SUMMER 2005Robert Horvay
Mickleton MM
t the March Quarterly Meeting, I was very surprised when I saw the Finance Committee report stating that the Quarter was funded on a covenant basis.
Maybe it's time for Salem Quarterly Meeting to discuss whether the Quarter should be using a quota-based funding system or one that's covenant-based. The Quarter, however, is currently still on a quota basis, because Quarterly Meeting never discussed changing how the Quarter is funded. When PYM went to a covenant-based funding, that decision affected only PYM funding. I am unaware of any instruction from PYM as to how quarterly meeting activities are to be funded, and I don't believe PYM has the authority to tell the quarters how to fund quarter activities.
Prior to March Quarterly Meeting, the Finance Committee met and developed the budget using a quota for funding it. However, the budget submitted to Quarterly Meeting had changed to assume a covenant funding. The impact of quotas versus covenants on the $49,036 budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year is …
Monthly Meetings 2004 Adult Members Quota Covenant Submitted to SQM Greenwich 45 $4,467 $4,203 Mickleton 52 5,162 9,200 Mullica Hill 63 6,254 6,505 Salem 112 11,117 11,609 Seaville 55 5,459 4,704 Woodbury 34 3,375 3,302 Woodstown 133 13,202 12,800 Total 494 $49,036 $52,323 While the $3,287 difference resulted mostly from a last-minute application of a surplus that the Quarter had at PYM, using a covenant could generate a similar result in the future.
One Friend has objected that using a quota based on adult members does not give accurate results because PYM does not have correct records. However, each monthly meeting submits membership statistics annually. All seven meetings have submitted statistics for 2004, which are the source of the figures shown above.
Quotas seem to me to be the only way to have equity in funding Salem Quarterly Meeting activities. At times in the past, some meetings have been unable to pay their share of the quota. When that has happened, other meetings have been willing to pay extra to balance the budget. Using the quota establishes a basis for fair sharing.
[Bob Horvay serves as treasurer for the Steering Committee, and is ex officio a member of the Quarter Finance Committee–ED.]
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Saturday, May 07, 2005 at 10:19 PM
