A controversial move to raise the stipend for executive staff, including those at church offices and the theological colleges, was passed as an interim policy. Assembly Council was ensured responsibility to set policy and base stipend figures. However, their decisions must be recommended to General Assembly, which has the right to approve or disapprove such suggestions. Any proposed changes would, in turn, be subject to review by the council before assembly makes a final decision.
The issue of responsibility arose when the council set a new stipend level for the incoming chief financial officer in 2003. Questions regarding the council's authority to set such stipends were raised. The council maintained that doing so is within its mandate, although General Assembly always has final say.
The assembly also decided that a committee of the Assembly Council will conduct regular reviews of the stipend grid, will consult with the Committee on Theological Education to set professorial stipends, and will annually review the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) grid and recommend any changes needed. The committee will report to the council every three years on the maintenance and updating of the grid. Any changes to the grid above COLA must be recommended to the assembly for approval. The first reviews will take place in the fall of 2008 with recommendations to take effect in the budget year of 2009.
Stephen Roche, chief financial officer, told the assembly that it is the finance committee's responsibility to report to Assembly Council in March 2006 about where the funding for the raises will be found, other than Presbyterians Sharing.
