FINANCE COUNCIL, BUDGET
Our Finance Council meets 11 times a year, always seeking to manage our parish finances as well as possible. At our most recent meeting on July 28, for example, we reviewed the status of our million-dollar mortgage loan with Catholic Finance Corporation (CFC).
A little history: In May of 2016, St. Matt’s took out that CFC loan in order to install an elevator in the school building. An elevator was necessary to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which covers any institution receiving public money—such as the charter public school renting our school building.
The elevator portion of the loan was $800,000. The other portion of the loan, for $200,000, was for work on the boilers which serve all buildings on campus.
We’re now six years into paying off that loan. The elevator portion will be paid off in May of 2026, and the boiler portion will be paid off in 2036. School rent payments cover the CFC loan payments, roughly $10,000 per month.
All this discussion was part of a larger conversation about our proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023, which began July 1. Thanks to advice from the Parish Accounting Service Center (PASC) as well as CFC, our new budget will have improved detail. That helps our management of parish finances. (It also helps that I’ve now been here for over a year, and I’m working with a strong group of Finance Council members.)
As I’ve written in previous columns, we’re heading in a budget direction that more clearly accounts for our capital needs as well as our usual operational needs. I’ll keep you posted here. In the fall, we’ll mail out further information about the parish’s financial condition.
Well-managed finances are essential, but they’re not the mission of our parish. Rather, they support our mission: to be a Catholic community that is a visible expression of God’s love. Thank you for your prayers, volunteering, and contributions—they all support our mission.
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!
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