Meeting jointly via Zoom Monday, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation Board and the Unification Commission voted unanimously to recommend balanced unified budgets for 2027 and 2028 to the 227th General Assembly meeting this summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The recommended per capita apportionment rates will be $10.94 for 2027 and $11.27 for 2028. The exact dollar figures, with revenues and expenditure proposals the same each year, is $90,454,606 for 2027 and $97,921,505 for 2028.
In addition, the motion included the approval of annual income realized in 2025 and projected for 2026 from the John C. Lord and Edmund P. Dwight Funds in support of the budget for the general mission work of Presbyterian Life & Witness. The approvals are requirements of the two gifts.
The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA) and Executive Director of PL&W, identified some of the goals that are realized under the proposed budget. One was “to make sure as much as possible we would keep people whole, and we were able to do that,” Oh said.
The proposal assumes 321 full-time employees and 47 part-time, said Ian Hall, A Corporation President. The per capita proposals assume a 4.5% annual membership decline and a 3% annual increase in per capita giving. Three percent increases in salary and benefits are budgeted for each year, as is a 7% increase in Board of Pension dues.
One new aspect of the budget proposal is a vacancy factor, which is 10% of the unrestricted portion of the budget that represents salary and benefits.
Personnel expenses are budgeted on the assumption that all approved positions are filled for the full year. But based on historical experience, a vacancy factor is applied to reflect what Hall said is “normal staff turnover” and the time needed to recruit and onboard new employees. The amount budgeted for the vacancy factor in 2027 is about $1.7 million in 2027 and about $1.8 million in 2028. The figures recognize the typical payroll savings that occur each year when positions are temporarily vacant while maintaining the full staffing plan approved by leadership.
In addition, reserves are fully funded, Hall said, with proposed total reserves at about $20.7 million. With unification of the former Office of the General Assembly and the former Presbyterian Mission Agency, a new chart of accounts will be developed, Hall said.
“There was an intention to make sure the budget helps to move us toward our future desired state,” said Tamron Keith, Director of Financial Planning and Effectiveness for PL&W.
On the revenue side, the budget proposal has contributions comprising 44% of the budget in 2027 and 40% in 2028. Investment return is predicted to be 25% of revenues in 2027 and 23% in 2028. Sales of service and resources will be 16% each year, and other sources of funding will make up 15% of the total in 2027 and 20% in 2028.
The 2027 budget plans to receive 41% of the income without donor restrictions and 59% with donor restrictions. In 2028, those figures are 43% without and 57% with.
On the expenses side, the largest funding category is for operations, at about $33.8 million in 2027 and $35.1 million in 2028. The next largest is restorative justice and witness, at about $15.4 million and $16.7 million, respectively. Then comes thriving mid councils, at $13.5 million and $14.5 million.
Following unanimous votes by the two bodies, Carol Winkler, co-chair of the A Corp Board, said, “Friends, I think we have a budget to send to the General Assembly,” a statement that elicited applause. She and others thanked the staff “for all their hard work.”
Her fellow co-chair, the Rev. Jason Micheli, thanked those present for their “commitment to governance.”
The Rev. Dr. Felipe N. Martínez, Co-Moderator of the Unification Commission, drew the 35-minute joint meeting to a close with prayer. On Monday, the UC served in its role as the governance board for Presbyterian Life & Witness.
By Mike Ferguson, Presbyterian News Service
