OKLAHOMA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
TREASURY ¶ NOTES
June 10, 2010
Editor: Brian Bakeman, 1501 NW 24th St, Oklahoma City OK 73106
Phone: (405) 530-2067;
CONTENTS
Potential Tax Relief for Churches Hiring Previously Unemployed Workers
LEAD! What I Didn’t Learn in Seminary
Ministry Protection Minute
2009 Church Audits
Connectional Giving
Support for Skyline Urban Ministry
Potential Tax Relief for Churches Hiring Previously Unemployed Workers
(Information from GCF&A)
On March 18, 2010, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the “HIRE Act”) became law. As its name indicates, the HIRE Act provides incentives for employers to hire new employees who are currently unemployed. One of those incentives – an exemption from the employer’s share of Social Security taxes – is available to non-profit employers, including churches. In short, if an employer hires a previously unemployed individual, the employer will be exempt from paying the employer’s share (i.e., 6.2%) of Social Security taxes on that new employee’s wages through the end of 2010. (The employer is still required to pay its share (1.45%) of the new employee’s Medicare taxes.) Employers claim the HIRE Act Social Security tax exemption on their quarterly Form 941s.
The HIRE Act contains some important restrictions and requirements, which we briefly summarize here. First, the new employee cannot be replacing a former employee unless the former employee left voluntarily or was discharged for cause. In other words, employers cannot just replace current employees with new employees for the sole purpose of obtaining the benefits of the HIRE Act. Second, the new employee must certify that he or she has been unemployed, or employed for less than 40 hours, during the 60-day period immediately preceding his or her new employment. (The IRS has provided a form for this purpose, Form W-11, which the employer must keep on file.) Third, the new employee must have been hired after February 3, 2010, and before January 1, 2011. For more detailed information on these and other requirements to take advantage of the HIRE Act, please see the links provided below, and consult with your professional tax adviser.
LEAD What I Didn’t Learn in Seminary
The Conference, along with OCU, St. Paul and the Oklahoma UM Foundation, will be offering a class on Friday and Saturday, October 8 – 9 dealing with personal and corporate financial management and conflict resolution. This first of three classes is open to local pastors and elders in the Oklahoma Conference and will provide tools for the pastor to help with their leadership skills.
The cost of the class is $50 and includes the cost of materials, food, and lodging if you live more than 75 miles from Oklahoma City. CEU is available from Saint Paul for $15. The class will be limited to only 50 persons. You can register on line starting July 1 at http://www.okumc.org/registrations/register/4.
Ministry Protection Minute
By Rick Carlin
May was a very busy weather month in the state of Oklahoma. We had numerous tornadoes and severe storms that brought high winds, hail and rain. Starting with the tornado on May 10th through the severe hail storms of May 16th the Oklahoma Annual Conference had 35 claims for damage to property and autos.
Due to the severity of damage within the state, Zurich Insurance Company has brought adjusters from around the country to help manage and respond quickly to your church’s needs. If you turned in a claim, you should have been contacted no later than 72 hours after it was reported. If you need to report a claim please call Zurich’s 24 hour, 7 day a week claim center at 1-800-987-3373.
Losses, no matter how big or small are unfortunate, can sometimes be unpleasant and are always inconvenient. As your program administrator, Cole, Paine & Carlin Insurance is here to help in any way we can. Even though we are not the insurance company or claims adjusters, we are here as an avenue to help you get the answers or response you need from all parties involved.
We are here to assist you. Please call if you have a question or problem during your claims process. Our office is open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, and our phone numbers are 1-800-460-5678 or 1-405-843-5678.
2009 Church Audits
The deadline is quickly approaching! Your 2009 audit should be completed, approved by your Finance Committee and Administrative Council, and submitted to your District Office by August 1, 2010. A copy should also be sent to the Conference Treasurer if you received any funds from the Conference last year.
If you are using a CPA, then their paper work suffices to turn in. If on the other hand, you are using volunteers, please use the current audit form and audit supplement that is on the Conference web site to complete your audit. Please note that the Oklahoma Conference Council on Finance and Administration takes very seriously the importance of turning in an accurate audit report if you expect the Conference to continue with any grants, including Equitable Compensation.
Connectional Giving
Connectional giving for the month of May increased slightly over last year due in large part to designated giving for Advance Specials and special offerings. On an average, churches at the end of May have paid 34% of their apportionments. How is your church doing compared to the average?
Native American Awareness Sunday has brought in $7,426 to date. That will help our brothers and sisters in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference with various leadership opportunities. Many of you heard at Conference that funding for relief efforts in Haiti has exceeded $600,000. Once again, the Oklahoma Conference is being recognized as a leader across the denomination in missions and helping our neighbors through the General Advance Special Offerings.
It is a great privilege for me to be able to work in a Conference where the church understands that as we build the body of Christ, we are called to go into the world to make disciples for Jesus Christ to transform the world. Thank you!
One last note, July is when we calculate apportionments for 2011 based on the information we received from the end-of-the year statistical tables that everyone filled out in January. This is your last chance to review that information and be sure that it was correctly reported. I am constantly amazed at how many churches suddenly call to tell us they filled out their reports incorrectly after the apportionments have been figured. Please understand that once the computer calculates the apportionments for the Conference, and they are published, they cannot be changed. Now is the time to make those last minute “oops, that’s a wrong number” corrections!
Support for Skyline Urban Ministry
Skyline needs you to vote each and every day for the rest of the month of June to win a $50k grant from Pepsi! We've moved up to position 86 as this is written. If we don't step this up we are going to be short in the number of children we can serve for back-to-school clothes. We've already taken over 500 applications from kids needing new school clothes for this school year. The goal is to provide new school clothes & shoes to children living in poverty.
