The BVUUF Board of officers and trustees is comprised of four officers and three trustees. The officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) are elected by the congregation for one-year terms. Each trustee is elected by the congregation for a three-year term, staggered so that one position expires each year. Terms begin and end in July. Meet the current members of the Board.

Board Functions

The job of the Board is to represent the congregation by determining and providing appropriate organizational performance and leadership. All powers of the Board are subordinate to the will of the membership and the Bylaws of the Fellowship. Accordingly, the Board will:

  • Establish and continually review governing policies and operating procedures based on substantial consultation with the congregation.
  • Develop, promote, and monitor progress toward accomplishment of the fellowship’s short- and long-term objectives and goals.
  • Conduct open meetings and keep the congregation informed of its policies and other decisions.
  • Manage budget and operating fund expenditures in accordance with established policies and guidelines; oversee and approve expenditures of annual operating budget funds and other special funds; protects investments, endowments, and Fellowship property.
  • Review the annual operating budget presented by the Finance Planning Committee, make adjustments if necessary, and recommend a budget for congregational approval at the Spring business meeting.
  • Accept gifts to the Fellowship and if the gifts consist of or are converted to money, authorize expenditure, except that any gift that requires expenditure in a future fiscal year must be approved by the congregation.
  • Exercise final authority in all personnel matters for all employees (other than the minister) and contract service providers
  • Represent the Fellowship at UUA, District, Fellowship, and other meetings and functions.
  • Listen and respond to congregational suggestions and concerns that involve policy and refer others to the proper operational level for resolution (i.e, .Committee on Ministry, Nominating Committee, Personnel Committee, other standing committees minister)

Board Covenant

In working together to serve the Fellowship, the Board of Officers and Trustees covenants to:

  • Attend monthly Board meetings and other meetings that Board members are expected to attend.
  • Adhere to and practice the Fellowship’s Guidelines for Right Relations.
  • Respond to emails and other correspondence necessary for conducting Board business in a timely manner.
  • Work together to build personal bonds to enrich ourselves and the Board process. Listen deeply to each other and assume that others have the best interests of the Fellowship at heart.
  • Set aside personal agendas for the best interests of the Fellowship, expressing views fully and honestly.
  • Respect our differences and recognize that disagreement is a part of Board life.
  • Take the initiative to ensure all are adequately prepared for meetings and accept the responsibility to seek and provide information necessary to make well-informed decisions.
  • Handle issues brought to the Board by congregational members with respect. As part of the discussion, consider whether the matter belongs at the committee or Board level.
  • Respect the confidentiality appropriate to issues of a sensitive nature.
  • Support all decisions of the Board, moving on in spite of differences. This principle requires all Board members support decisions once made by majority vote.
  • Communicate decisions to the congregation in a complete and timely manner.
  • Focus on the big picture.

Code of Conduct for Officers and Trustees

The Board commits itself and its members to ethical, businesslike, and lawful conduct, including proper use of authority and appropriate decorum when acting as Board members. Accordingly, Officers and Trustees:

  • Must show unbiased loyalty to the interests of the Fellowship. This accountability supersedes any potentially conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups and membership on other boards or staffs. It also supersedes the personal interest of any Board member acting as a consumer of the church’s services.
  • Must avoid conflict of interest with respect to their fiduciary responsibility. When the Board is to decide upon an issue about which an officer or trustee has an unavoidable conflict of interest, that trustee shall absent herself or himself without comment from the vote and from the deliberation by leaving the meeting.
  • Must not use their positions to obtain fellowship employment for themselves, family members, or close associates. Should a member desire employment, he/she must first resign from the Board.
  • Must annually disclose any involvement with other organizations, vendors, or any other associations that might produce a conflict.
  • Must recognize in interactions with members of the congregation, the public, the press, or other entities that no Board member can speak for the Board except to repeat explicitly stated Board decisions.