The Budget Process

Beginning with
the diocesan vision

The diocesan operating budget begins with the diocesan vision. In the summer of every year, all diocesan departments, commissions, committees, and entities begin to build their budget requests for the coming years, measuring those requests against the diocesan vision statement. The question they ask themselves is: “How do our efforts further the diocesan vision? How does what we do here help to extend the Kingdom of God and make Christ known?”

Each department creates goals and objectives based on its own mission statement, which is tied to the diocesan vision statement.

Department requests are then submitted to the Department of Finance, which oversees creating a budget based on anticipated income. In the fall, department heads meet with the Finance Department to discuss their requests for the coming year and to determine how the department is meeting its goals.

When the Finance Department has created a budget, it is presented to the Diocesan Executive Board in the fall. The Executive Board then approves or amends it and recommends the budget to the upcoming Annual Diocesan Council that meets in February. The Diocesan Council, made up of the clergy of the diocese and representatives of every congregation, is the final authority for adoption of the budget. Council adopts a budget for the upcoming year (the 2004 Council adopted the 2005 budget) and amends, if necessary, the current year budget.

Members of the diocese are invited to participate in the budget process in two ways: by contacting diocesan departments with ideas and questions, and by contacting their congregation’s representatives to Council prior to February. Most congregations’ representatives are elected in January.

This report presents the actual expenditures of the diocese for 2003 plus the adopted budgets for 2004 and 2005. It also presents a brief – not complete, by any means – summary of some of the significant work of the diocese during 2003.

For complete Annual Report link to http://www.episcopal-dwtx.org/annualreport/index.html