Mercurial > hg > rsof
changeset 6:fb79d1c9aad3
*** empty log message ***
| author | ht |
|---|---|
| date | Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:18:11 -0500 |
| parents | 9d70132b8833 |
| children | 890f65827d7f |
| files | 7vt/VT wking gp paper for HT.doc 7vt/fmh_2009-01-05.xml 7vt/fmh_2009-01-13.doc 7vt/fmh_2009-01-26.xml |
| diffstat | 4 files changed, 262 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-) [+] |
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--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/7vt/fmh_2009-01-05.xml Tue Jan 27 17:18:11 2009 -0500 @@ -0,0 +1,116 @@ +<?xml version='1.0'?> +<?xml-stylesheet type='text/xsl' href='../../lib/xml/doc.xsl'?> +<!DOCTYPE doc SYSTEM "../../lib/xml/doc.dtd" [ +<!ENTITY pound '£'> +]> +<doc> + <head> + <title>Future of 7 VT working group: First meeting</title> + <author>This informal summary by Henry S. Thompson, Convenor</author> + <date>Held at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on 5 January 2009, 7:30 p.m.</date> + </head> + <body> + <div> + <title>Attendance</title> + <p>Present: Alison Burnley, Alastair Cameron, Madeleine Harding, Phil Lucas, Brian Mayes, Laurie Naumann, Rufus Reade, +Eileen Schott, Don Stubbings, Henry Thompson (in the clerk's chair)</p> + </div> + <div> + <title>Introductions</title> + <p>The members of the working group gave brief self-introductions</p> + </div> + <div> + <title>Background</title> + <p>Alastair Cameron, on behalf of Area Meeting gave us +some background:</p> + <list> + <item>What is our vision for what Quakers need as a physical presence in Edinburgh?</item> + <item>This includes the possibility of not having a large central building +of any kind. It's assumed that this would lead to a reduction in expenditure +and effort.</item> + <item>AM looking for renewal of its sense of what its presence in Edinburgh +should be</item> + <item>We are on the cusp of a number of substantial items of expenditure, +which are perhaps a bit difficult to motivate without a clear underlying vision.</item> + </list> + <p>Don Stubbings, who was +instrumental in raising some of the questions we will be considering:</p> + <list> + <item>Don has served for many years on Fabric and Maintenance</item> + <item>Costs coming: + <list> + <item>Toilets need renewed</item> + <item>Heating is a problem</item> + <item>The flats are an ongoing financial drain</item> + <item>The kitchen is scheduled for a refit</item> + <item>The roof is being refurbished, and is involving more and costing +more than expected, taking up most of our cash reserves</item> + <item>Children's space restructuring? Interacts with the kitchen refit.</item> + </list> + </item> + </list> + <p>The above might add up to 200K GBP over the next few years. The expense +of the roof repairs stimulated a consideration of whether we should be +more-or-less uncritically committing to maintaining an old building which will +likely continue to require substantial investment. This eventually led to a +presentation to AM in August. In the twenty years since we purchased 7VT, no +overall review of our use of the premises has been undertaken.</p> + <p>Our circumstances have changed in many ways over that time, including +changes in external regulation: Child Protection, Health and Safety, Food +Sanitation. The rental of our premises has also evolved, alongside an increase +in the number of other churches etc. who make premises available. The issue of +balance between income generated and operating costs, given our commitment to +charging very low rents for Quaker groups/other groups with certain specified qualities.</p> + <p>At the same time, the awareness of many Quaker users of the premises does +not extend beyond Meeting for Worship on a Sunday.</p> + <p>One view of the balance sheet is that we are running at a 20K/annum +deficit. Some members clearly see this as an acceptable cost, others think at +the very least the AM needs to explicitly acknowledge this.</p> + <p>The possibility of moving towards 7VT as the Scottish equivalent of +Friends House has been raised, and deserves to be re-considered, without losing +sight of the history of our previous, failed, attempt to do so.</p> + <p>Trustees have initiated their own review, and put a hold on all capital +expenditure until this group has reported.</p> + <p>Some of these issues interact with aspects of the role of the paid +meetinghouse staff.</p> + <p>One way of looking at the financial side is to see the deficit as the +rent that AM pays for the use we get from the building.