Bishop Thomas' comments on the Diocese of Helena financial report for 2005-2006
I am pleased to present
the comparative financial report for the Diocese of Helena for the years ended
June 30, 2005, and June 30, 2006. Since my installation as the Bishop of Helena,
I have supported the ongoing efforts to improve our use of the computer software
to provide timely, clear, and transparent financial reporting. This report brings
us up to date in such reporting and covers the fiscal years since the last financial
report in the Jan. 20, 2006, issue of the Montana Catholic.
In prior issues of the Montana Catholic and in various gatherings of the people
of our diocese, I have discussed the financial history and the hopes for the
future financial stability of our diocese. I appreciate your continued interest
and candid feedback. A portion of the Bishop’s pastoral ministry involves
the care and oversight of the Church’s temporal goods and resources. We
have made great progress in accomplishing the goals established after receiving
the advice from the volunteer consultants mentioned in last year’s article.
Again this year, we present details of our accomplishments to date.
Balance the operational
budget and increase cash flow – There are some costs reported in current
expenses that are expenses we cannot control. The largest of these has been
the costs associated with the past sexual misconduct of a very few priests.
We take seriously our responsibility to offer pastoral care and outreach for
those injured by these few priests and will continue this healing ministry as
long as necessary. After adjusting for the uninsured settlements and costs that
reflect liabilities to be covered by future budgets, FY 2004-2005 ended in a
deficit of $336,984.
We continue to increase fundraising and grant request efforts, and, thanks to
a generous grant from the Foundation for the Diocese of Helena, we will soon
hire a Development Services Director to enhance this effort. The diocese was
fortunate to receive increased revenue from large one-time gifts and bequests,
an increased diocesan assessment, your generous response to the Diocesan Offertory
Program, and newly implemented fees. Decreased expenses compared to earlier
years are still being achieved in part by not filling staff vacancies, limiting
salary increases for staff, a decrease of travel or funding travel with grants
from outside sources, outsourcing some administration when there is a cost benefit,
and reducing other operational expenses. The result is that we ended FY 2005-2006
with revenues exceeding expenses (after adjusting for uninsured settlements
and costs that reflect future liabilities) in the amount of $773,359.
This begins to rebuild the base we need in order to move toward meeting the
needs of the diocese identified by the Diocesan Pastoral Council process. I
am pleased to report that this marks a reversal of the trend that caused several
prior fiscal years to end in deficit. Nevertheless, we still have a great distance
to go to regain our prior position of financial stability. We will continue
to be aggressive in seeking ways to increase our positive annual cash flow in
order to attain a positive balance of undesignated operational assets.
Raise and meet the Diocesan Offertory Program goal – The goal was raised from $1,600,000 to the current campaign goal of $1,650,000, which I am pleased to report is approaching 100 percent in pledges. We continue to receive pledges and payments, raising hopes of attaining the goal in cash receipts before May 1. I am very grateful to the DOP donors, priests, Glenna Obie and others on staff, the Diocesan Stewardship Council, and parish stewardship staffs for making this great accomplishment possible.
Increase stewardship at
all levels – Many priests, religious, and laity from across the diocese
continue to take advantage of stewardship training seminars. Glenna Obie provides
parishes and schools with local stewardship assistance on request. More parishes
are appointing paid or volunteer stewardship directors. Our shared stewardship
vision is one in which people see the gifts God has provided and make a return
in conscience.
Timely, clear and transparent financial reporting – With this issue of
the Montana Catholic, we are up to date on annual audit reporting. The Diocesan
Finance Council continues the task of improving reporting formats of our financial
position, budget to actual income and expense, trending graphs, and ratio analysis.
Some of these reports will soon be available electronically for me, Pete McNamee
and other directors and advisors. The Deposit and Loan Fund accounting is now
software based, updated continually, and balances are available for parishes
and school staffs by way of a phone call or e-mail. In the future, we hope to
establish an intranet so that these reports are electronically accessible by
staffs. Our outside investment managers changed their report formats, which
saves us time in our analysis and reporting. We have improved procedures and
reports to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of cash controls and processing
accounts payable. We are using the latest available versions of our financial
software. We continue to improve our use of technology to increase efficiencies;
for example, our staff was able to use our financial software to electronically
transfer most of the information into our annual Financial Report.
Improve Deposit and Loan fund policy compliance, approval and evaluation of loan performance – The Deposit and Loan Fund Committee is in the formation process and will begin its work soon. This committee will review the proposed updated loan policies and make a recommendation to me for approval. When a loan is requested, the committee will analyze the request based on objective criteria, analyze the ability to repay, and recommend whether the request should be granted. The committee also will analyze loan performance, and will make timely recommendations to me through the Diocesan Finance Council for action to be taken when a loan is not performing in accordance with the agreements made.
Improve the appearance and financial stability of Catholic Cemeteries – Last year, we reorganized Catholic Cemeteries and initiated a plan that has lifted the current debt burden. We continue to address the remaining budget issues and plan a capital campaign to pay for improvements in cemetery appearance for the long term.
Conduct a capital campaign – The last diocesan-wide capital campaign to enhance the financial base of the diocese and its programs, parishes, schools and institutions was at least 25 years ago. We are long overdue. Through the efforts of the Diocesan Pastoral Council and with the concurrence of our advisory groups, we have a pastoral plan for the future that will be the basis of the case for the capital campaign. The Development Services Director, when hired, will assist in the campaign and facilitate other fund-raising efforts. I am grateful for the helpful insights I continue to receive during my pastoral visits to all of the diocesan parishes, schools and institutions.
Protection of diocesan assets – In addition to staff and established advisory groups, I continue to use the services of various advisors to glean information from Church sources throughout the United States so that we can provide structures for our diocesan Church that best protect our assets while helping us observe our responsibilities as a diocese.
Financial services five-year plan – We are now implementing the five-year plan proposed last year for the financial services (formerly business office) staff to provide optimal reports and service using available resources. Some items of the plan are providing: more electronic access to financial information; data using a new grant tracking program; more payroll, personnel and cash management assistance to parishes and schools; more rapid turnaround on inquiries as well as requests for approvals needed in accordance with diocesan policy; policy updates and much more.
Annual financial workshop – In September we held our second annual financial workshop for priests, religious and lay persons throughout the diocese who help provide care for your gifts of stewardship. We had four breakout sessions covering computer technology, personnel and accounting issues, stewardship and Catholic school management. In each session there was a discussion of internal control procedures to improve the protection of funds, annual acknowledgment of donor gifts, and more standardized formats for financial reporting at every level. Some new directions presented were options of accepting donations by computer, credit cards or direct deposit, and the eventual use of plastic security bags at all locations until the receipts are deposited in the bank.
I encourage you to study
the accompanying information. If you have any comments or questions, please
feel free to contact Pete McNamee by e-mail:
pmcnamee@diocesehelena.org or by letter at P.O. Box 1729, Helena MT 59624.
I am grateful for your continuing stewardship offerings of time, talent and treasure to the Diocese of Helena as together we spread the Good News. May God bless you and yours as we walk together on our journeys of faith.
Sincerely yours in Christ
Most Reverend George Leo Thomas
Bishop of Helena
Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 12, 2007.