Agreement over Church accounts could save ratepayers money

The Vale Parish Church Management Board has unanimously agreed to the Constables’ Office looking after the Churchwardens’ accounts, which this year will centralise more than £20,000-worth of expenditure.

“We’re grateful to the board for its decision on this, which will simplify the proper maintenance of the Vale Church and remove the duplication of bank accounts and annual audits,” said Senior Constable Richard Leale.

“We have been recommending this small but significant improvement in administration for a number of years and I’m pleased that we now have reached agreement on it.”

The change is technical because the Management Board and Churchwardens remain responsible for the maintenance of the church, arranging surveys, commissioning repairs, approving the works done and authorising payment.

Previously, that payment was from an account maintained and operated by the Churchwardens and management board but all the money needed was voted to it by ratepayers and electors, collected by the douzaine and remitted to the Churchwardens.

“On paper, this made little sense,” said Mr Leale, “but reflected custom and practice over many years and the legal autonomy of the board in managing its own affairs.

“I’m happy to say the board has now accepted our offer that they in effect outsource the administration and payment function to our office without in any way interfering with the way they operate or their responsibilities in law.”

Better managed
André Quevâtre, who chairs the Vale Church Management Board, said: "By far the most important role of the parish management board is to ensure that the church building is well maintained. We employ local companies who have the relevant expertise in historic buildings, both in surveying and building. We do, of course, need to ensure that the parish funds are spent wisely and that all work is professionally approved before payment is made. The payment of invoices is far better managed by the parish staff who already oversee the funds coming in from the Vale ratepayers."

The new arrangement also streamlines accounting for work that’s needed but not necessarily completed within a calendar year.

Under parochial law, the board identifies on an annual basis the maintenance or repairs to the church that are needed and ask ratepayers for the amount required by the Churchwardens.

This year, that totalled £23,450 but because there was an unspent balance from previous years of £12,610, the actual amount voted was £10,840.

“What the new agreement means is that everyone acknowledges that since this is all parish money, it makes sense, and is more efficient, for the pool of cash to be ring fenced in the office accounts and paid by us when authorised by the management board and churchwardens,” said Mr Leale.

An unspent balance of around £8,000 has been returned to the douzaine and the final step in the process is to reconcile the Churchwardens’ accounts and those of the douzaine, which is also expected to be a technicality.