Annual Meeting: June 14, 11:15 a.m.

May 30, 2020 | Members News

Your participation is important. The Congregational Meeting is the ultimate authority within the church. As a free, liberal, religious community, we, the members, own the church. We have the responsibility and privilege of living our values. We elect our leaders and adopt our budget. We discuss and influence our policies and the direction of East Shore. The Annual Meeting gives shape and power to the fifth principle in Unitarian Universalism: the right of conscience and the use of democratic process. Our Bylaws mandate a quorum of 10% of the membership in order to conduct business. However, at this meeting, we’re seeking at least 25% of our membership (approximately 98 members) being present as the proposed budget includes using funds in excess of $100,000 from our endowment and approval of the PPP funding which will either be a 1% loan (requiring congregational approval) or, hopefully, forgiven in accordance with SBA guidelines. Our Bylaws require a minimum of 25% of membership present to make financial decisions in excess of $100,000.

Pieces You Need for the Meeting:

During the meeting, members will vote to approve:

  • Minutes of the June 9, 2019 Annual Meeting
  • Minutes of the April 26, 2020 Congregational Meeting
  • Minutes of the May 3, 2020 Congregational Meeting
  • The 2020-2021 Operating Budget
  • The 2020-2021 Board Nominations and Nominating Committee Nominees
  • PPP (Payroll Protection Plan) funding. The motion to approve the PPP funding is as follows:
    • Board Treasurer moves and Board President seconds, in accordance with East Shore Unitarian Church’s Bylaws, ARTICLE VI, Section A (6), the congregation approves the application and acceptance of $142,201.00 from the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program as authorized by the U.S. CARES Act, which is a loan program at 1% interest with 6 month deferment and 2 year repayment, with the understanding and intention to apply for the loan forgiveness process as outlined with SBA. 

The Congregational Meeting minutes are available by emailing Jenny ([email protected]) and on the church website.

As Tom Doe wrote last year: “Our Financial Stewardship committee’s and my own analysis shows we are undersized to our facility, and the path that best fulfils our mission and our faith is to make investments that will grow the church with a target of our 2008 size over the next 8-10 years. The Board has considered a budget balanced to expected pledge income, but it devastates our ability to function, likely leading to a self-reinforcing downward cycle of decreased programs and membership. We have the resources to invest in growth, and the investment is not a major portion of our financial resources.”

The proposal to continue to tap endowment earnings (not principal) for the 2020-2021 budget is one the Board has not taken lightly, even though we expect that a future Board will recommend that the congregation later vote to restore that money with Holly House proceeds.

A complete discussion of the financial strategy is beyond the scope of this letter. For more information the Board will provide the following:

  • Budget Town Hall, Sunday, June 7, at 11:15 a.m. via Zoom Meeting ID: 992 1531 8420
  • Budget Town Hall, Thursday, June 11, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom Join Zoom Meeting ID: 881 2381 0068

It has been an honor to serve as your President this past year.

Yours in faith,

Dennis Fleck President, Board of Trustees