716. Conference Treasurer/Director of Administrative Services--Each annual conference, on nomination of its council on finance and administration, shall at the first session of the conference after the quadrennial session of the General Conference or jurisdictional conference, or at such other times as a vacancy exists, elect a conference treasurer or conference treasurer/director of administrative services.54 The treasurer or treasurer/director shall serve for the quadrennium or until a successor shall be elected and qualify. If a vacancy should occur during the quadrennium, the council shall fill the vacancy until the next session of the annual conference. After consultation with the bishop in charge, the council may remove the treasurer or treasurer/director from office for cause and fill the vacancy until the next session of the conference. The treasurer/director shall be directly amenable to the council. The treasurer/director may sit with the council and its committees at all sessions and have the privilege of voice but not vote.
1. As conference treasurer, this officer shall have the following functions:
a) The conference treasurer shall receive and disburse, in accordance with the actions of the annual conference and the provisions of The Book of Discipline, remittances from local Church treasurers for all duly authorized general, jurisdictional, annual conference, and district causes.55
(1) Local Church treasurers shall remit monthly to the conference treasurer all amounts contributed in each local church for (a) the World Service and Conference Benevolences fund; (b) all other funds authorized by the General Conference and apportioned to the annual conferences by the General Council on Finance and Administration; (c) all other jurisdictional, annual conference, and district funds or causes apportioned in accordance with 712, unless otherwise directed by the annual conference; (d) special Sunday offerings (274); (e) special appeals (711.5, 911.4); (f) Advance special gifts (914); (g) World Service special gifts (913); (h) Youth Service Fund (1310); and (i) all other General, jurisdictional, annual conference, and district funds not otherwise directed.
(2) The treasurer shall each month divide the total amount received from local Churches for World Service and conference Benevolences, setting aside the proper amount for World Service and the proper amount for conference benevolences, according to the ratio of each established by the annual conference in the total World Service and conference benevolences budget (711.3c). The treasurer shall, from the share received for conference benevolences, credit monthly the accounts of the several agencies or causes included in the conference benevolences budget or make monthly remittances to the treasurers of such agencies or causes according to the rightful share and proportion of each (711.3a) or according to a payment schedule approved by the conference council on finance and administration which shall provide that the total allocated to each agency or cause during the year shall be equal to the rightful share and proportion of each. The treasurer shall remit each month to the treasurer of the General Council on Finance and Administration the total share received during the month for World Service. When the share so designated for World Service during a year exceeds the amount apportioned to the annual conference, the entire share contributed for World Service shall be remitted in regular order to the treasurer of the General Council on Finance and Administration before the end of the fiscal year.56
(3) The treasurer shall, as far as practicable, remit monthly to the several district superintendents the amount due each of them (711.1a).
(4) The treasurer shall likewise credit or remit each month all funds received and payable for other jurisdictional, annual conference, and district causes in accordance with budgets adopted by the annual conference.
(5) The conference treasurer shall remit each month to the treasurer of the General Council on Finance and Administration the amounts received during the month for the General Administration Fund, the Episcopal Fund, the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund, the Black College Fund, the Temporary General Aid Fund, the Ministerial Education Fund, the Missional Priority Fund, World Service special gifts, Advance special gifts, general Church special Sunday offerings (274), special churchwide appeals (911.4), and all other general causes not otherwise directed.
b) The conference treasurer may serve as treasurer for any or all agencies served by a conference central treasury (710.11). The treasurer shall enter the proper credits to each at the end of each month's business. Disbursements from funds allocated to any conference agency shall be made only on proper order from the agency.57
c) The treasurer shall prepare at regular intervals such financial statements and reports as may be required for the bishop in charge, the district superintendents, the annual conference, the council, the agencies served by the conference central treasury and its officers, and the treasurer of the General Council on Finance and Administration.
(1) The treasurer shall make each month a full report of all general funds handled to the treasurer of the General Council on Finance and Administration and to the presiding bishop of the conference.
(2) The treasurer shall prepare annually a report of all receipts, disbursements, and balances of all funds under his/her direction, which report shall be printed in the conference journal.
d) The treasurer may be authorized by the council to invest funds in accordance with policies and procedures established by the council (710.5). A listing of securities held shall be printed annually in the conference journal.
e) The treasurer shall provide counsel and guidance to local Church business administrators, treasurers, financial secretaries, and committees on finance in the development of standardized financial recording and reporting systems (710.13).
f) The treasurer shall perform such other staff services as the council may require in the fulfillment of its functions and responsibilities.
2. As director of administrative services, this officer may have responsibility in one or more of the following areas: office management; payroll and personnel services; the provision of administrative services for annual conference officers and agencies; property management with respect to property owned by the annual conference or any of its agencies; and such other responsibilities of an administrative nature as the council, by mutual agreement with other annual conference officers and agencies, may assign. The director shall be present when the Cabinet considers matters relating to conference administration related to the conference treasurer's or conference treasurer/director of administrative services' responsibilities, and other matters as the Cabinet and director may determine. The director shall not be present during the Cabinet discussions on matters related to the making of appointments.
3. The council shall have authority and supervision over the director and shall, after consultation with those annual conference officers and agencies for whom the director might be expected to perform services, define his/her specific responsibilities, and do regular evaluation.
54See Judicial Council Decision 185.
55See Judicial Council Decisions 456, 591.
56See Judicial Council Decisions 306, 332, 400, 521, 539.
57See Judicial Council Decisions 400, 521, 539.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 716
1996 United Methodist General Conference