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Finance and Administration
Central pay
For many years a central pay system has been in place to administer the cost of
priestly services on behalf of parishes. The net payments to clergy are deposited biweekly in their bank accounts. Parishes may elect to have members of their lay staff (e.g. caretaker, organist, secretary) serviced in the same way. There is no administrative charge for this service, which is offered by the accounting department of the Synod office. The advantage to the parish is that the parish is relieved of calculating employer and employee salary deductions, of forwarding such deductions to the appropriate authorities, and of handwriting salary cheques.
Compensation guidelines
The nature of parish ministry makes it impossible to set fixed hours of work; instead clergy must make provisions for adequate time off.
Canon 4.09 states that the salary for stipendiary clergy is to be determined annually by the Bishop's Salary Panel. All clergy have a right to have their salaries reviewed in their presence by the panel, whose decision is final.
Bylaw B.4.05 defines the positions to which clergy may be appointed and sets out the details of remuneration and benefits for these positions. Clergy may be appointed as incumbents, assistant curates, priests-in-charge, deacons-in-charge, special licencees, diocesan staff members, chaplains, and other categories that might be established from time to time.
Clergy with previous related work experience may apply for credit.
Application for Related Work Experience Credit. Guidelines for clergy making applications to the Salary Board are shown in the
Clergy Personnel Policy's Annex 3.1.
Policy
See Chapter 3 of the Clergy Personnel Policy for compensation guidelines with respect to: stipendiary clergy; non-stipendiary clergy; supply ministry; part-time appointments with remuneration; housing (parish-supplied housing, housing allowance); transportation; and (in an annex) how to apply for related work experience credit.
Stipendiary Scales and Allowances
Published by the Synod office at the start of each year, this document (pdf) sets out current stipends based on levels of seniority, as well as allowances for travel and housing. In addition, rates are announced for supply ministry services and clergy per diems.
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Consolidated Trust Fund
The Consolidated Trust Fund (CTF) of the Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Ottawa is one of the Diocese's three separate funds. CTF holds and manages investments for parishes, Synod, third parties and for various cemeteries. Synod is a registered charitable organization and is exempt from income taxes.
More information
CTF Financial Statements - December, 2010 (pdf)
CTF performance summary (pdf)
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Diocesan budget
In October 2009, Synod approved a budget (pdf) for the years 2010-2012.
Over this 3 year period, we expect to balance expenditures with revenues. Nevertheless, we continue to be challenged by our cash flow, and unexpected and unplanned expenditures test us. More commentary is provided in the Final Budget Narrative (pdf).
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Employee Assistance Plan
The Employee Assistance Plan provides up to $350 per individual per calendar year for counseling. Active clergy are eligible for this
assistance but parish employees are generally not covered.
More information
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Equalized Cost of Priestly Services (ECOPS)
Equalization among parishes has long been an accepted principle and practice in the Diocese of Ottawa. Equalized Cost of Priestly Services (ECOPS) (pdf) is a new assessment system, developed to strengthen our congregations, ministry, and mission. Adopted at Synod 2010, it replaces the system of equalization grants that was put in place during the 1970s when the diocese first moved to its central pay system.
What's different about ECOPS?
With ECOPS, parishes pay for the cost of priestly services as a function of their share of the total diocesan cost of priestly services (excluding housing) and not as a function of their particular incumbent's stipendiary costs. The Parish Fair Share percentage under ECOPS is the three-year average of a parish's assessable income expressed over the total of all the parishes' net assessable income.
ECOPS enables clergy appointments to be guided principally by ministry gifts and their "fit" with a parish. With ECOPS our bishop is able to appoint senior, experienced clergy with particular gifts to any parish in the Diocese without affecting that parish's ECOPS payments.
Financial Affairs Committee submissions
To be considered for the agenda of the Financial Affairs Committee, documentation needs to arrive at the Synod office by the second Monday of the month
(July and August excluded). The covering letter should summarize the request, clearly stating if the request is for a withdrawal from the Consolidated
Trust Fund, an approval for a project, permission to withhold a gift or bequest, or other reason.
Before making a submission be sure to review the
Application Form instructions
and the Decision Rights details.
For the application form, click here
For the Decision Rights Matrices, click here
Financial responsibilities of clergy
The Religious Institutions Act of Ontario and the Canons, Bylaws and Regulations make it clear that the overall responsibility for management of parish finances (pdf) lies with the incumbent and the churchwardens (the parish corporation). Usually delegated to a parish treasurer are the responsibilities for maintaining accounting records, preparing financial statements, and the maintenance of adequate internal control (doc). In some parishes a finance committee oversees this work.
