2011 Annual Conference’s Funding Plan
Annual Conference’s Funding Plan
For 2011 Holds to the 2010 Level
By Elliott Wright
Dover, DE, June 16, 2010—The Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church is asking its congregations for the same amount in 2011 as it requested this year for conference and denominational work.
The figure is $5,752,290, according to a “Covenant Funding Plan” approved on June 12 at a meeting of the conference on the campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Maryland.
The approved conference budget for 2011 is $5,109.553, with the sum of $642,737 included in the request as an adjustment allowance. All United Methodist congregations receive yearly requests for “connectional” ministries. These are called “apportionments” and are historic components of Methodist understanding of what it means to be the church.
The funding plan was adopted by a large majority of clergy and lay members without floor debate. The plan had been explained at regional informational meetings in recent months. It was also reviewed in detail on the day prior to the vote, with an opportunity for any member to raise questions in verbal or written form. John Halberstadt, chair of the conference Council on Finance and Administration, and conference staff fielded a range of questions on the implications of the funding plan.
Budget Breakdown
The budget includes $1.568 million for denominational or connectional causes, including $800,302 for World Service, the United Methodist basic benevolence fund that goes to underwrite international and national ministries, including missionaries, and a range of church agencies. Other connectional expenses include ministerial education, the Black College Fund, salaries and expenses of Bishops, and ecumenical relations.
The Peninsula-Delaware Conference has a strong track record of payment of the funds for church-wide ministry. It was one of only 14 out of 61 domestic annual conferences which paid 100 percent of World Service and other general apportionments for 2009--hundred percent for the 28th consecutive year.
A total of $1.376 million is slated for conference programs, including new church starts, youth ministries, and leadership development. This spending category is called “Healthy Church Ministries.”
A clergy support category, budgeted at $1.482 million for 2011, covers equitable compensation, support of district superintendents and, more than half, for retired clergy health benefits. The conference pays the major costs for health insurance for retired clergy.
The apportionment formula for local churches for 2011 is based on the three-year average (2006-2008) of net operating expenses, with a cap of 19 per cent of the 2008 total operating expenses
A major savings in the 2011 budget is the elimination of a $70,000 allocation for Camp Pecometh, a conference related camp and retreat ministry at Centreville, Md. Pecometh itself asked for the reduction since it is aggressively expanding its user base and expects to be able to function without annual conference subsidy.
Effect on District Offices
Holding the apportionment level does come at a cost. The 2011 budget eliminates $109,000 for support of offices in its four districts, meaning that the districts will need to come up with the funds if they wish to maintain district office services at current levels.
One reason for holding the apportionment steady is a steep increase in clergy health care costs for 2011. The increase will be 24 percent, but the conference is passing only half of this figure along to the congregations. The other half will be paid next year out of a rate stabilization reserve established by the Board of Pensions.
“Equitable compensation” for clergy will also be held at 2010 levels. While United Methodist clergy are paid directly by their congregations, annual conferences subside low incomes, bring them up to certain figures, depending on the clergy category. The equitable compensation level in Peninsula-Delaware begins at a minimum of $23,870 for student pastors and goes up to a minimum of $31,815 for a full elder.
Floor discussion at the conference indicated that these are among the lowest of the conferences in the United States. The members voted to amend the equitable compensation report to request that they be kept informed on where Peninsula-Delaware places in comparison to other conferences and that work begin on a plan to bring compensation levels up to the average in the northeastern section of the country.
Financial Considerations Going Forward
The finance committee headed by Mr. Halberstadt and the Rev. Dianne Henry presented ideas to be considered for keeping conference income and expenses balanced in the years immediately ahead. Possibilities include:
· Reduce the number of congregations and clergy by combining churches.
· Reduce conference programs and ministries.
· Reduce the number of districts from four to three by the year 2014.
The elimination of the allocations for district offices came from this strategic planning process. Mr. Halberstadt said that the reduction of districts was not an optimum choice since each superintendent already has an average of 77 congregations to oversee.
In another action related to finances, the conference voted to merge the foundation that serves the Peninsula-Delaware and Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conferences with a similar foundation in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. The merger will lower costs and increase productivity.
Offerings
Several offerings for specific ministries and causes were received during the conference, with a total of $51,677.08 contributed. Among the recipients are a mission partnership with the Central Congo Conference, a pension fund for clergy outside the United States, volunteers in mission, and the Board of the Ordained Ministry, the Board of Ordained Ministry Scholarship Fund, and Nothing But Nets.