Minutes
Board of Trustees
First Unitarian Society
Madison, Wisconsin
February 1, 2007
7:00
p.m.
Lower
Meeting House
Present:
Officers:
Pat Anderson, President
Laurie Joiner, President-Elect
Alan Knox, Past President
Tom Detmer, Secretary
Council Trustees:
Nancy Kosseff
Barb Avery
Chris Glueck
Kathy Luker
John Mathis
Jim Christensen
Ministers:
Michael Schuler, Minister
Kelly Crocker, Associate Minister
Staff:
Susan Koenig, Church Administrator
David Weber, Facilities Project Coordinator
Visitors
Donna Hartshorne, Archivist
Hilary Cronin, Youth Representative
CALL TO ORDER
After an opening and chalice lighting by Tom Detmer, Pat Anderson called the meeting to order at time 7:00 p.m.
Discussion of Policy Governance
Pat Anderson reviewed the policy governance model in the Carver model, particularly the executive structure of the model. See Handout. It was quickly observed that the traditional model does not fit faith communities easily because of the role of the minister, how budgets are determined and who has the right to hire and fire staff.
We need to decide on changes to make by April if we are going to amend the bylaws. It was observed that this is a major change potentially and it could take a year to decide what to change. Changing the bylaws is not something to do quickly or lightly. It is probably a good idea to wait until next year to change the bylaws so that we are sure of the changes that are required.
Susan observed that it sometimes feels like we do not have good guidelines on what to do regarding various policies. This leaves the staff feeling vulnerable.
We adopted a modified Carver model some time ago when we decided to move towards policy governance. Since then we have struggled with how it applies to us.
The Dallas model may be a good guide for us but we do not need to follow it verbatim. The policy governance model is being tried in many larger churches. A significant number are following it either strictly or in a modified form but it is not being used universally. However it is not being used universally by all large congregations.
Pat said that typical governance policies are about fifteen pages. However this length of the document relies on staff procedures being in place for underlying guidance for the staff to follow on a day to day basis. It is important for the Board to keep in touch with what is happening with the staff and with the church's governance. This is referred to as a “nose in, fingers out” approach.
Michael pointed out that “nose in, fingers out” does not mean interference. But the board must still be engaged and not disconnected with what is happening within the Society.
If the model functions well, it forces a planning and reporting to the Board process on the councils and committees so that the Board is informed. There must be coordination with the Board.
Laurie Joiner observed that the Carver model looks a lot like normal planning although it has new terminology. It helps by allowing us to develop an organizational chart.
The Board’s role is to set the goals and strategic direction. The Councils determine the means. The Board needs to regularly evaluate how well we’re doing.
The trustees should perhaps be disconnected from the liaison function. The connection to the congregation is of the utmost importance. This is accomplished through “walk around” connections with the members and committees.
When we previously have tried to disconnect the at-large trustees from the liaison function there has been push back from the councils to have a liaison with the board. They do not want to feel cut-off and disconnected. How can we address this perceived need? It may not be a real need although we need to determine if we have a way to address what people feel is needed.
Barb Avery stated that we should have a way for the staff, ministers and others to communicate with the Board and to let the Board know when things are non-functional. This is what the staff procedures should be prepared to address.
Where are grievances addressed? The Board needs to request when something needs fixing and to ask the appropriate persons or staff to fix it. The Board does not actually do the fixing.
There is a concern about making things too rigid so that a strict personally can create a roadblock to achieving goals.
John Mathis asked if past experience informs us about how well policy governance would help us in those situations, for example in personnel situations that require assessment. Michael said that our experience has been that some of the experience we’ve had has shown that we have handled the difficult spots with personal assessments.
The executive team that we now have would not have worked with prior personnel. This was at least in part due to the lack of acceptance of assessment tools that were instituted. It was also in part a result of lack of acceptance of the roles that were delegated. So if we are not broken now in what we do and we don’t have written policies then maybe what is needed is to simply write policies based on what we do now. Laurie said that things do not have to be broken to make improvements.
Pat proposed that we take the Dallas policies and have a small group of people evaluate it. They should be prepared to discuss it at the next meeting. Small group assignments were made to evaluate the various sections of the Dallas policy.
BREAK
TRANSITION PLANNING
The Management Team would like to get input from the Board on where we are going in the Transition Planning. The Board needs to know more about the specific plans to comment on them and this is where recommendations will be helpful. What has happened in the past week to determine plans in June 2008 immediately after the opening of the new facility?
WARTMANN STATUE
David Weber passed around pictures of a statue that William Wartmann has offered to the Society. The picture shows one of three identical statues. This one pictured is in front of the library in Edgerton. We are thinking of putting the one given to us in the West Courtyard of the new facilities.
A MOTION was made and seconded to accept the statue. CARRIED The Board instructed the writer of our acceptance letter to indicate that it is accepted with gratitude.
APPROVAL OF JANUARY 17, 2007 MINUTES
- MOTION by Kathy Luker to approve the minutes from January 17, 2007
- Motion CARRIED
RESOLUTION CONCERNING SIGNATORIES TO CHECKING ACCOUNT
A MOTION was made and seconded to approve the amendment to the November 15, 2006 resolution regarding checking to remove the authority of the financial secretary to sign checks. The previous resolution was also amended to read a single authorized signer may sign checks in the amount of $500 and under. Check in the amount of over $500 require two signatures. This clarifies how many signers are needed for any checks that equal exactly $500. CARRIED.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
The Capital Campaign pledges equal $4,966,000.
ADJOURNMENT
A MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. was made and CARRIED.
Minutes by, Tom Detmer, First Unitarian Society Board Secretary
