Who develops and administers parish budgets? Are these budgets compared to actual financial activity and results?

Parish budgets originate with the pastor in collaboration with parish staff, the parish finance council, and the parish pastoral council. Decisions on parish budgets, building campaigns, and renovations should be reviewed by the parish pastoral council.

Parishes are expected to submit a realistic budget to the Archdiocese of Detroit annually in May. Parish financial reports are to be filed annually in August. Parish budgets are reviewed and potentially amended by Archdiocesan Operations. The Central Services Finance and Administration Department reviews budgets submitted by every parish in the Archdiocese, comparing them to the financial reports provided by each parish over the five previous years to determine if the budgeted amounts appear reasonable.

If a parish budget reflects a deficit or budgeted amounts appear significantly different from trends over the previous five years of activity, the archdiocesan Finance and Administration Department contacts the parish for clarification or a revised budget. Finance and Administration also reviews every financial report submitted by parishes. If information is missing, inaccuracies are found, or items do not comply with archdiocesan policies, requests are made of parishes to provide the missing information or submit a revised financial report.