[Adopted April 17, 2013]
[Note: Asterisks denote the need for future policy, bylaws or procedure development.]
BMD 1.1 Global Board-Management Delegation Policy. The Board’s sole official connection to the operational organization, its achievements, and conduct shall be through a chief executive officer, titled Minister. The Minister shall lead and direct the spiritual, programmatic, and administrative work of the church. The Minister is delegated authority and responsibility to make all operational decisions for the daily functions of the church, adopt administrative policies, and allocate congregational resources except as specifically limited by these policies.
BMD 1.2 Unity of Control. Only officially passed motions, resolutions, and policies of the Board are binding on the Minister.
BMD 1.2.1 Decisions or instructions of individual Board members, officers, or task forces are not binding on the Minister except in instances when the Board has specifically authorized such exercise of authority.
BMD 1.2.2 If Board members or task forces request information or assistance without Board authorization, the Minister may refuse such requests which in the Minister’s opinion require a substantial amount of staff time or funds, or are non-productive.
BMD 1.2.3 Informal meetings may occur between Board members, the Minister, and/or the staff for the purpose of exchanging information and seeking advice, but not for the purpose of Board members giving instruction or direction.
BMD 1.3 Accountability of the Minister. The Minister is accountable to the Board and serves as the Board’s link to operational achievement and conduct. The Minister has authority over and is accountable for the staff. Therefore:
BMD 1.3.1 The Board shall not give instructions to persons who report directly or indirectly to the Minister, and
BMD 1.3.2 The Board and individual Board members shall not be formally involved with decisions or actions involving the hiring, training, evaluating, disciplining, or dismissal of any staff member, unless requested by the Executive.
BMD 1.3.2.1 Thus the Minister shall be responsible for determining the compensation, benefits, and personnel issues related to other paid staff. The Minister shall provide a report annually to the Board regarding the Minister’s compliance with the Executive Limitations policy on paid staff compensation and benefits as part of the annual budget presentation.
BMD 1.3.3 The Board shall view Minister’s performance as identical to organizational performance so that organizational accomplishment of Board-stated priorities (Ends) and adherence to Executive Limitations shall be viewed as successful performance by the Minister.
BMD 1.4 Delegation to the Minister. The Board shall instruct the Minister through written policies and priorities to be achieved and proscribe organizational situations and actions to be avoided, allowing the Minister to use any reasonable interpretation of these policies.
BMD 1.4.1 The Board shall develop policies instructing the Minister to achieve designated results, for designated recipients, at a designated cost. These policies shall be developed systematically from the broadest, most general level to more defined levels and shall be called Ends policies.* All issues that are not Ends issues as defined here are means issues.
BMD 1.4.2 The Board shall develop policies that limit the latitude the Minister may exercise in choosing the organizational means. These limiting policies shall describe those practices, activities, decisions, and circumstances that would be unacceptable to the Board even if they were to be effective. Policies shall be developed systematically from the broadest, most general level to more defined levels, and they shall be called Executive Limitations policies. The Board shall not prescribe organizational means delegated to the Minister.
BMD 1.4.3 So long as the Minister uses any reasonable interpretation of the Board’s Ends and Executive Limitations policies, the Minister is authorized to establish further procedures, make decisions, take actions, establish practices, and pursue activities to meet said policies.
BMD 1.4.4 The Board may change its Ends and Executive Limitations policies, thereby shifting the boundary between Board and Minister domains. By doing so, the Board changes the latitude of choice given to the Minister. But so long as any particular delegation is in place, the Board shall respect and support the Minister’s choices.
BMD 1.5 Monitoring Minister Performance. Systematic and rigorous monitoring of Minister’s job performance shall be based solely on the expected Minister’s job outputs: organizational accomplishment of Ends policies and organizational operation within the boundaries established by the Executive Limitations policies.*
BMD 1.5.1 Monitoring is simply to determine the degree to which Board policies are being met. Information that does not do this shall not be considered to be monitoring information.
BMD 1.5.2 The Board shall acquire monitoring information by one or more of three methods:
(a) By internal report, in which the Minister discloses interpretations and compliance information to the Board.
(b) By external report, in which a disinterested third party selected by the Board assesses compliance with Board policies.
(c) By direct Board inspection, based on its own initiative and/or on input from congregants, in which a member or members of the Board assess compliance with the appropriate policy criteria.
BMD 1.5.3 In every case, the Board shall judge (a) the reasonableness of the Minister’s interpretation and (b) whether data demonstrate accomplishment of the interpretation.
BMD 1.5.4 The standard of compliance shall be any reasonable Minister interpretation of the Board policy being monitored. The Board is the sole judge of reasonableness.
BMD 1.5.5 All policies that instruct the Minister shall be monitored at a frequency and by a method chosen by the Board. The Board can monitor any policy at any time by any method, but shall ordinarily depend on a routine schedule.
BMD 1.6 Compensation of Minister and Paid Staff. UUCC recognizes and supports the current Compensation Recommendations of the Unitarian Universalist Association with respect to called ministers and professional staff in administration, religious education, and music.
BMD 1.6.1 The Board shall annually review the Minister’s compensation based on cost of living, merit, and UUA recommendations.*