Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia

Board of Trustees

Minutes of December 17, 2014 Meeting

Attendance

Regina Moody (President), Sandy Chubon (Secretary), Bob Whitaker (Treasurer), Marc Drews (Co-President Elect), Patty Drews (Co-President Elect, Chair Membership Committee), Members at Large: Richard Cullen, Caroline Eastman, Janet Swigler, Tim VanDenBerg; Robin Scherer (Co-Past President), Dot Brown (Chair Finance Committee), Neal Jones (Minister).

Absent: Gareth Fenley (Member at Large) (Illness), Ivy Coleman (Co-Past President).

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Regina Moody at 6:47 PM.

Chalice Lighting

Patty Drews lit the chalice and provided a reading.  We re-affirmed our covenant and had a brief check-in.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the November 19, 2014 meeting were approved as circulated on December 10.

Treasurer’s Report

Bob Whitaker reported that our revenue to date for this fiscal year exceeds our expenses so that we have a positive variance of $19,948.22, an increase of $7,270.83 in the last month.

Staff Reports

Reports from the Minister, Administrator, and DRE were accepted.

Standing Committee Reports from Board Liaisons

The Technology Committee has a new member who is a professional web site manager.  We have high hopes for our home page.

Richard Culler reported that the Facilities Assessment Task Force will be meeting in January.  Members of the group are currently reviewing materials gathered for them.

Dot Brown reported that we do not have a Canvass Chair for this year.

OLD BUSINESS

Search for RE Assistant

An error was made in the advertisement for this position.  The salary was advertised as $15/hour when it is actually $14.50/hour.  That has been clarified with all interested parties.  The Personnel Committee has interviewed four applicants and they recommend to the Board that we hire Morgan Gauthreaux Hanes for 32 hours/month.  Bob Whitaker moved that we hire Morgan Hanes.  Marc Drews seconded the motion which passed.  Neal will notify Morgan.

Policy on the UUCC Newsletter

This was the second reading of this policy.  Janet Swigler moved to approve the policy.  Patty Drews seconded.  The motion passed.

Bylaws Revisions – Definition of Membership

Plans were made for the presentation of the bylaws changes to the congregation.  There was some discussion about how to format the changes to make them clear and understandable.  Advantages and disadvantages of different formats were debated.  It was decided that Patty Drews will present the changes to the congregation and she will choose the format.  The changes will be publicized by December 28 for the January 11 Congregational Meeting.

District Compensation Consultant

We have discussed requesting a consultant from the UU district office in Florida to help us with planning for staff salaries and benefits.  Our staff are paid within the range recommended by the UUA but we do not provide the benefit packages the UUA suggests.  Regina called the district office and was referred to a consultant who thought she was the wrong person to address Regina’s questions.  Patty also called the district office and was given another name to call; that individual has not returned Patty’s call.  Neal suggested it would be helpful to have the consultant’s advice before we do our canvass.

Feasibility of Pledge Payments by Bank Draft

Bob Whitaker and Dot Brown presented information on this question.  Individuals can contact their own banks and make arrangements for the bank to automatically send a check from their account each month (or at any frequency they choose).  The check will be mailed to the UUCC.  Bob and Dot have prepared a handout describing how this is done.  They plan to share that information with the congregation during a pulpit editorial and in the Unigram.

Another idea which had been suggested was to have the UUCC accept money from members’ accounts electronically (as a merchant accepts one’s credit card).  We do not have the capability to do that now nor do we want to pursue that option.  The UUCC would have to pay the bank 5% of each donation so if members did not donate more money the congregation would end up losing money.

NEW BUSINESS

Organizational Structure/Governance and Ministry

Regina began her commentary on our organizational structure by sharing with us a problem which has recently arisen.  The Memorial and Meditation Garden was designed, created, and financed by an ad hoc committee.  They have completed their task and have disbanded.  The question now is who will have responsibility for the Garden within our organizational structure.  Regina and Buzzy Kelly have been working on getting the documents the ad hoc committee developed into our policy format.  They have met with Ann Johnson and Pat Mohr who were on the ad hoc committee.  They discussed the possibility of having the Shared Ministry Committee become involved; the Shared Ministry Committee members have made it quite clear that they want no part of accountability for the Garden.

Regina cited this situation as an example of problems with our organizational structure which she described as peculiar.  She would like the Board to re-think how we might be differently organized.  We have more standing committees than we can staff and we keep creating new ones.  A flow chart of this organization has been done.  Our bylaws flow from our long range plan and what the congregation expressed during that planning process.  We are organized to get things done.

Regina pointed out that the UU congregations in Clemson, Augusta, and Athens, GA have spent a lot of time rethinking how their structure relates to/enhances their ministry.  In Augusta, during Dan King’s leadership, they revised their structure according to functions; they have new pillars holding up their organization.  Athens is organized around Spiritual Arts, Justice, Fellowship, and Stewardship.  She urged trustees to look at the web sites of these three congregations to see how they are organized.  She would like to have a workshop for the Board in January.  Questions we might address:  Do the board members see/think of our structure in the same way?   How does everything fit together in our structure, or does it not fit together?  We could explore things we believe regarding our mission.  For example, do we all agree that our ministry should be shared by all groups in the church?  How do we work together or do we work at cross purposes?

Staff Bonuses

In the past the Board established a policy on how much should be paid to each of our staff as an end-of-year bonus.  The Board can adjust those bonuses if that seems appropriate.  After some discussion, the Board agreed to follow our policy.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned.

Action Items

Below are the action items to be followed up at the next Board meeting.

1. Marc Drews will continue work on the Policy on the Coffeehouse.
2. Tim VanDenBerg and Buzzie Kelly will continue revising the 2006 Disruptive Behavior Policy.
3. Ivy Coleman and members of the Interiors Team will continue developing plans for the use of a flat screen TV in the social hall.
4. The Endowment Committee will submit revised Memoranda of Understanding for two new funds in our endowment: A Religious Education Lifespan Fund and a Capitol Improvement Fund.
5. Patty Drews will report on the feasibility of having a district consultant come to address staff salaries.

Minutes submitted by

Sandy Chubon, Secretary