The budget for 2013 was approved at our congregational
meeting on 24 March. This budget
indicates a slight surplus ($1266) and covers all expected operating expenses
for the year, including ongoing building maintenance. $9000 is to come from reserves to pay for
some necessary major building project works.
However, it is estimated that these necessary major building project
works will cost $10 900. Based on
current income and expense levels we will be unable to complete all of these
works. Additionally, once we spend the
$9000 we will have no more money in our Property Maintenance Reserve. There is no provision in the budget to save
any money, apart from $2000 for equipment replacement. In short what I’m saying is that we have only
$9000 left to pay for property development and no capacity in the budget to
save anymore.
The Church Council foresaw this towards the end of last year
and discussed alternative means of income, apart from our offerings. One option that has been acted upon is to
increase the income potential from renting the hall to outside users. We have therefore entered into an agreement
with Communify to act as our booking agent and to proactively find users. The agreement is only for the hire of the
hall. Outside users will not have access
to the church or meeting room. As with
all users, the kitchen, toilets and car park are shared.
Communify is a not for profit, non-religious, community
based group. They say that they “work
with local people to promote a diverse, socially just and inclusive
community.” Communify has a history of
managing hall bookings on behalf of other organisations. They impose very high standards on the users
of the halls. These standards are very
similar to the expectations we have on people who use our hall. If you would like a copy of the hire conditions
you can go to Communify’s website, or contact Helen Smith in the church office.
This new arrangement means that bookings for the hall can no
longer be simply written into the bookings book as previously. Any person or group wishing to use the hall
must notify Helen Smith. Helen will then
contact Communify to check on availability and will confirm with the user the
outcome of the booking. As is current,
use of the hall will be on a first in first served basis. Therefore individuals and groups should book
as soon as possible, even if you only have a tentative date, or you wish to
nominate a couple of possible dates and then choose only one at a later time.
Depending on the frequency of use, we may need to employ
cleaners to ensure that the building is in a suitable condition for hire. However, all users, both church and non-church
are expected to leave the building in a tidy condition with furniture etc
returned to where it belongs.
As custodians of the property that God has given us we are
expected to steward this building in the best way we can, for the sake of
ourselves and those who are yet to come.
This means ensuring that we are able to earn sufficient money to pay for
necessary maintenance and upgrades. It
also means sharing the wealth and privilege of our building with our community.
Please talk to me or Alison Anderson if you would like
further information.
Grace and peace
David Fender
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