Meetings and other sources; only these amendment proposals will be repeated in this agenda. The last motion will ask for approval of all the remaining amendment proposals.

Amendments to the bylaws require a 2/3 approval of votes cast. First, a housekeeping amendment from the Secretary, which was also mentioned at the Town Meeting on February 24. This reasonable change reflects current practice.

MOTION: AMENDMENT 070.4 (from the Secretary)
Twenty percent of the voting membership shall constitute a quorum except for calling or dismissing a minister or buying or selling property. In those cases a quorum shall consist of forty percent of the voting membership.

MOTION: AMENDMENT 090.1 (from the Task Force)
The fiscal year of this church shall be July 1 to June 30.

The Board considered the next two amendments and offers amendments to the amendments. Following Robert’s Rules of Order, amendments to amendments are considered first. If they are adopted, they replace the original amendments which are then considered. Amendments to amendments only require a majority vote.

MOTION: AMENDMENT 040.2 (from the Task Force). Voting Member: A member, either entering ninth grade or 15 years of age or older, who has been a member of the church for at least 30 days and who annually makes a pledge and reaffirms membership in the church. In addition, the Board may give lifetime voting member status to individuals whose names are submitted by the Membership Committee for approval. Exceptions for those who cannot meet these requirements can be granted by the Minister or the President of the Board of Trustees.

The following clarifications are based on recommendations from the Membership Committee.

MOTION: AMENDMENT TO AMENDMENT 040.2 (from the Board). Voting Members are the caretakers of the church: A voting member is a member who is either entering ninth grade or 15 years of age or older, who has been a member of the church for at least 30 days and who annually makes a pledge of money and/or time, thus reaffirming and reaffirms membership in the church. In addition, the Board may give lifetime voting member status to individuals whose names are submitted by the Membership Committee for approval. Exceptions for those who cannot meet these requirements can be granted by the Minister or the President of the Board of Trustees.

MOTION: AMENDMENT 080.1 (from the Task Force). The membership shall elect a President and Treasurer for two year terms in even numbered years at the Annual Meeting, and the membership shall elect a Vice President and Secretary for two year terms in odd numbered years at the Annual Meeting. At each Annual Meeting, two trustees shall be elected for three year terms, and five Nominating Committee members shall be elected for one year terms. Terms of office shall commence on June 1 of the year in which elected and expire on May 31.

The Board felt that terms for at-large Trustees should remain two years, but that most at-large Trustees should be encouraged to serve second terms.

MOTION: AMENDMENT TO AMENDMENT 080.1 (from the Board). The membership shall elect a President and Treasurer for two year terms in even numbered years at the Annual Meeting, and the membership shall elect a Vice President and Secretary for two year terms in odd numbered years at the Annual Meeting. At each Annual Meeting, three two trustees shall be elected for two three year terms, and five Nominating Committee members shall be elected for one year terms. Terms of office shall commence on June 1 of the year in which elected and expire on May 31. [A Board POLICY for the Nominating Committee would include a statement encouraging the Nominating Committee to invite at-large members of the Board to serve a second two-year term.]

For continuity, the Board also felt that the President should remain on the Board one year after serving the 2-year term.

MOTION: AMENDMENT 080.1 (from the Task Force). There shall be a Board of Trustees consisting of the four elected officers of the church and six trustees at large. Each of these members of the Board of Trustees must be a voting member of the church while in office.

MOTION: AMENDMENT TO AMENDMENT 060.1 (from the Board).
There shall be a Board of Trustees consisting of the four elected officers of the church and six trustees at large. In addition, Presidents will serve as Past President on the Board of Trustees for one year immediately following their terms as President. Each member of these members of the Board of Trustees must be a voting member of the church while in office.

If either of the amendments to amendments above is adopted, then the last sentence of the following bylaw needs modifying.

CURRENT BYLAW 080.2 (no changes recommended by the Task Force)
The Nominating Committee shall report the names of the nominees to the Board at its March meeting and shall publish the names in the newsletter at least 14 days in advance of the Annual Meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting provided the nominee has given prior consent. No person may serve in the same position on the Board of Trustees for more than two consecutive terms. No person may serve in any combination of positions on the Board of Trustees for more than five consecutive years.

If the amendment to the amendment 080.1 is adopted, the number “five” should be changed to “six,” since all terms will be 2 years. If the amendment to the amendment 060.1 is adopted, we should add: “(not counting the year served by a Past President).”

MOTION (from the Secretary). That the amendments of the last paragraph be approved subject to the conditions indicated.

MOTION (from the Task Force). Adoption of all remaining bylaw amendments proposed in the document circulated by the Bylaws Task Force.

