Finance Council Members
Rev. Jean Gonzalez, Administrator
Larry Rogers, Chair
Ben Zimmerman, Auditor
Mary Dennison, Secretary
St. John Chrysostom Member
To see Audit 2020, click HERE!
To see Audit Parish response, click HERE!
Canon Law requires each parish to have a Finance Council. In addition, under Canon Law Section 1280, regional and secondary schools are required to have a Finance Council. The role of the Finance Council is to advise the pastor, pastoral administrator, or school administrator and Parish Council or School Board in matters of finance and in decisions involving the temporal goods of the parish or school. It is separate from the Parish Council. The Parish Council is a consultative body to the pastor or pastoral administrator in deciding how to meet the needs of the parish as a whole. Both councils are directly accountable to the pastor or pastoral administrator.
Membership of the Finance Council
In addition to the pastor, pastoral administrator, or school administrator, the Finance Council should consist of at least three members who are skilled in financial affairs or civil law. In the event a particular parish or school does not have qualified persons who are willing to serve on the Finance Council, the pastor, pastoral administrator, or school administrator should consult with the Archbishop and Chief Financial Officer of the Archdiocese for assistance in appointing persons from other parishes to serve as regular members of the council.
To minimize the possibility of conflicts of interest, it is recommended that Finance Council members or relatives not hold office in parish or school organizations or serve on the Parish Council or School Board, at the same time.
Meetings
Meetings of the Finance Council should be held monthly or as determined by the pastor, pastoral administrator, or school administrator but no less than quarterly. Each member is required to maintain confidentiality on those matters designated as confidential.
It is recommended that the pastor, pastoral administrator, or school administrator select a secretary of the Council who is responsible for recording minutes of the meetings. These minutes should be forwarded to the pastor or pastoral administrator for approval and for distribution to the other members. Copies should be maintained in a permanent file in the parish office.
Duties and Responsibilities
The basic functions that are to be performed by the Parish or School Finance Council in consultation with the pastor or pastoral administrator are the following:
- Ensure adherence to Archdiocesan financial policies and procedures.
- Review parish or school and parish/school organizations monthly financial reports compared to budget.
- Review six-month and year end reports that are submitted to the Chancery for the periods ending December 31 and June 30.
The Finance Council must be kept informed by the pastor, pastoral administrator, or school administrator and bookkeeper of all parish financial matters and be provided with copies of the Archdiocesan Financial Policies and Procedures Manual.
Archdiocesan Policies for Parish Finance Council