The Managing Finances in the Parish Handbook (pdf) is essential reading for all clergy, because it is an indispensable reference source for all parish-based financial and administrative information.
Financial statements
At the end of each fiscal year financial statements (pdf) are prepared by the Synod, which are subsequently audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, for the:
- Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Ottawa, reporting the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of Synod and its controlled entities, the Extension Fund and Cornerstone Foundation
- Consolidated Trust Fund, (pdf) which helps parishes manage and invest their trusts, income from bequests, and proceeds from sale of rectories or other parish property
- Extension Fund, (pdf) which provides loans to parishes for capital projects.
Parishes are responsible for their own annual financial reports, which should be audited under the terms specified in Bylaw B.5.02 Section 9, and also Regulation 5.06.
There are policies that parishes should be aware of, which if made use of, will entail dealing with the Financial Affairs Committee. These are:
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Forms - Quick links
Please let the webmaster know if there are other forms you would like to find here.
Group health, pension and benefit plans
The Diocese of Ottawa is a member of the group plans of the Anglican Church of Canada. These plans are administered by the Pension office of the Anglican Church of Canada, which is a separate entity within the national organization. In addition to administering two pension plans, the Pension office administers a long-term disability plan, a death benefit plan, a group employee benefits program, and the continuing education plan. It also administers endowment funds. The accounting staff at the Synod office in Ottawa handles all matters related to pensions and benefits within the diocese.
The General Synod Pension Plan (pdf) is a multi-employer defined-benefit plan that provides benefits based on a prescribed formula. All dioceses plus the national office, Church Army and other church organizations participate in the plan. Currently, there are approximately 2,000 contributing members, of which about 1,500 are clergy and 500 are lay employees. There are roughly 1,600 in receipt of a pension and of this number, approximately 600 are surviving spouses.
The Lay Retirement Plan is a defined-contribution plan whereby employers and employees contribute at a defined rate, usually a percentage of the employee's earnings; contributions are combined with interest to purchase a life annuity or a life income fund when the member retires. Members of this plan work in parishes, daycare centres, shelters and other church-run organizations. Lay employees in parishes may participate in the General Synod plan or the Lay Retirement Plan.
The Pension Office also administers group insurance programs, which cover life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, extended health care, dental and vision care. Group benefits are insured by Manulife Financial.
The Long-Term Disability Plan (pdf) is a self- insured plan. All dioceses plus the national office, Church Army, parishes and other church organizations participate in the plan. There are currently over 2,000 contributing members and there are about 70 people receiving disability benefits.
The Death Benefit Plan is also a self-insured plan. All dioceses plus the national office, Church Army and other church organizations participate in the plan. There are about 2,000 members in this plan.
The Continuing Education Plan (pdf) is also administered by the Pension Office. The plan is mandatory for clergy and lay employees of diocesan offices and the national office. Employees do not contribute to the plan. The Diocese of Ottawa contributes $450 per annum. Members may use this money to take courses, to buy books or study materials, computer hardware and software. There are close to 2,500 members currently participating in the plan.
Manulife Group Benefit Program Booklet.
This Benefit Booklet has been specifically designed with your needs in mind,
providing easy access to the information you need about the benefits to which you
are entitled.
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Housing and rectories
All full-time stipendiary clergy, incumbents and assistant curates may negotiate either to live in housing provided by a parish or to receive a housing allowance as part of their salary and provide their own accommodation (see Regulation 4.01 (n)).
All negotiations concerning housing are to be completed prior to the appointment being finalized. It is not possible for every appointment to provide both choices, and clergy must be willing to accept that the arrangement agreed to at the time of the appointment might be difficult to change subsequently. In the case of clergy who receive a housing allowance, there may be a requirement to live within an area agreed to prior to the acceptance of the appointment.
(Clergy Personnel Policy, Chapter 3)
Expenses
The parish pays the incumbent's expenses for fuel, water, electricity, telephone
services and internet services(for those living in rectories).
(Bylaw 5.03)
Rectory property tax
The Assessment Act of Ontario provides a partial (50%) exemption for church rectories as long as the priest is living there and it is adjacent to the church. Churches can file a Request for Reconsideration to have their assessment changed if they are not already receiving this reduction.
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Insurance:
Property, Liability, etc.
The diocese holds property insurance covering all parish and other diocesan buildings. This
coverage for your parish is defined in the policy document issued each year to each parish. You will see from this, all the other types of perils for which a parish is covered. In addition to property coverage, the policy provides general liability insurance of $2 million covering all employees including voluntary workers while engaged in activities on behalf of the diocese or parish. Also included are $8 million "umbrella liability insurance", boiler insurance, employment practices, directors and officers insurance, and loss of income insurance.
