Advance Report 2000
Committee ReportsStewardship and Finance
The Stewardship and Finance Committee has attempted to improve communication with other committees of the yearly meeting as well as with monthly meetings. The committee will continue to try to improve lines of communication. S&F started discussing issues and concerns about the budget and budgeting process in our first meeting in August of 1999. Issues discussed were: a) developing and recommending a budget which assumes full funding and b) how to address the substantial shortfall of monthly meetings paying their full assessment and our abilities to develop increased stewardship from the monthly meetings.
We also discussed that we had not addressed a budget item for funding delegates to the FUM Triennial Conference in 2001. It was noted that IYM has not received any information on which to develop a budget amount. The committee did not feel that this was a serious situation in that we would be able to address the necessary funding in the 2001 budget after receiving information from the IYM office.
Our committee discussed goals that we might set for the committees’ study. Some of these goals were:
1. Improve communication with monthly meetings
2. Review possible alternative methods of determining assessments
3. Develop more historical information for committees to use in developing their budgets
4. How to provide for shortfall assessments in the budget development process
5. Communicate how the continued decline in IYM membership effects budget assessments
Obviously most of these goals will require more study than we were able to provide in this year. In fact some of them will require prolonged study and continued review and revision.
We had preliminary discussions on how we might avoid annual increases in assessments. We can find other sources of revenue or reduce expenditures. Even when we reduce the bottom line of the recommended budget (as is happening this year), assessments will continue to rise if the loss in membership continues at the rate it has the last few years.
The Stewardship and Finance Committee has recommended the Executive Committee consider appointing an ad hoc committee, which would consist of a representative(s) of all major budget committees, representatives of the Executive Committee, and others as needed to provide complete input. This committee would be responsible to work together to review possible new funding sources and methods to supplement the assessment for the operating budget. The committee would also review or propose new methods to ensure budget restraint and control by committees. The Executive Committee did approve this recommendation in their January meeting. Undoubtedly this study will be undertaken in the near future. Hopefully an initial report will be available for the 2001 Yearly Meeting.
The 2001 Preliminary Budget was developed during the committee meetings and was presented to the April Representative Council for consideration for approval at this Yearly Meeting Sessions. The Representative Council made some minor modifications and approved the budget.
Bob Mantock, Clerk
