907. Other Administrative Responsibilities--The council shall have the authority and responsibility to perform the following functions:
1. To establish general policy governing the ownership, sale, rental, renovation, or purchase of property by a general agency in the United States or Puerto Rico. The council shall consider the plans of any general agency proposing to acquire or sell real estate or erect a building or enter into a lease in the continental United States and determine whether the proposed action is in the best interest of The United Methodist Church. On the basis of that determination it shall approve or disapprove all such proposed actions. In the case of such proposed action by a general program agency, it shall solicit and consider the recommendation of the Council on Ministries. If either council disapproves, the agency shall delay the project until it can be considered by the next General Conference. Nothing in the foregoing shall include the operational requirements of the General Board of Publication or the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
2. To act in concert with the General Council on Ministries to establish a procedure for making a quadrennial review, initiating proposals and/or responding to proposals by the general agencies regarding the location of headquarters and staff and report the same to the General Conference. (See 1006.26.)
3. To exercise on behalf of General Conference a property reporting function by receiving reports annually from general agencies of the Church concerning property titles, values, debts, general maintenance, lease or rental costs, space usage, and such other information as the council may deem relevant. The council may consult and advise with the general agencies concerning any property problems that may arise. A summary of the property data shall be reported to each quadrennial General Conference. This provision shall apply to headquarters buildings but not to properties which are part of the program responsibilities of the General Board of Global Ministries or to any of the properties of the General Board of Publication. Titles to historical shrines, landmarks, and such historical properties as may be acquired in the future shall be held by the General Council on Finance and Administration.
4. To take all necessary legal steps to safeguard and protect the interests and rights of the denomination; to maintain a file of legal briefs related to cases involving the denominational interests of The United Methodist Church, and to make provisions for legal counsel where necessary to protect the interests and rights of the denomination. The council shall recommend to each general agency and unit thereof and to each annual conference council on finance and administration a uniform procedure to be followed by the aforesaid agencies and, where applicable, local Churches, relative to the certification and payment of ordained ministers' housing allowances in accordance with provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States. The council shall have the authority to pursue policies and procedures necessary to preserve the tax-exempt status of the denomination and its affiliated organizations.20
5. To provide direction and coordination in the design and implementation of operating systems in order to maximize the efficiency of operating personnel, equipment, and resources between and within agencies. During the quadrennium these agencies shall study their respective responsibilities, programs, and internal operations and institute such improvements and economies in their work as they find to be feasible and practicable. They shall cooperate with the council in working out, in advance of these studies, the general areas to be included and methods of carrying out this objective. They shall report their accomplishments in improvements and economies to the council before the close of the third fiscal year of each quadrennium, at a time determined by the council, which shall prepare from this information a combined report for the General Conference.
6. To develop, review, maintain, and update as needed: a) denominational standards for computer information and data; b) operations guidelines for the use of Church computer data; and c) legal guidelines for the use of Church computer data.
7.a) To advise and consult with general agencies receiving general Church funds about the ownership, lease, and use of electronic data processing or electronic word processing.
b) When a general agency receiving general Church funds proposes to purchase or lease any electronic computer that will be used for data processing, word processing, or management information functions, the council shall:
(1) Consult with the agency regarding the hardware and software configurations for the purpose of overall coordination of computing devices in the agencies and,
(2) Review the proposed computer purchase for cost effectiveness and fiscal appropriateness. This review shall be for advisory and consultative purposes.
c) Electronic data or word processing shall include information gathering, manipulation, storage, retrieval, and dissemination as achieved by an electronic computer or similar device.
8. a) The council shall: (1) require each general agency as listed in (905.4d), including itself, to follow uniform policies and practices in the employment and remuneration of personnel, recognizing differences in local employment conditions (these policies and practices shall be consistent with the Social Principles and resolutions of The United Methodist Church), and (2) be authorized to gather from all general agencies, at such intervals as it may determine, information regarding the number of agency employees and staff and the salary paid each such employee or staff member; salary information shall be collected by job classification or title only.
b) The Committee on Personnel Policies and Practices (905.4d) shall: (1) prepare quadrennially, review annually, and recommend to the council an appropriate salary schedule, based upon responsibilities, for executive staff personnel of the councils, boards, and commissions represented on the committee; (2) develop and recommend to the council a schedule of benefits for an employee benefit program for general agency personnel and any changes required thereto from time to time; and (3) receive from agencies and institutions receiving general Church funds statements regarding their compliance with the policy stated in 911.1. Based on these statements, and in consultation with and upon the advice of the General Commission on Religion and Race and the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, the committee shall prepare for the General Council on Finance and Administration reports and recommendations deemed appropriate by the committee.
In the event it is determined by the council that an agency or institution receiving general Church funds is not in compliance with the equal employment opportunity policies and the salary and employee benefit schedules established by the committee, the council shall notify in writing the agency so named and suspend, after a three-month period of grace, an appropriate amount of future funding until the agency or institution complies.
9. To maintain a consultative service to assist general agencies in planning and making arrangements for national meetings, conferences, and convocations.
10. To maintain an accurate record of the mail addresses of all bishops; ordained ministers in effective relation; local pastors, including retired ordained ministers serving charges; and such lists of general, jurisdictional, conference, and district boards, commissions, and committees, and officers of same, and of local church commission chairpersons, as may be deemed necessary. No one other than authorized bodies or officers of the Church shall be permitted to use these records.
11. To prepare the important statistics relating to The United Methodist Church for the General Minutes, or such other publications and releases as may be approved by the council. It shall provide for the distribution of statistical information to annual conferences, the general planning and research agencies of the Church, and other interested parties. The council may establish an appropriate schedule of fees and charges to defray the cost of such information distribution services.
12. To assist and advise the jurisdictions, annual conferences, districts, and local churches in all matters relating to the work of the council. These matters shall include, but shall not be limited to, business administration, investment and property management, data processing, and auditing. Matters related to resourcing the development and implementation of financial programs within the local Church committee on finance shall be the responsibility of the General Board of Discipleship. The council may perform certain functions for the jurisdictions, annual conferences, districts, or local Churches if the particular organization so elects and a suitable plan of operation can be determined.
13. To provide guidance and consultation in the area of local church business administration, including establishment of professional standards, a training program, certification of Church business administrators and associate Church business administrators, and sponsorship of an association of United Methodist church business administrators.
14. To provide guidance and consultation in the work of Church secretaries, including establishment of professional standards, training and certification programs, and sponsorship of a professional association of United Methodist church secretaries.
15. To sponsor a National Association of Commissions on Equitable Compensation of The United Methodist Church. Under the sponsorship of the council, the association shall provide guidance and counsel to annual conference commissions on equitable compensation in their areas of responsibility (722) by means of consultations, workshops, development of educational materials and informational resources, and other appropriate means. The council, in its sponsorship role, may provide such staff and in-kind services to the association as it deems appropriate.
16. To institute, manage, and maintain an insurance program available, where approved by regulatory agencies, to all United Methodist local Churches in the United States and Puerto Rico and, where acceptable on an underwriting basis, to all United Methodist annual conferences, agencies, and institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico.
17. To designate the Business Manager of the General Conference who shall be related operationally to the Commission on the General Conference.
20See Judicial Council Decision 458.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 907
1996 United Methodist General Conference