It is important to note that, in order to keep premium costs at an affordable level, deductibles at
the parish level are $2,500. The diocese covers deductibles between $2,500 and $25,000 from its
Insurance Reserve Fund.
All losses are to be reported to our current insurers, PBL Insurance Ltd., for
monitoring purposes, and any major additions or deletions to buildings and contents are to be
made known to them. The contact person is Robert Fournier at 613-746-4383, Ext. 410.
Third Party Liability Insurance
Since the Diocesan insurance policy does not cover third party liability actions and claims, it is highly recommended that a parish insists that any person(s) or group, not directly associated with the parish, that uses the facilities for an activity or event not organized by the parish, obtain insurance coverage, if they do not already have a policy.
Pearson-Dunn Insurance & Financial Services Inc. provides coverage for such occasions, with rates that are affordable. The reason for the comparatively low premiums is that the plan has to be self-administered, which means that the Diocese has to be involved in its operation.
The way the plan works is as follows:
When a person or group, not associated with your parish, and not holding a church sponsored event, rents or uses your facilities, indoor or outdoor, you should ask if they have 3rd Party Liability Insurance. If the answer is yes, you should request that a certificate of insurance be provided. If the answer is no, then:
1) you should provide them with the details of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa
User Group Program
2) collect the appropriate premium
3) send this premium to the Synod office together with details of the event/meeting(s) on the form provided below
4) the Synod office will send a receipt to the parish
User Group Program Overview and Rates
Third Party Liability Insurance Form
Clarification about Third Party Liability Insurance
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Loans
The Church Extension Fund provides loans to parishes for construction of new buildings, and the expansion or renovation of existing buildings.
The Fund is administered by the Financial Affairs Committee and therefore applications, with appropriate documentation, must be
submitted through the Director of Administration. More information
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Parish Fair Share (PFS)
The Synod's operating budget is funded from various sources, such as investment income, grants, fees and contributions from all parishes. This last source of funding is known as
Parish Fair Share, or PFS. The PFS formula has been designed to charge parishes based on each parish's ability to pay. In a nutshell, every parish reports its income for a given year, and then has that income reduced by very specific deductions, which results in an assessable income. This figure for each parish is the basis of the proportional percentage of the total of all parishes' net incomes.
The PFS calculation is based on the average of the parish's assessable income for the most recent three years. The purpose of averaging is to even out the anomalies that tend to create significant swings in some parishes' apportionment figures from one year to the next. Once these percentages are known, the Synod's budget is proportioned out to each parish.
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Property Matters
The Canons, By-Laws and Regulations document is the foremost reference for matters associated
with properties. To see the pertinent sections, please CLICK HERE
To quote from By-law B3.19 "The possession of all Church land and buildings, the Churchyard and any burying ground attached or belonging thereto, is
vested in the Incumbent and Churchwardens for the time being, and the care of the property is therefore their joint responsibility".
However, because of the ultimate ownership of the properties being the Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Ottawa, Regulation R.5.01 states that
"Before calling a meeting of the Vestry to deal with any matter respecting lands and buildings....
the Incumbent and Churchwardens shall first consult with the Bishop to discuss any
proposal before it is made to the Vestry".
Policies, procedures and guidelines have been put in place to help parishes understand what they have to do in cases where properties are involved, and also
when financial issues related to property matters need to be addressed.
Before making a submission be sure to review the
Application Form instructions
and the Decision Rights details.
For the application form, click here
For the Decision Rights Matrices, click here
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Retirement and resignation
Upon reaching the age of 65, members of the clergy are deemed as having submitted their resignation from any position to which they have been appointed by the bishop. Any subsequent reappointment or appointment is for one year at a time.
Upon reaching 65, or if younger, upon completing 37 years of participation in General Synod's Pension Plan, a member of the clergy may retire with full pension from any position in the diocese, as appointed by the bishop.
If a priest does wish to continue working after the age of 65 in Ontario, there is some information with regard to pensions and benefits that needs to be considered.
Here is that information.
Upon accepting a new appointment, a member of the clergy is deemed to have resigned from his or her current appointment. Clergy who wish to resign from an appointment for other reasons must do so by writing to the bishop.
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Support grants
Support grants, funded from the diocesan operating budget, may be provided to parishes demonstrating a need for assistance.
To apply for a support grant, (pdf)
download and complete the two part form ( page 1 (doc); page 2 (xls)) after the parish receives its Parish Fair Share assessment statement. Return the completed form to the Synod Office no later than November 1.
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The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa
71 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa ON K1R 6G6
Tel: 613-232-7124 Fax: 613-232-7088
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