</p> + <p>Phil Lucas recalled that on his and Pat's arrival as Wardens in 1994, the +building was running at a loss, but they were given the explicit goal of making +the building pay for itself. He believes that the revenue account balanced +from around 1997. It's the capital expenditures which provoke the deficit</p> + <p>Henry Thompson summarised that we have to both get clear what the actual +numbers are, and then decide how we are going to <emph>treat</emph> those +numbers, and that we have a lot of choices in how we arrive at a summary to +underpin our search for a vision. Rufus Reade suggested that a cash flow +forecast would be a tool to help in this regard.</p> + <p>Henry Thompson and others attempted to recall the reasons we sold Stafford +Street and bought 7 Victoria Terrace:</p> + <list> + <item>Meeting room itself was an awkward L-shaped space, on first floor, +up a narrow staircase—some elderly/infirm friends had stopped attending;</item> + <item>Need for larger/better children and teenagers space;</item> + <item>Desire +to share facilities with other groups</item> + <item>We explored non-central locations, came +to view a central location as not only an equal tax on everyone in terms of +transport, but also a value in itself as an opportunity for witness.</item> + </list> + </div> + <div> + <title>Topics for next meeting</title> + <list> + <item>Questions we might ask;</item> + <item>Whom we might ask, and who will take responsibility for getting +answers from them;</item> + <item>What examples might we look at;</item> + <item>Getting a cashflow forecast and a cashflow history</item> + </list> + </div> + <div> + <title>Next Meeting</title> + <p>Our next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 13th January at 7 +Victoria Terrace.</p> + </div> + </body> +</doc>
--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/7vt/fmh_2009-01-26.xml Tue Jan 27 17:18:11 2009 -0500 @@ -0,0 +1,146 @@ +<?xml version='1.0'?> +<?xml-stylesheet type='text/xsl' href='../../../lib/xml/doc.xsl'?> +<!DOCTYPE doc SYSTEM "../../../lib/xml/doc.dtd" [ +<!ENTITY pound '£'> +]> +<doc> + <head> + <title>Future of 7 VT working group: Third meeting</title> + <author>This informal summary by Henry S. Thompson, Convenor</author> + <date>Held at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on 26 January 2009, 7:30 p.m.</date> + </head> + <body> + <div> + <title>Attendance</title> + <p>Present: Alison Burnley, Madeleine Harding, Phil Lucas, Brian Mayes, +Laurie Naumann, John Phillips, +Eileen Schott, Henry Thompson (in the clerk's chair)</p> + <p>Prevented: Rufus Reade</p> + </div> + <div> + <title>Cashflow history and forecast</title> + <p>John Phillips presented some summary cashflow figures over the last nine +years (attached).</p> + <p>Much of BYM deals with property at Local Meeting level -- we are +relatively unusual in viewing property as an Area Meeting resource. John +thinks this is important.</p> +<p>The staff are not here to run a business, but to be the face of Quakerism in +Edinburgh. The contrast with the situation when we were in Stafford Street is +instructive in this regard.</p> + <p>The figures in the sheet are summary numbers, simplified in various ways, +leaving out a number of much smaller numbers.</p> + <p>Over the first 10 years, expenditures (under the heads listed here) +roughly balanced income.</p> + <p>Expenditures are at the top, as insofar as there is a feeling that the +building is too expensive, these are the things which must be controlled.</p> + <p>There has been a notable increase in the staff costs, this is down to a +number of things:</p> + <list> + <item>Much more responsibility for the financial side of things</item> + <item>Policy development, for example wrt Health and Safety</item> + <item>The staff coverage is much greater: two or three staff on duty from +0900 until 2200 every weekday.</item> + </list> + <p>The first two of these represent a professionalisation of tasks which formerly fell to +members, as amateurs.</p> + <p>Other costs which have risen signicantly is the maintenance and repairs +-- recarpetting the Meeting Room, for instance, was 7,000GBP. This heading +covers a wide range of things (fridges as well as chairs), and just varies a lot.</p> + <p>We cover the Council Tax on the staff flats, as they are required to live +in them.</p> + <p>Lettings income in general has risen, but there has been a 10% gap in 2008.</p> + <p>It has been since approx. 2003 that a real gap has opened up between +expenditure and income. Area Meeting has viewed it as their responsibility, +since this is an Area Meeting resource, to cover that gap from contributions +made by Friends to Quaker funds.</p> + <p>Our annual donation income to the Area Meeting is running at around +70,000GBP. This depends in important part on a small number of very large +donations, which John would like to put into savings, but has been unable to do +so must. So 20,000 to 30,000 from this goes to bridging the gap. This in turn +has reduced the amount we have in the past, and that John feels we should, pass +on to BYM.