Q. My church has about 175 members. We have always had a fulltime minister and part-time secretary and custodian, but we began paying our half-time DRE about 10 years ago and recently began paying a quarter-time music director.

These five employees are reponsible to five different committees and we have recently begun getting inquiries about the possibility of offering benefits to part-timers. The minister says that we need a Personnel Committee and written personnel policies, that the church needs to be acting like a business employer, not a volunteer group that is compensating a few people.

So my questions are: 1. Where should the Personnel Committee fall in the church hierarchy? Is it completely separate from other committees or would it make sense to have a representative from each of the committees that supervises an employee now? 2: Do you have written personnel policies such as you have at work?

Barbara Wallace, Moderator, Northwest UU Church, Southfield, MI

A. Many congregations are realizing they have been derelict in not having a separate Personnel Committee to propose personnel policies, make recommendations on compensation and benefits, and be available to mediate in situations where appropriate, says Ralph Mero, Director of Church Staff Finances for the UUA. (He can be reached at (617) 742-2100, ext. 404.

It is best, he notes, if the Personnel Committee is made up of three to five persons who have standing and credibility in the congregation and who are willing to serve for several years.

Such a Committee's first responsibility is to draft detailed policies covering job descriptions, hiring practices, compensation ranges, continuing education, insurance and other benefits, vacation leave, establishing an Accountable Reimbursement Plan for professional expenses, and a process for how employees shall be evaluated on a regular basis. Policies about whether church members can be hired as employees and how salary increases will be determined should also be written in advance of need. These policies should be formally adopted by the Board of Trustees.

One critical function of the Committee is to be sure the church is in compliance with federal and state laws regarding non-discrimination, payment of Social Security and other taxes, worker's compensation insurance, and safe working conditions. Some easy-to-use off-the-shelf software programs exist for writing personnel policies, and these can help make sure all the legal bases are touched.

Donald Hoskins, treasurer of the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, PA (339 members), adds: You have touched on one of the most sensitive areas in church operation. You do need written guidelines and policies, but they won't resolve all problems when controversy sets in.

Our Personnel Committee is just another commitee, mainly advisory to the Board, but hard to get anyone to serve on it. It doesn't work for it to have both oversight and employee support functions. I recommend you seek out someone familiar with personnel issues for advice and then write job descriptions and evaluation procedures. Consult the UUA Congregational Handbook and get a copy of the Church and Clergy Tax Guide which describes tax and reporting issues surrounding benefits. Once you pay salaries and wages, you are in a business and need to have some minimum business standards to avoid problems.

Q. At our last congregational meeting we had difficulty with procedures. We have less than 50 people at these meetings so they can be pretty informal. But this was not informal -- it was chaos. Does anyone have a simple set of rules of procedures? Please do not identify me or our church.

A. Editor's note: Recommendations which have come from InterConnections readers are the following: Parliamentary Guide for Church Leaders, by C. Barry McCarty; Parliamentary Procedure at a Glance, by O. Garfield Jones. Also, Board and Committees: a Handbook on Parliamentary Procedures, by Alice N. Pohl. Readers are invited to contribute other suggestions.

Here is another question commonly asked of Ralph Mero, the UUA's Director of Church Staff Finances.

Q. Our interim minister purchased a laptop computer to use during her time with us. Can she take it with her as personal property when she leaves?

A. Yes, if she advanced the money for the purchase, and she was then reimbursed from the Professional Expenses Allowance line item in her Total Cost of Ministry budget, the computer is her personal property. If the computer was purchased by the church from its equipment budget, then it is the property of the church, and she should leave it behind.