Agenda submitted by
Ken Ross, Secretary of the Board
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

Report of the March 7th Board Meeting
The Board of Trustees met on March 7, 2002. Most of the time was spent on issues that the membership will address at the Annual Meeting. See the agenda in the article announcing the Annual Meeting, which serves as notice of motions for elections and proposed bylaw changes..

The Board and Executive Committee approved two fundraising requests, one from Joyce Thomas regarding the selling of “fair exchange coffee” and one from Sara Cowling for scholarships at a youth conference. As anticipated in the last Board report, the Board approved the Personnel Committee’s “Health Care Benefits” procedure. The Board agreed to resuscitate the defunct Publicity Committee.

The Board adopted the following mission statement. “The UUCE Board of Trustees shall discern and promote the goals of the congregation with care, love and diligence.”

Personnel Committee (Howard Coffin). MOTION: That the Board receives and approves of the Personnel Committee's proposed procedure, "Health Care Benefits," (see February Board minutes), with the following changes:  B. For Contractual Employees  1. Health care benefits shall be contractually arranged with the Board of Trustees. This motion passed.

Ken Ross, Secretary of the Board
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

Report of the Valentine's Day Board Meeting
The Board of Trustees met on February 14, 2002. At a pre-meeting, the Board worked on creating a mission statement. It is hoped that this project will be completed at the March Board meeting.

The Report of the Treasurer included two montly reports. The second report is in a new format, which includes a summary. This substantially different format was created in response to Board requests for more understandable reports. Barbara Greenley, Anne Taylor, Jean Weick, Jim Weldy were thanked for their hard work on this.

The Board almost approved a procedure, "Health Care Benefits," which was recommended by the Personnel Committee. However, the Board suggested a change in wording and wanted the Personnel Committee's reaction to it. The Personnel Committee indicated that the change was acceptable.

In January, the Board received an excellent report from the Growth Options Study Group. It was agreed that the Board will create a task force to facilitate the next step in which the congregation will consider all the options, a step that should include a "visioning process." Then the congregation can narrow the options, which will need an indepth study. The entire process may take several years.

The Board received a report from the Bylaws Task Force (Truman Grandy, chair), which has since been widely circulated. The most significant proposals involve changing the requirements for voting membership, changing the fiscal year, and changing term lengths for members of the Board. It is expected that the Board will approve the (possibly modified) proposed set of bylaws at its March 7 meeting, and that they will be considered by the membership at the Annual Meeting on April 14. Town meetings to discuss the bylaws were scheduled for Sundays, February 24 and March 17.

On recommendation of the Finance Committee, the Board is going to consider creating a Publicity Committee. In fact, this will be a resuscitation, since the church used to have such a committee.

Other actions of the Board were reported in the last newsletter. These include the scheduling of the Annual Meeting for April 14, and the appointments and reappointments of Trustees of the Endowment Fund.

Kenneth A. Ross
ruthken@pacinfo.net
home phone: 686-1549

Report of the January 10, 2002 Board Meeting
Much was accomplished at the first Board meeting of the year. The Board meeting was blessed with seven visitors.

Jack Stevens, our Treasurer, gave a year-end report. The good news is that, even though last April the congregation authorized us to borrow up to $15,000 from our Future Expansion Fund, we only owe this fund $6954.83. This will be paid off over the next five years.

On behalf of the Personnel Committee, Howard Coffin distributed a proposed procedure regarding "Health Care Benefits," to be followed by the committee. The Personnel Committee recommends that the Board set a credit amount of $175 per month for each eligible employee, which will cover a medical insurance policy and part of a prescription rider.

The Growth Options Study Group, represented by Gil Osgood and Bonnie Phipps, submitted a very clear and even-handed report. Gil Osgood, chair of the study group, has written an article which appears elsewhere in this newsletter.

It was agreed that the Board members would meet an hour earlier at the next meeting on February 14, in order to take time to brain-storm the idea of a Board mission statement.

The Board unanimously adopted the following MOTION: The Board affirms the goal of actions leading to a contract and fair compensation (using UUA Guidelines) for our Music Director and Choir Accompanist to be in place for the 2003 budget.

There has been a lot of discussion about whether we should change the fiscal year to July 1-June 30. The Board considered whether a new task force is needed to look into this issue and its implementation. However, since this would involve a bylaw change, it was agreed to wait to see if this task will be handled by the Bylaws Task Force, which has been monitoring all of the discussions.

The implicit decision by the congregation, during its budget discussions, to have a monthly newsletter was discussed. The Board authorized an ad hoc committee to assist in implementing the transition. The charge will be: How best to move, within two months, to publishing one newsletter per month. They will also address how electronic email and the website might be used to fill the gaps.

Ken Ross
Secretary of the Board of Trustees
ruthken@pacinfo.net
686-1549