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Focus on the Future: questions and answers
This is a summary of the questions posed at meetings held around the country in March and April. If there is another question you would like to see answered here, email Jose Reader.
Please click on a question to view the relevant answer, or scroll down the page to view the entire list.
How did the financial situation arise, and how reliable are the figures given they’ve changed?
A full-year deficit of around $1.2 million was forecast if no action was taken to address the budget deficit as at 30 December 2004 ($839,000). However, a range of cost reduction measures are being implemented and these are expected to bring the full year result towards the $660,000 budgeted deficit.
Several factors have contributed to the $839,000 deficit as at 30 December 2004 including above-budget IT and staff costs.
- Information technology costs were up $110,000. This expenditure was simply to bring the new system up to speed. The underlying system is fine but a number of modifications were necessary to improve efficiency.
- Staff costs were up $274,000. This included temporary finance staff to get the 2003/04 accounts to audit standard, higher recruitment costs due to staff departures and extra salaries paid as a result of the time lag in disestablishing Mission Resource Team positions.
- Unbudgeted trust income/expenditure items and Council of World Mission expenditure of $125,000. This is essentially a timing difference between the accounting period in which the money was received and that in which it was paid.
- Loss of income from the beneficiary fund administration being outsourced of $100,000.
At February 2005 only 85 percent of the Assembly Assessment had been paid on a year-to-date basis. This is still much better than the 78 percent of a few months ago. A lot of effort is going into the collection of Assembly Assessment.
Council is more confident in the quality of financial information than we were six months ago and, as Assembly directed, the Administration and Finance Policy Group is working toward a balanced budget for 2005/06.
Administration and Finance Policy Group has been receiving monthly accounts since November 2004. This new information has allowed A&F to make decisions and recommendations to address the issue.
What is the cost of running the School of Ministry? Is this the best way to train ministers?
During the 2004/5 financial year, projected School of Ministry expenditure from annual Assembly funds is expected to be $560,000. This includes $80,000 towards the Hewitson Library. Other funding comes from investments and from the Synod of Otago and Southland, which also funds the position of coordinator of lay and recognised ministries.
During the Focus on the Future meetings, there was some misunderstanding about the training provided by the School of Ministry (SOM). Many people were under the impression that SOM provided theological academic training. While this was the case in years gone by, students now do their foundational studies – a Bachelor of Theology or Bachelor of Ministry – through the University of Otago, University of Auckland or the Bible College of New Zealand and then complete their ministry training at the SOM in a two-year ministry formation programme.
Of course, the School isn't just about training of students on site. At Dunedin they are also engaged in continuing ministry education for the whole Church. To this end the SOM provides distance-learning modules; advises about study leave options; delivers regional training events, seminars and retreats; conducts research into areas that influence and affect our ministry; administers post-graduate scholarships; and provides training information and advice throughout the country. See the School of Ministry website for more detail about the services they offer to the church at http://www.schoolofministry.ac.nz
The SOM is moving toward New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) accreditation for its courses, which will establish the Ordination Studies Programme alongside other tertiary level theological institutions, provide a platform for accessing external revenue streams, offer courses students from other denominations can access, and offer options for independent students.
Along with other national parish and presbytery support services, the means of ministry training is one of the many matters that will be considered by those reviewing feedback from Focus on the Future.
Can you explain the 5 percent figure in the Focus on the Future pack? I’m sure my parish pays more than 5 percent of our income to support national services.
Income can be defined in different ways and this is the reason why interpretation of the exact percentage differs. The definition we used for the pie chart on page 15 of the Focus on the Future document included total income from all parishes and takes into account the provision for underpayment of Assembly Assessment. Beneficiary fund and seniority allowance has been excluded because these funds are not used for national operations.
Below is a numeric summary of how the 5 percent figure was calculated:
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Using income subjected to Assembly Assessment of $28.8 million, the $2.3 million for national operations (noted above) represents 8 percent of parish income.
Depending on a variety of factors, between 5–12 percent of parish income contributes to national support services for presbyteries and parishes.
The purpose of including the pie chart in the Focus on the Future material was to illustrate that nationally a small proportion of parish income is used for national support services. The majority of parish income is used locally.
Please explain the “gift of partnership” to Te Aka Puaho. How did it come about and what is it used for?
One of the ways General Assembly recognises the Presbyterian Church’s bicultural status is financial support for Te Aka Puaho. The annual amount is linked to General Assembly income, and changes from year to year.
During 2004/05 these payments are expected to total $329,000 (2003/04 $343,000). This money funds Te Aka Puaho’s ministry including payments to amorangi (please note amorangi are non-stipended positions) and funding for gatherings and resources.
Has research been done about why some parishes are not paying their Assembly Assessment?
Some research has been done in this area, and those parishes not paying Assembly Assessment generally fall into one of three categories:
- Do not have the funds to pay
- Have the funds to pay, but choose not to
- Make partial payment.
Efforts are being focussed on groups two and three above. As at 31 December, fifteen parishes collectively owed in excess of $530,000.
How many people are employed by General Assembly and how much are they paid?
There are 26 full time staff employed to carry out functions on behalf of the whole church. This number doesn’t include people who are employed on a part-time or fixed term contract basis.
For 2004/05, staff costs are projected to be 40 percent of expenditure (excluding beneficiary fund, seniority allowance and trust fund expenditure).
Some meetings requested information about individual staff salaries; however, this information is confidential to the individuals and their respective managers under the requirements of the Privacy Act. Due to the low number of staff employed by General Assembly it isn’t feasible to provide the number of persons within particular salary bands in the standard private sector format (ie. $40,000 – 50,000), as has been suggested. Where there is only one person in a particular band, disclosure would breach privacy.
How did the total budget get proposed? How is the projected budget developed?
A budget was developed by the Finance team, which went to the Administration and Finance Policy Group for approval, and then to Council of Assembly and Assembly.
When the 2005/06 budget is finalised in June, this information will be made available to the wider church.
Why should Focus on the Future be successful?
Council is committed to making changes that strengthen the church at national, regional and local levels. The situation of the church at this point in time calls for decisive action with more urgency than at any point in the past.
We have undertaken this process to help build a way forward. Focus on the Future flows directly from General Assembly’s decision that Council engage in urgent focussed conversation with the wider church about tasks to be undertaken nationally.
The task group considering the information from meetings and submissions is expected to develop a series of options and recommendations for consideration by Council.
Council then expects to issue a report to the wider Church in July about outcomes from the process. It is possible this report may include recommendations to General Assembly where decisions are beyond the scope of Council’s decision-making authority.
You are invited to keep an eye on this page of the website for future updates.
Where to from here…
An interim report will be issued in May to all those who have registered (please click here to email your request). This report will be a broad summary of key points raised in the submissions and during the meetings.
Council has appointed a task group to consider the feedback from written submissions and meetings. The group includes ministers and lay people from around the country, as well as members of Council who were involved in the regional Focus on the Future conversations.
The information will be considered and the task group will present a range of options and recommendations to Council of Assembly. It is likely this report will include options and recommendations with both short and long term implications.
A full report from Council of Assembly is due out in July 2005. This is slightly later than originally advised. No face-to-face Council meetings for the remainder of this financial year coupled with putting in place measures to ensure the collation and analysis process is robust and transparent, mean that it will take a little longer than originally anticipated to get feedback to the wider church.