How should a parish handle event cancellations and payment of vendors/contractors?

There are many questions about the COVID-19 virus still being answered. Many contracts provide for an orderly way of cancelling them in the event circumstances change. The pastor and business managers should review the contract terms to understand options available regarding termination and full or partial refunds of payments/deposits. Many businesses are being reasonable with their cancellation policies now. In some cases, the Parish will get a full refund of its payments/deposits. For other cancellations, the parish may have the option to postpone and reschedule the event or take a partial refund.

After reviewing the contract terms, the pastor and/or business manager should reach out to the vendor/contractor, advise that the parish wants to cancel or reschedule the event and talk about next steps in reaching a mutually amicable resolution in light of the current crisis. Depending on the cooperation of the vendor/contractor, the Parish may need to confer with the AOD’s Department of Finance. Any dispute that cannot be resolved directly by the pastor and/or business manager, or by Finance, could be reviewed with our Bodman attorneys.