ADMINISTRATION MINISTRY TEAM

Minutes for meeting of July 14, 2009

 Present:  Mary Kammann (Moderator), Carl Connor, Joan Rawson, Mike Bartholomew. Absent: Ken Osborne, Winnie Quinzi.  Pastor Norm stepped in at the beginning of the meeting requesting that a couple of topics be discussed.

 ·        Meeting called to order a 7 p.m.

·        Mary opened the meeting in prayer.

 Old Business

 ·        Carl presented some new wording for Section #2 the church's administrative policy manual clarifying and defining "at will" employment.  The committee concurred that the first two paragraphs of the document be adopted.  A "sign off" form for employees to sign stating they understand the "at will" policy was tabled for discussion at another meeting.  The policy reads:

 Employment at Will

            Employment with the First Presbyterian Church of Las Cruces is voluntarily entered into, and the employee is free to resign at will at any time, with or without cause.  Similarly, the First Presbyterian Church of Las Cruces may terminate the employment relationship at will at any time, with or without notice or cause, so long as there is no violation of applicable federal or state law.

 Policies set forth in this Administration Policies and Procedures manual are not intended to create a contract, nor are they to be construed to constitute contractual obligations of any kind or a contract of employment between the First Presbyterian Church of Las Cruces and any of its employees.  No First Presbyterian Church of Las Cruces representative is authorized to modify this policy for any employee or to enter into any agreement, oral or written, contrary to this policy.

 ·        Joan reported that Monday morning money counting was going very smoothly.

·        There was some discussion of the mid-year status of the budget.  Sunday collections are at $217,440 for these 6 months.  Overall the budget is not in bad shape; budget cutting and fewer people on salary is helping to stabilize the situation.  It was noted that nursery care was over budget, but recognized that this ministry is crucial and may require a budget adjustment.  The Admin team was not clear which committee oversees the nursery coordinator and will get that clarified at Session next week.

 New Business

 ·        The committee confirmed an on-line polling to deny two requests for use of the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall.  The requests were from Central Apostolic Tabernacle of Life for two days in August and from Lifeline Screening in November.  A PEO request to reserve a room in December was not acted on given the policy for not confirming rooms for non-church groups this early.

·        A discussion of the personnel evaluations for the first half of 2009 occurred.  Carl will handle this.

·        The Team agreed to make two requests of the Clerk of Session:

·        Issuing a letter authorizing Joan Rawson as church representative to acquire information about church investments with New Covenant Funds with as-needed frequency, and

·        Issuing a letter authorizing Joan Rawson to get information about the memorial funds that the Presbyterian National Foundation owns and from which the church receives designated income so as to have solid information about these funds going into the next budget year.

·        The committee held initial discussions of at potential organizer for this year's pledge drive campaign.  The person we wish to approach will be invited to the next Admin Team meeting.

·        The committee discussed a possible person to recommend to the nominating committee to be the next elder to serve in the first year position on the admin committee.

·        Joan discussed with a banker about the possibility of getting a church credit card that does NOT require that the pastor be a co-signer.  The discussion is promising that this can be done.  Carl will follow up.

·        The Children's Garden contract is now in order and payments are regular.  There was a small issue with their current custodial service losing its contract, but that should quickly be resolved.  Joan noted that there is a mural that needs to be repainted in the Children's Garden area and asked whether they might donated the paint to have this done.

·        Michelle Del Rio's contract with the temp agency is now up and the Admin Team concurred to hire her as the church accountant at $12/hour for 20 to 25 hours per week.  Weekly hours, if needed, in excess of 27 hours MUST be approved a member of the Admin Team and in no case can hours exceed 32 hours per week.  This will be effective July 16.  Since she will be writing paychecks including hers, it will be the responsibility of the pastor to verify her hours worked.

·        Music and Worship is in the process of hiring the new choir director.  The Admin team concurred that the offer be within the currently budgeted salary range.

·        The Team concurred with a request from Building and Grounds to transfer responsibility for the church vans to B&G.  The budget will be also transferred to them EXCEPT Admin will retain responsibility for the insurance.

 Meeting adjourned about 8:25 p.m. following a prayer by Carl.

 Next meeting August 11 at 7 p.m.

 Respectfully submitted by Mike Bartholomew

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Last update 2009-07-21 14:19:28