Board Notes ─ December 2022

Holiday greetings to you from your Board! Check out our totally unrehearsed video.

Everyone should use the “buddy system” when visiting the grounds outside business hours. Rev. Holly Brown has mentioned in church services that several people have seen a person and/or evidence of a person staying on the church grounds. Recognizing the importance of both safety and compassion—

  • The Board charged the Safety Committee to create a policy for dealing with strangers on church campus and to develop safety policies and make actionable recommendations to the Board. Committee is also charged with getting quotes for the installation of security cameras (with recording capability).

The budget process is underway! The Board considered two motions concerning staff positions for the 2023-2024 budget year.

  • The Board did not approve increasing the Director of Religious Exploration hours per week from 30 to 35.

The DRE position increase to 30 hours for the current fiscal year created a workable balance between the hours and the responsibilities. Membership dropped over the last few years, resulting in fewer pledges during the annual canvass (pledges provide most of the church’s annual income). Added to that, the UUA recently revised its guidelines for pay equity, and it will take us a couple of years of budget growth to get salaries back to where we’d like them. 

  • The Board voted to approve creation of an AV Multi-Platform Specialist position and to include its salary in the asking budget for 2023-2024.

The proposed five-hours-a-week contract tech position would support Sunday services in-person, and work with/train volunteers to set-up, operate, and troubleshoot the new system. (You may remember a similar vote in October; that one only allocated funds for a tech position for the remainder of the current fiscal year, 2022-2023.)

The Board also discussed the proposed agreement concerning our hosting Our Whole Lives facilitator training in 2023 (current budget year). The expenses will be covered by registration fees, some of which will come from registrants from other churches.

  • The Board approved the OWL facilitator agreement, authorizing the Director of Religious Exploration to sign contracts with four facilitators on behalf of UUCT.

The Board also approved two consent agenda items: the November Board minutes and November Financial Reports.