Updated FY26 Budget

Hello Salt House,

In preparation for our Annual Meeting on June 1, 2025 I am sharing today the proposed budget approved by the Salt House Council to be voted upon by the congregation our Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) running July 1, 2025 – Jun 30, 2026.

Operating Income

We estimate income each year to compare it with Expenses to determine if we will end the year with a net positive, negative, or even cash flow.  For FY26 our estimated income is based on the following:

• Giving in FY24 ended just short of $400,000 and FY25 was tracking similar. A new, significant recurring monthly donation was offered earlier this year, and this estimate takes that into account
• Interest income aligns to what we have earned this year on our Certificate of Deposits (CDs) and general savings interest
• 5% raises proposed for all church renters and our parsonage renters
• CCS has informed us that they will no longer be leasing the basement space, an income loss of ~$37,000
  
  

In total we estimate an income of $584,955 for FY26.  This represents a slight drop in income, ~$3,800 from the previous year, primarily due to the new donor and loss of CCS.

Operating Expenses

Operating Expenses are what we plan to spend next year to operate our church.  Beyond what is approved in the budget, Council does have the power to authorize additional spending up to $5000 per contract if necessary.  Changes to the budget or spending beyond that from the general fund would require subsequent approval from our membership as we saw this year when we voted to repair the parsonage roof.
For FY26 our proposed budget is based on the following changes from FY25

• Staff Expenses
  • Pr. Sara moves to full time as our only pastor to start the year. Pr. Ryan is no longer on payroll
  • Addition of a new Youth Leader for Y@SH and Spark to address this active and growing part of our community
  • Salary increases as proposed by the Personnel Team including 5.9% for our salaried pastors and staff (recommended by the Synod) and 2.7% for our hourly employees (based on the Consumer Price Index in the Seattle region)
• Benevolence
  • Continues to be 10% of giving
• Council & Teams
  • New budget item to represent Council & Teams
• Office Expenses
  • Small percentage increases due to increase costs of goods & services
  • Better estimates of actual need based on spending this eyar
• Buildings & Grounds Expenses
  • Increases in Cleaning & Security Feeds by our vendors
  • Increases in Property Taxes
  • Small increase in Building Improvement budget
• Ministry Expenses
  • Small percentage increases due to increase costs of goods & services
  • Small decreases in some areas based on spending this year
  • A large ask for budge to support our Pastor as we transition back to a single pastor in the new fiscal year; See “Budgeting for Transition” below
    
    

In total we’re asking for approval of $570,791 in spending for FY26.  This represents a significant drop of ~$62,500 from FY25 primarily due to the departure of Pr. Ryan.
For FY26, given the estimate income and planned expenses, we’re currently estimating a surplus of ~$14,000 which would be put back into our General Fund for future use.

Budgeting for Transition

The start of FY26 will also be a time of change for our community as we transition from 1.75 pastors to 1 full-time pastor. We’ve built into the budget $30K to cover expenses for additional pastoral support and resources for discernment and strategic planning, including:

• Guest Preachers
• Coaching and consulting as we develop our identity and mission for the next season, including discerning our staffing and pastoral needs moving forward
• Possible Interim Pastor (a temporary part-time pastor)
  
  

We are excited for the new opportunities God will lead us into together!
 
Building Fund

This year we will also propose the creation of a new restricted fund for to be used for Building Maintenance, including the main building and the Parsonage.  This restricted fund would be seeded initially with $20,000 from our general fund.  In addition, 50% of interest earned from our savings and investments would be put into this fund, with the other 50% continuing to go into our general fund.

As per our Constitution, the Council cannot enter contracts for more than $5000 without approval of the membership which requires at least 2 weeks' notice.  The Council is concerned, given what recently happened with the Parsonage, that we may have an emergency building issue which would require repairs more than $5000 but for which waiting for a membership vote could make the issue worse.

By creating a restricted fund, the council would be able to use this money without a full vote of the membership but only in the way defined by the purpose of the fund.  It would still protect the congregation from general spending beyond the approved budget

Budget Contributors

Thank you to the many people who contribute to the creation of our annual budget each year.  It is a long but important process, and we appreciate their work:

• Pastors & Staff who discern how best to allocate our resources to serve this community
• Personnel Team who are always advocating for the best for our amazing people
• Finance Team who continues to watch over our finances to ensure a solid future

 
Questions

As always if you have any questions about the budget or anything related to the finances of our church please reach out to treasurer@salthousechurch.org.

On behalf of the Entire Council,
Irwin Dolobowsky
Salt House Treasurer