Finance Council

The members of the Finance Council are as follows:

Refugio “Cuquis” Haro, Chair; Alfredo Avila, Francisco Ayala, Michelle Molnar, Dr. Frank Montejano, Jesus Padilla, and James Scianni

The Parish Finance Council is mandated by Canon 537 and is a consultative group formed to assist the Pastor in properly administrating the parish’s goods and resources. The Pastor presides over the Finance Council, assisted by an appointed Chairperson and the Business Manager, who serves as an Ex-Officio member.

To do their job, Pastors seek the help of parishioners, called to be Council Members, by having the members meet regularly to review, reflect on, and recommend financial administrative strategies. It is important to note that this is an “advisory” body, not a decision-making group, and that this Council makes recommendations but does not implement them. The Pastor is the sole decision-maker for the Parish.

Pastors establish Finance Councils because they seek pertinent advice on finance matters impacting the Parish. They consult their Finance Council because they want to know what is wise and prudent. The Finance Council members are parishioners with relative experience in their employment and business lives. Outside experts cannot judge or recommend what is best for a particular parish because they are not part of the community.

Every leader needs good counsel. Recommendations developed by the Finance Council will be good to the degree that the Council reaches its goal. The goal of the Finance Council is to review and reflect on matters thoroughly to draw sound conclusions. Finance Council members help the Parish as a whole to understand and see more clearly the needs, uses, and requirements of the parish’s goods and resources.

The Finance Council assists in planning for the parish’s future financial needs. This includes examining short-term and long-term strategies to meet the parish’s needs and considering issues to better understand the pastor’s financial concerns. It is not just a review of “facts and figures” but looks more at what such statistics say about the Parish.

The Finance Council comes to practical conclusions on matters presented by the Pastor. It makes a judgment and recommends what it believes is the best course of action for the Pastor. As needed, the Finance Council further assists the Pastor in communicating relative information such as the Annual Report to the Parish.

The Finance Council meets quarterly.