Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia
Board of Trustees
Minutes of November 16, 2011 Meeting

Attendance
Trustees present were: Barry Ahrendt (President), Ann Johnson (President-Elect), Linda Brennison (Treasurer), Michael Sullivan (Secretary); Members at Large: Ivy Coleman, Elizabeth Harris, and Bauer Westeren; and Ex-Officio Members Connie Hudson (Finance Committee Chair), Neal Jones (Minister), and Don Mohr (Past Co-President). Also present was Robin Scherer (Personnel Committee Chair).

Call to Order and Establishment of Quorum
The meeting was called to order by Barry at 6:37 PM. He noted a quorum was present.

Reading and Check-In
Barry read a selection by Peter Morales, UUA President. All present gave brief personal updates by way of checking in.

Approval of Minutes
On a motion by Linda, seconded by Bauer, the minutes of the October 12, 2011 meeting were unanimously approved.

Consent Agenda
The Minister’s Report, DRE report, and Administrator’s Report were received on the consent agenda.

Treasurer’s Report.
Linda reviewed the budget highlights through October 31, 2011. Pledges receipts for the year are $1,030 short although this is offset by a carryover from last year. Other revenues are falling behind budget, including fundraising and plate collections. For the most part this has been offset by expenses coming in under budget, yielding a small overall deficit of $2,241, or 1% of the $229,721 budget. Linda also presented a detailed report of building rental income for this year and the past 2 years; it has been fairly stable.
There was discussion of the new variance report developed by Connie and Linda. Several planned and unplanned repairs, including an HVAC problem, have used up over 70% of the Building and Grounds budget in the first third of the fiscal year. A yearly HVAC maintenance contract needs to be costed out. Future variance reports will include only items that diverge from budget by more than $500 or 10% of the expected YTD amount.

Holiday Employee Bonus Policy
Robin presented the Personnel Committee’s recommendations for a holiday bonus policy for UUCC employees. The purpose of the guidelines is to provide fair and consistent awarding of bonuses and to enable more accurate budgeting. There was discussion of the proposed qualifying criteria: 6 months continuous employment with UUCC and working at least 10 hours per week. The addition of a performance-based measure was suggested. Bonuses will be given at the discretion of the Board. Amounts will range from $50 to $150 for part-time employees, and from $50 to $250 for full-time employees, depending on years of service. A motion was made by Ivy, seconded by Elizabeth, to adopt the Holiday Bonus Guidelines for UUCC Employees proposed by the Personnel Committee, with the addition of a third qualifying criterion of “No disciplinary actions in the past 12 months”. The vote in favor was unanimous. The complete text appears in endnote . The Board thanked Robin, Dean Smith, and Glenn White for developing these guidelines.
A motion was made by Michael, seconded by Linda, to move into Executive Session for discussion of specific employee bonuses. The vote in favor was unanimous. Present were the Board members and Personnel Committee Chair. A personnel matter was discussed, and the Board approved $350 in holiday bonuses for 2011.

Finance Committee Recommendations
Connie presented the Finance Committee’s recommendations based on the financial assessment of our internal accounting and controls done by Jackie Breland, CPA. Discussion was deferred until next month when more time can be devoted to them

Fire Safety Measures
Barry presented an update on fire safety measures. Our legal occupancy has been increased by the City of Columbia’s Fire Prevention Division from 150 to 299 persons. This is the maximum occupancy permitted for a structure without a sprinkler system. It represents a successful outcome of our work with the Boudreaux Group, which we retained for this purpose. The doubling of the occupancy limit allows room for future congregational growth.
Barry also presented several items that were flagged on the fire safety survey recently completed.
1. Replace locks
2. Interior (exterior?) lighting – timers and adequacy (motion detectors)
3. Exit signs – DONE
4. Furnace inspection and cleaning (annual)
5. Upholstery and other fabrics fire-retardant
6. Inspect lightning rods
7. Mounting extinguishers below 5’
8. Extinguisher training
9. Evacuation plan
The cost of new keypad locks has been obtained (building security being a safeguard against arson). These and the other measures were discussed briefly and will be revisited.

Ad Hoc Share the Plate Committee Recommendations
Michael presented the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Share the Plate Committee, which consisted of Linda, Connie, Neal, Patricia Voelker (Worship Committee), and Sharon Givens (Social Action Committee), which he chaired. The presenting problem is that loose plate cash collections are falling $100 a week short of the $166 amount budgeted ($6,000 a year). In contrast, our monthly Share the Plate collections average more than $500. Based on the experience of some other UU congregations, the committee concluded we can increase our total cash collections by expanding opportunities for generosity to outside charitable organizations, reflecting a spirit of abundance rather than scarcity. A motion was made by Michael, seconded by Ann, to adopt the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee to donate half of every “loose plate” (non-pledge) cash collection next year to outside organizations designated monthly, and to involve the congregation in the selection of the recipients. The vote in favor was unanimous.
Nominations will be solicited from the congregation in the following 12 categories developed by the Social Action Committee:
• Animal shelters
• Children’s’ services
• Environmental issues
• Food banks
• Health issues
• Homeless shelters
• International aid
• Legal aid
• LGBT issues
• Minister’s discretionary fund
• UUA/UUSC
• Women’s issues
Members will vote on the recipients at the Annual Meeting in May 2012, with the Social Action Committee choosing from among submissions in the interim. The changes will be publicized in the Unigram and in a special worship service on generosity, and evaluated by comparing collection receipts for January to June 2012 with July to December 2011.

Construction Update and Appointment of Ad Hoc Memorial Garden Design Committee
Don reported on the contractor’s progress in obtaining permits for our social hall and courtyard renovations. Work should begin in December. A motion was made by Barry, seconded by Linda, to appoint an Ad Hoc Committee on Memorial Garden Design to be chaired by Ann and to include Barry, Don, Betsy Kaemmerlen, Mike Paget, Erica Patterson, and others. The vote in favor was unanimous.

Implementation of UUCC Strategic Plan
Barry discussed the need for the Board to prioritize the goals of the new Strategic. A motion was made by Barry, seconded by Ann, to give the Shared Ministry Committee the responsibility to monitor implementation of the UUCC Strategic Plan and to recommend to the Board a statement of UUCC mission, values and vision based on congregational input. The vote in favor was unanimous.

Other Business
There are several requests for new spending that were deferred until next month when we will have greater clarity about budget performance. A motion was made by Barry, seconded by Michael, to approve the Resolution of Appreciation and Support for Occupy Columbia drafted by Neal. The vote in favor was unanimous. The text appears in endnote .

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:34 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Sullivan, Secretary