The work of the Compensation Task Force (CTF) was initiated by Rev. Shelly Wilson. She recognized that compensation is approximately 72% of the UCG budget and non-discretionary expenses like utilities and liability insurance equal another 23% for a total of almost 95% of the entire budget. She noted that recent rates of increase in salary and benefits were unlikely to be financially sustainable over time. She knew the existing system of administering compensation had resulted in inequities both internally among various staff members and also in comparison to what employees could be earning for comparable positions elsewhere. UCG also needed more flexibility in order to meet the changing requirements and expectations of churches in the 21st century.

Shelly left before she could get a compensation working group off the ground. Then Covid hit, palpably demonstrating both the need for flexibility and further exacerbating UCG’s financial uncertainty. Under Moderator Donn Smith-Lopez’s leadership, the Compensation Task Force finally began its work in February 2021. The original members were Karen Archer, Karen Johnson, Maureen Killoran, Tim Martin, Hannah Norton, and Marianne Schmink. Anne Casella, Todd Louis, and Laura Robertson joined the CTF in April 2022. Moderators Donn Smith-Lopez and Barb Gibbs have been active participants. Bromleigh has been the staff person working with the task force.

The CTF set out to establish more objective and consistent standards for determining compensation changes. We commissioned a study of comparable positions in our local market. We found that UCG salaries vary significantly from market levels with some as much as 147% over market average levels while others were below market beginning levels. There is also considerable variation in benefits packages such as health insurance and leave time for similarly situated employees because employees have individual contracts that were negotiated at separate times with different individuals rather than being governed by an overall personnel policy. Based on the best available geographically adjusted national-level data for clergy, we found that two of our three ministers were being paid more or less at market levels. A third minister is still approximately $10,000 below market in salary.

Some of these disparities are a result of a lack of systematic market information of this kind, as well as the lack of continuity on our previous compensation committees, which according to our by-laws only met for a few months each year and had only one member who had served on the previous year’s committee, resulting in a new learning curve and differing perspectives on compensation for all but one member every year.

To address this, the Church Council adopted a compensation philosophy in April 2022 that emphasizes equity to guide our future compensation decisions. Later this year the CTF will also be recommending a new standing Board of Human Resources to advise the ministers on personnel issues and to review compensation issues affecting all employees. We are working closely with the Board of Business, the Congregation Ministry Review Board and Church Council to standardize our policies and procedures and bring them closer to “best practices,” to sharpen lines of accountability, and to make sure that we can live within our means. In the last budget cycle we began to prioritize changes to address inequities, and to reorganize staffing, as necessary.

All of this probably sounds fine in theory; the reality is that it represents a significant culture change that is often quite difficult to implement and accept in practice. It is also important to recognize that this is a lay-led effort being guided by a diverse group of members who care deeply about UCG. This is both an exciting and uncertain time for the church, our employees, and us as members. We need to recognize that practices, positions, and long-standing procedures may need to change in order for UCG to be ready for the opportunities and challenges of the future.