	Ohio-Meadville District of the UUA

Compensation Consultant

Glenn Solomon is our compensation consultant. He is the person to contact if you have questions about compensation or the UUA Health Insurance Plan.

The UUA is going to conduct a salary survey of all congregations with staff this spring. Please keep an eye out for announcements, emails and links to the website for the survey.

You can contact Glenn Solomon by email at gsolomon at ohiomeadville.org

Here is information about the current recommended salaries increase. You can download the salary tables at the UUA website at http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/compensation/index.shtml

Here are the Steps to Becoming a Fair Compensation Congregation

These considerations will point your congregation in the right direction:

Review the Fair Compensation Report and Guidelines. The Guidelines recommend equitable pay ranges and an array of benefits for clergy and church staff. They were developed from a survey in which 80% of UU congregations with employees participated. Non-profit salary research by the Abbot-Langer Co. was also factored into the recommended ranges for comparable jobs.
Review the article "Compensation Management for UU Congregations", which explains worker classifications-employee or independent contractor, discusses taxes, benefits, professional expenses, the clergy housing allowance and provides sources for additional information.
Match the staff positions in your congregation with the Capsule Job Descriptions. They may not be perfect matches but an 80% level of congruity is acceptable.
What employees earn in various jobs may vary considerably from place to place. The Guidelines take this into account by identifying a Geo Index-data developed by the Economic Research Institute-for the location of your congregation. Ohio and Pennsylvania are Geo Index 3-the national average; West Virginia is Geo Index 2.
The salary recommendations show a range of pay-minimum, midpoint and maximum, for each position according to the six levels of church size. While membership is not a perfect indicator of a congregation's use of staff and availability of financial resources, it is used widely and is highly accurate within our religious movement.
Human Resource professionals indicate that 80 to 90 percent of employees who start at the minimum of the pay range should reach the midpoint over time, usually three to seven years. The maximum is intended to be a goal but not a ceiling for an employee's pay level.
In many instances it may take several years for a congregation to "grow into" the recommended Guidelines. Those that have developed a plan for achieving Fair Compensation within three to five years are designated as "Committed". Congregations who have met the salary and benefit recommendations are "Participating". The Fair Compo Self-Assessment Worksheet has more information on the process.
Seek my guidance as your Ohio-Meadville District Compensation Consultant. I am a volunteer who has been trained by our Association and receive reimbursement for expenses from either the UUA or the District. My services are provided through your APF payments and District dues.

All the resources referred to above-the Fair Compensation Report and Guidelines by the five Geo Indices, the Compensation Management article, Capsule Job Descriptions, Geo Index listing of communities and the Fair Compo Self-Assessment Worksheet are available for downloading from the UUA Website at www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/compensation or from me. My e-mail address is gsolomon at ohiomeadville.org.

I look forward to hearing from you.
GLENN SOLOMON

Here is Glenn's Note from the January Packet. You can download a copy of it by clicking here.

Tax Notes From Your District Compensation Consultant

At this time of the year, congregational officials and staff, especially treasurers and clergy, are concerned about taxes. Here are some considerations:

The W-2 form ministers receive reports salary (only). Housing allowance is reported by ministers on Schedule SE when they complete their Self-employment Social Security Tax. This is why issuing separate monthly checks for salary and housing is a good procedure. It helps both the treasurer and the minister in their record-keeping.

Clergy can deduct real estate tax and mortgage interest (if deductions are itemized), even though their housing allowance is non-taxable.

At the start of a new year the church governing board needs to vote (and record in their minutes) the amount of the minister’s housing allowance. Money received by the minister and not used for such purpose should be declared as additional income on the minister’s tax return.

Contributions made to the UUA Retirement Plan for clergy and church staff are not reported on the W-2 for in box 1. Box 15 on the form is checked, however.

If the minister or other employee pays long-term disability insurance premiums, any benefit payments are exempt from income tax. A way to arrange this is to have the church treasurer pay the premiums and include the annual total of these payments in Box #1 of the W-2. They become taxable and any benefits are therefore tax-exempt.

Reimbursements for professional expenses and health insurance premium payments the minister or other professional church staff member pays are not taxable and are therefore not reported on the W-2 form.

It is hoped you find this information helpful in preparing for April 15. If you have questions or comments call or e-mail me. I can be reached at gsolomon at ohiomeadville.org or 216/932-7808. I look forward to your call.