</p> + <p>What could we do about the situation? Appeals and legacies have been +used to cover the increased gaps caused by major items, i.e. the foyer/ramp/Bow +Room and the stonework.</p> + <p>John is not sure we can expect to do this in the future: too many +appeals are counter-productive</p> + <p>John's take on upcoming large expenses, if we are to go on using the +building as we are now: window repair/replacement; +toilets; kitchen and its equipment</p> + <p>We are not using the building to its full capacity, but no clear route to +being sure to do so.</p> + <p>If we thought we couldn't afford the major expenses, and/or the income +continued to drop:</p> + <list> + <item>Retrench: reduce the staffing, and the approach to use, particularly +during the day, i.e. open only in the evening.</item> + <item>Sell: But the market value of the building is low, moving is unlikely +to be easy financially. The flats are a better proposition, they were +initially viewed at least in part as an investment, and they have done +reasonably well.</item> + </list> + <p>Eileen asks, what about the future for maintenance and repairs? John +says, well, hard -- sometimes things just jump out and surprise us -- for +instance, DDA regulation requiring a ramp causing the foyer refit. 30K is a +fair estimate, not including exceptional items.</p> + <p>Laurie asked about a sinking fund? John said there is one -- we tried to +put aside a reserve each year in the early days of owning the building, and +that built up a large general fund, but latterly it has been run down from a +peak of perhaps 70,000 pounds to a current level of 30,000 pounds. This is +distinct from the capital fund, which grows from legacy, was used up to buy +Kelso meetinghouse, but since most have gone to cover capital costs (foyer, +stonework) so there is only about 15,000 in that fund today.</p> + <p>AM's other major outgoings: donations to BYM, GM, NFPB: 30,000, but AM +would like that to be higher, it has not kept pace with inflation, and we're +not getting close to giving half our income to BYM, which was of old the +target; AM activities: conferences, Woodbrooke, etc: 8,000; Administration: +newsletters, advertising, fees: 12,000; local meetings pay their own letting +costs. It's the donations figure that has to bear the brunt of making the +books balance. This makes John unhappy, and probably a lot of AM Friends as well.</p> + <p>Henry was worried that there was a clearcut possible plan to +significantly reduce the gap by cutting back in some way which leaves us here, <emph>or</emph> moves us +out.</p> + <p>John agreed, and said he didn't see how we could meet the needs of the +Meeting (both AM and CE LM) without staying here, and making the best of what +we've got.</p> + <p>Madeleine asked how many people give regularly. John said that every +month there are 80 or 90 monthly standing orders, and 40 or so annual +donations. So quite a large proportion of our 240 or so members contribute. +Madeleine wondered about other ways to generate more income, similar to other charities.</p> + <p>John mentioned that people say "It's so nice not to be in a place where +people keep asking us for money". We don't, in general, spend our time trying +to raise money.</p> + <p>John confirmed to Laurie that our donation income includes the Gift Aid benefit.</p> + <p>John answered Phil that the rents were reviewed and a phased-in raise +happened over the last year. Alison wondered if this had contributed to the +decline in rental income.</p> + <p>John surveyed the staff allocation: The Buxtons and Tom Nisbet make up +1.7 FTEs; the part-time wardens are paid hourly, one of whom, Cathy McCurrough (sp?), +is on a .4 FTE contract, and the rest probably add up to around another 1 FTE. +So a total of about 3, which is as noted a considerable increase.</p> + <p>Laurie asked about Festival income: 'excludes charity grants'? Festival +Committee manages a turnover of about 30,000. They recommend that some of the +profit each year be allocated to one or more charities, that is what is meant.</p> + </div> + <div> + <title>Progressing the survey</title> + <p>Carry forward by email, Henry will coordinate</p> + </div> + <div> + <title>Status of survey preparation</title> + <list type="1defn"> + <item term="Quaker groups (Madeleine)"></item> + <item term="Non-Quaker groups (Eileen)"></item> + <item term="Central Edinburgh members (Phil)"></item> + <item term="Other LMs (Alison)"></item> + <item term="AM finance types (Laurie)"></item> + <item term="7VT staff (Brian)"></item> + </list> + </div> + <div> + <title>Next Meeting</title> + <p>Our next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 17th February at 11 +Douglas Crescent.</p> + </div> + </body> +</doc>