August 24, 2020

SUBJECT: 2020 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT TO PARISHIONERS

Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph Parish - Rio Vista,

As directed by Father Mervin the Parish Finance Council has prepared the enclosed Annual Report to the Faithful for the period July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 and the Annual Budget for July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.  Please note that one of the representatives of the Parish Finance Council will be presenting this report on August 30, 2020 at 9:30 am livestream mass.

ANNUAL REPORT:
For the first eight months of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 the financial results were generally very positive with respect to the parish budget.  With the outbreak of COVID 19 and the halt of attendance at masses, we incurred a significant decline in offertory collections.  Collections were down from budget 42%, 31%, and 19% for the months of March, April, and May respectively.  June collections were on budget due to a $4,000 donation from one family.

You will note that total operating income of $308,297 was $3,566 over budget.  This was due primarily to the receipt (Other Receipts) of $26,700 from the Federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP) that was obtained through the efforts of the Diocese of Sacramento for all parishes. Our income would have been $23,134 under budget without the Federal assistance.
Our single largest expense, Salaries, Wages, and Benefits were down $11,132 from budget primarily due to the closure of the church and the resulting layoff of staff.  Under the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) we received some assistance in making sick leave payments to laid off staff.  The overall $18,641 favorable variance in total operating expenses was attributable to the closure of the church, hall, and religious education for the last four months of the fiscal year.
Net operating income was over budget $22,206 but would have been a negative $4,494 without the above noted PPP assistance of $26,700.
The non-operating building fund collections were $1,293 over budget due to the $4,956 proceeds from the Pan Asian dinner that were dedicated to the building fund for the elevator portion of the church stairs project.  The $50,585 favorable variance in the building improvements was due to a $12,586 favorable variance in the church stairs project and cancelling other planned projects for the fiscal year.

2020-2021 BUDGET:
Given the uncertainties resulting from the continuing COVID 19 pandemic, developing the budget for the new fiscal year was a real challenge.  The largest single factor in our operating income is Offertory Collections.  Overall offertory collections are projected at 87% of the prior year actual (81% of prior year budgeted Sunday collections).  With the restrictions on social gatherings, Pastoral Council committed to a parish fund raising budget of $6,000 net, down from the prior year actual of $12,350.  The total budgeted operating income of $230,777 represents a 24% decline from the prior year budget.

With the projected decline in operating income, several difficult decisions were made to cut the operating expenses.  First, except for our parish secretary, all other lay staff positions were eliminated (music, housekeeping, and religious education) with the functions relying on volunteer service only.  In accordance with Diocese guidelines, all originally planned salary increases for priests and lay staff were eliminated.  To further cut expenses, the decision was made to close our hall for half the time each month.
As a result of the above, Salaries, Wages and Benefits were budgeted at 85% of the prior year actual expenses.  Hall expenses were budgeted at 65% of the prior year actual.  The total operating expense budget of $230,777 is down 15% from the prior year actual and 20% from the prior year budget.
As a result of the above, our net operating income is a conservative, projected break-even budget.
Non-operating income and expense includes interest and dividends which is down 55% primarily due to the decline in the interest rate for our savings accounts at the Diocese.  Building fund collections were budgeted at 80% of the prior year budget.  The capital expenditure budget of $75,000 is a single project for the repair of the church siding that has been delayed for over a year.  As a result of the competitive bidding, the anticipated cost of the repairs is currently projected to be less than $30,000 and would eliminate the budget net loss of $30,825.  Accordingly, our revised projected year end cash balance should exceed $487,000. Please contact the parish office if you have any questions.

POSTSCRIPT: In order to stay connected with you, the parish office is working to update cell phone numbers and email addresses of all parishioners. With this information, we would be able to inform you in a timely manner any changes of our mass schedules and other important information. For now, we used our parish website, myParish apps, and facebook account, but the information doesn’t seem to reach to everyone.  To improve our communication, please email your cell number and email address with your complete name to [email protected]. And we assure you to keep your information confidential. Thank you and God Bless.

Sincerely in Christ,

St Joseph Parish Finance Council