We, the members of your Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council, are writing to you about a matter of urgent and serious concern for the material wellbeing of our Parish at Sts. Joachim and Ann.
As you have read in our Sunday Bulletins this summer, experts have recently informed us that the roof on our Junior High building must be replaced and that there is no additional short-term patchwork that would assure the prevention of serious damage from leakage this coming winter. The need to replace the roof is not surprising because it is a 20-year roof and the building is now 20 years old, but we were not anticipating that the need would be immediate for this year. As our Facilities Committee has investigated the state of repair of our other roofs, it is now clear also that the Elementary School roof must be replaced in the next two or three years as well. It is a 30-year roof and our elementary building is nearly 30 years old. We have also learned that the fire alarm panel, which services both school buildings and which was pre-owned equipment when installed nearly thirty years ago, cannot be repaired with replacement parts if and when it may break. The cost to our Parish over the next few years for these unavoidable repairs will be nearly $450,000 (a $113,500 known cost for Junior High roof this year; a $50,000 3-year-old estimated cost for the fire alarm panel, and a $250,000 to $300,000 speculative bid this year for the Elementary School roof). As of June 30, 2009, we have only $395,331.99 in savings to pay for it and to provide backup to our day-to-day operating costs for payroll, benefits, utilities, regular maintenance, and all our ministries and services. Even with all the cost-cutting measures that have been taken during the past two years, this past fiscal year it cost us $208,020.42 simply to exist every month.
We began the past fiscal year that just ended 30 June 2009 anticipating an operating deficit of $70,000. Thankfully, due to various factors, we were able instead to operate in the black with a net surplus of $12,006.76. This was due to our living for one quarter of last year without a Liturgical Music Director and then restructuring the nature of the position before hiring a new Director of Music Ministries. We also had fewer employees electing to draw health care benefits from us than we had anticipated. Moreover, many of our programs, including the Full-time School and Parish School of Religion, functioned at a better financial pace than we anticipated. So, last year turned out pretty well.
However, because of unavoidable increases in cost and the current rate of contribution to the Sunday Offering and school tuition, we have a projected budget deficit for the fiscal year we just began on 1 July 2009 of nearly $150,000. We, your Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council, are certain that we are not operating our Parish with fluff. These costs are real and legitimate. Moreover, these operating costs do not include any of the major repairs mentioned above. Last year, Father Brockland acquired a $30,000 grant from the Archdiocese to help us with debt reduction and a $25,000 emergency relief grant from the Annual Catholic Appeal to help with the Junior High roof. Put very simply, now it's time for us to do our part and it is clear that our current level of contribution will not cover our operating expenses and mortgage for the coming year.
Moreover, as our Parish Finance Council members have brought their expertise of good business practices to our meetings about these things this summer, we have been reminded how important it is for a Parish with payroll obligations to employees to have at least six months’ worth of operating expenses in savings to provide our Parish a sufficient safety net. Since it cost us $208,020.42 to function every month this past year, our savings should be $1.25million. If we parishioners do not increase our level of contribution, we will be forced to exhaust our savings to fund the major repairs we need and we will be left without any financial safety net at all.
As illustrated on the chart accessible via the link below, only 66% of our families provided any financial support to the parish last year and only an approximate 40% supported the parish in the minimal amount of $100 per year. In addition to our savings, since October of 2007, only 417 households (23% of active parishioners) have contributed just over $214,000 to our Christmas Club for Debt Reduction program. The goal of that program was participation from 1,000 families at the rate of $50 each per month/$600 each per year.
In light of these circumstances, we have recommended the following to Father Brockland and he has agreed with our plan:
1. Utilize some Christmas Club for Debt Reduction funds to pay for the Junior High roof. We do not believe it prudent to try to accelerate debt reduction when this infrastructural repair is unavoidable. Delaying the repair would result in thousands of dollars of additional damage to our parish facilities.
2. Expand the focus of the Christmas Club for Debt Reduction to include funding the major infrastructure repairs mentioned above, to accumulate savings for future major repairs and for the eventual completion of the interior of the Church.
In each of our own families, we know the frustration we feel when unplanned expenses occur. We have to reallocate resources, reprioritize expenditures, and make sacrifices to take care of our needs. We believe Father Brockland has been completely transparent with us about our financial situation and we will continue to assist him in monitoring our spending and deferring nonessential projects when possible. Like you, we know the hard work and sacrifice involved in supporting our parish financially.
As fellow parishioners, we thank you for your generosity until now if you have been participating in the Christmas Club for Debt Reduction and if you have been supporting our parish’s material needs through the Sunday Offering. If you have not being doing your fair share of both of these things, we implore you to begin today! Please help your family of faith to take care of our spiritual home at Sts. Joachim and Ann! Let us help each other to insure our Parish’s viability for years to come! We will keep you informed of our progress with complete transparency via the Sunday Bulletin and the Parish website.
To refresh your memory, the original design of the Christmas Club for Debt Reduction was for 1,000 families to contribute at least $50 per month/$600 per year in addition to the Sunday Offering. This is the equivalent of less than $2 per day!
At the beginning of October, we will be celebrating Stewardship Sunday in our Parish and making our commitments to our community regarding the gifts of our time, talent, and treasure. Using the enclosed prayer card, please join us over the coming weeks until then in giving prayerful consideration to supporting the life and wellbeing of our Parish at whatever level is truly possible for each of us and not simply what may be comfortable. Our current situation and its challenges – especially in the current economic climate – will require sacrifice from us all. Please do what you truly can and please pray for our family of faith!
Sincerely,
Jackie Zoll Jan DiFatta
Parish Council President Finance Council President
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If you would be interested in attending a more in-depth presentation on the current state of our parish finances, please complete the section below, and drop it in the offertory collection at Mass. If sufficient interest is shown, we will schedule a meeting at the earliest possible date. Thank you for your concern and prayers for our parish.
Name _______________________________________ Phone Number____________________________