Members present: Jeremiah Frasier, Patrick Laskowski, Jackie Nytes, Steve Sommer, Dan Thompson (Chair)
Also present: Father Tom Schliessmann, Andrea Cernich, Nancy Kmiecik, Karen Tearman, Ryan Wilmering (School Commission Representative)
The members of the Parish Finance Council met Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at 7 p.m. The Council began with prayer by Fr. Tom followed by a review and approval of the prior month’s minutes.
The council decided to begin sharing the Finance Council meeting minutes with the rest of the parish as the Pastoral Council had done.
Roof Update from Father Tom
Father Tom informed the council that we received 3 formal bids for the roof. He has signed the bid from Quality Roofing Services for $265k. We will also work with another firm to install proper ladder access at a cost of $18k bringing the total to $283k. We applied for $150k in Archdiocesan grants in April, though we do not anticipate receiving the entirety of our request. The Archdiocese will make allocation decisions in June. There is a pre-construction meeting next week with Quality Roofing which will include parish and school staff, Eric Atkins from the Archdiocese, and representatives of the School Commission’s Facilities Subcommittee. Quality Roofing has initially estimated 60 days for completion, and they are aware of the August 7 school start date.
Jackie shared an update on the progress of individual donor requests. They have received soft pledges totaling upwards of $60k in addition to $55k already pledged or received from the additional line item in this year’s Live to Give campaign. We are requesting donors to have their gifts in by August.
2023-2024 Draft Parish Budget Update from Karen Tearman
Karen walked through the assumptions of an early draft of next year’s parish budget. She stepped through most of the line items commenting on changes in the budget compared to the current or prior years’ actuals.
Collections are budgeted 4% below last year’s budget and slightly above the prior 8 months of actuals annualized. Parish salaries and benefits expenses have increased from last year based upon cost of living adjustments and current staffing needs. Moreover, property maintenance expenses have increased at Father Tom’s request to allocate a portion of collections to this need. The intent would be to save most or all of the monthly budgeted amounts for the many larger needs foreseen in the coming years.
The French Market section opened up brief discussions of food ticket prices, banner sponsorships being donated through the school’s SGO, and centralized sponsor engagement from the parish to avoid multiple parties at the parish and school contacting the same individuals at the same time.
The budget as it stands does not yet include any payments toward our debt to the Archdiocese, although we do remain in close communication with them about it. Their expectation remains to build up a cash cushion before beginning a repayment plan.
2023-2024 Draft School Budget Update from Nancy Kmiecik
As of today, we have 144 K-8 students and 46 Pre-K students enrolled for next year. The school’s capacity is 248 students (22 students per 9 grades K-8 plus 50 Pre-K students). At full capacity the school would have a balanced budget. Dan informed Nancy and Andrea about additional ways to utilize the SGO funds already in our account. The council brainstormed ways to increase enrollment from parish families, families for whom nearby Catholic schools do not have room, our non-Catholic neighborhood families, and other nearby IPS families unsatisfied with recent changes.
Following a closing prayer the meeting concluded at 8:45 p.m.
The council typically pauses meetings in June and July to be resumed again in August. The possibility remains for a special session regarding final budget items in June.
Our next regular meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday August 16, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
Patrick Laskowski, Secretary
Saint Joan of Arc
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