Additional All-American Council financial documents posted on OCA.org web site
Additional financial documents for the 15th All-American Council are now available on the OCA.org web site. These documents present budgetary considerations for the year 2009 and relate to the discussion of the per capita assessment to central Church administration for the next three-year term.
In posting these documents, OCA Treasurer, Priest Michael Tassos, prepared the following introduction.
“Over the past several months the members of the Holy Synod, the Metropolitan Council and the central administration have been working on the subject of the per capita assessment to the central Church and how this money should be distributed. Various scenarios have been reviewed and discussed with consensus on some issues and not on others. Here are some of the items where a general consensus exists:
- “The per capita assessment level must realistically match the expenses of the central administration; the assessment and the budgeted expenditures must work together.
- “The assessment level should support work that is in keeping with the vision of the Church.
- “The per capita assessment methodology must be fair and reasonable and we must be open to considering other methods of funding, specifically percentage giving (tithing).
- “The entire assessment process must be equitable, unbiased and transparent.
- “Meeting the per capita assessment is one of the diocese’s operating expenses.
- “In regards to expenses of the central administration, some items must be paid such as bank loans, legal fees, insurance, contractual obligations and vendors; all other items are open for review.
“At its September 4 meeting, the Metropolitan Council directed that “the Finance Committee and Fr. Michael [Tassos] will work to draft two versions of the 2009 budget, one based on a ‘per capita assessment’ of $105.00 per person and one based on $90.00 per person.” In fulfillment of this action item, the following two documents are offered for your consideration. The first is a listing of possible expenditures if the assessments were at the $90.00 per person level and the second is a listing of possible expenditures if the assessments were at the existing $105.00 per person level.
“These reports were prepared using the actual annualized expenditures in 2008. They also reflect some proposed changes. They certainly do not reflect all possible budgetary scenarios. And it must be stressed that the actual budget for 2009 will be drafted and approved by the Metropolitan Council only after the All-American Council has set the assessment level for the next three-year term. The essential point with these reports is to show some possibilities, based on operations established through the recent OCA chancery reorganization and on the Church’s ongoing commitments in certain areas of ministry (e.g., evangelization, education and military chaplaincy).
“There is a great deal of concern about the central administration that can be summed up in these questions: ‘What, exactly, is the central administration?’ ‘What should it be doing?’ ‘What is the appropriate funding level for these activities?’ Given that many people may not be aware of the variety of work that the OCA is engaged in through the central administration, and of the expenditures related to this work, I hope that these documents will offer some clarity and context for our discussion on the per capita assessment.
“We apologize for the delay in publishing these documents and we hope that they will help us as we discuss the very important issue of Church finances at the upcoming All-American Council.”
The “Possible Central Administration Expense Allocations” may be downloaded in PDF format here.