FHC Telephone

Who is supposed to be paying the phone bill for the Family History Center? This is in reference to the telephone you talk on.

Is it a reimbursable expense? The stake handles the finances for this particular FHC, and there was a question recently about it.

Thanks.

lajackson wrote:Who is supposed to be paying the phone bill for the Family History Center? This is in reference to the telephone you talk on.

Is it a reimbursable expense? The stake handles the finances for this particular FHC, and there was a question recently about it.

Thanks.

I spoke with the director of our regional FH center this morning to try and answer your question. She told me that it's recent policy that the FM group is supposed to be paying the bill.

Techgy wrote:I spoke with the director of our regional FH center this morning to try and answer your question. She told me that it's recent policy that the FM group is supposed to be paying the bill.

I knew this was true for the DSL/Internet connection. I had not heard that this was the policy for the regular telephone, as well.

I wonder if this is a recent policy, and if it would also apply to a stake FHC?

lajackson wrote:I knew this was true for the DSL/Internet connection. I had not heard that this was the policy for the regular telephone, as well.

I wonder if this is a recent policy, and if it would also apply to a stake FHC?

Good question. To confirm, I specifically mentioned that the question was in regards to the phone line and not the DSL line. The director I spoke with is over a regional center, but the facility is housed in a stake center and not standing by itself. Have you asked the stake leadership or the FM manager?

I know the way it used to be is that our stake paid for our stake FHC's phone. I believe they were able to get reimbursed - at least for the basic phone charge.

I don't know if it changed.

RussellHltn wrote:I know the way it used to be is that our stake paid for our stake FHC's phone. I believe they were able to get reimbursed - at least for the basic phone charge.

I don't know if it changed.

From what I was told this morning, the change was recent. I didn't ask just how recent.

lajackson wrote:Who is supposed to be paying the phone bill for the Family History Center? This is in reference to the telephone you talk on.

Is it a reimbursable expense? The stake handles the finances for this particular FHC, and there was a question recently about it.

The phone in our FHC is paid for exactly like all the other phones in our various buildings -- it appears on an in internal invoice, similar to Distribution Center charges, and it is charged to the Other category on the Stake's Church Unit Financial Statement, and immediately reimbursed. So there is no cost to the stake. This has been the case for years, and certainly was still true as of January.

Now the question is, what happens if the phone line is also the DSL link for the center - and the bill is combined phone/internet?

Long time ago it was the stake that paid for FHC Internet. But then it was changed to the FM group. Your group may have finally got around to making the transfer. I'm not sure ours has.

Alan_Brown wrote:The phone in our FHC is paid for exactly like all the other phones in our various buildings -- it appears on an in internal invoice, similar to Distribution Center charges, and it is charged to the Other category on the Stake's Church Unit Financial Statement, and immediately reimbursed. So there is no cost to the stake. This has been the case for years, and certainly was still true as of January.

Out here in the hinterland, we still get regular phone bills (by the dozens). The stake pays them under Other and is reimbursed.

I asked the question because the Finance department challenged the charge for the FHC phone line this month. I am trying to figure out if there has been a policy change.

Techgy, what recent change are you referring to?

RussellHltn wrote:Now the question is, what happens if the phone line is also the DSL link for the center - and the bill is combined phone/internet?

Long time ago it was the stake that paid for FHC Internet. But then it was changed to the FM group. Your group may have finally got around to making the transfer. I'm not sure ours has.

The FM group has been paying our DSL bill for some time now. The phone line and the DSL are billed separately.

lajackson wrote:Out here in the hinterland, we still get regular phone bills (by the dozens). The stake pays them under Other and is reimbursed.

I asked the question because the Finance department challenged the charge for the FHC phone line this month. I am trying to figure out if there has been a policy change.

Techgy, what recent change are you referring to?

When I called our Regional FH Director this afternoon I read her your exact question from the forum. Her comment back to me was that the policy for her center was recently changed (she didn't say when) and the FM group is supposed to be paying the phone bills now for the Regional Center.

If you like I can contact her again and get more details. However, I would have to believe that if you checked with your FM group that you would likely get the same response - assuming that it was a church-wide policy change and didn't only affect the Regional centers.

lajackson wrote:

Alan_Brown wrote:The phone in our FHC is paid for exactly like all the other phones in our various buildings -- it appears on an in internal invoice, similar to Distribution Center charges, and it is charged to the Other category on the Stake's Church Unit Financial Statement, and immediately reimbursed. So there is no cost to the stake. This has been the case for years, and certainly was still true as of January.

Out here in the hinterland, we still get regular phone bills (by the dozens). The stake pays them under Other and is reimbursed.

So except for the billing procedure, it sounds the same -- the phone bill is covered by the stake and is reimbursed by CHQ, so there is no net cost to the stake. The billing procedure doesn't seem particularly relevant to the underlying question of whether an FHC phone bill is reimbursed by CHQ -- our FHC is housed within our stake center and the bill for that phone line is indeed reimbursed by CHQ.

lajackson wrote:I asked the question because the Finance department challenged the charge for the FHC phone line this month. I am trying to figure out if there has been a policy change.

I'm curious what the nature of the "challenge" was -- did you receive an MLS message? Or was it something mailed to your stake president? And what did the message say was objectionable about the expense?

Alan_Brown wrote:I'm curious what the nature of the "challenge" was --

Indeed. That might be a big clue. One thing not covered was additional charges, such as long distance. Way back when, that was the responsibility of the local unit and not reimbursable. I don't know if that has changed.

Great question, and the timing is perfect. I have always understood it was the FHC's responsibility to pay their own phone bills, based on the Family History Center Operations Guide (2006), which says:

Operating funds for a family history center are allocated by the stake(s) that supports the center. The family history center director works with the high council adviser to develop an annual budget request from the stake(s). These funds pay for:
- Telephone expenses.
- Office supplies and postage...

Now since the stake is supplying a budget allowance, it is essentially paying the phone bill - but the money is coming from stake funds.

I would be very interested to know if the FM Group is going to start picking up the phone costs.

Alan_Brown wrote:. . . our FHC is housed within our stake center and the bill for that phone line is indeed reimbursed by CHQ.

I'm curious what the nature of the "challenge" was -- did you receive an MLS message?

An MLS message with instructions to change the charge to budget because FHC phone lines are not reimbursable.

There was a problem with the phone bill and it got some extra attention. The actual category was noticed, and we were asked to change it.

This issue is very familiar to me as I just spent numerous hours over the last few weeks speaking with Ryan at Xylec, Arden McQueen at HQ, and the state FM Group...all trying to figure out who should pay FHC phone expenses. Our stake, for years, has paid it by using the "Other" phone reimbursable account. I have now been told that was wrong with respect to FHCs that have their own phone line. If the FHC has its own line, then it should be paid by the Stake Budget. This is actually set out in the Budget Allocation Guidelines (1998...most recent edition I could locate).

However, if the phone line is associated with DSL then the FM Group pays it. As a result, our stake, for the first time ever, has allocated a portion of its budget to pay FHC phone expenses. It would be nice to have updated written clarafication of this issue, because I also spoke to several folks at HQ who gave me conflicting opinions (that is until I got to Bro. Arden McQueen).

Brook Fowler wrote:Our stake, for years, has paid it by using the "Other" phone reimbursable account. I have now been told that was wrong with respect to FHCs that have their own phone line. If the FHC has its own line, then it should be paid by the Stake Budget. This is actually set out in the Budget Allocation Guidelines (1998...most recent edition I could locate).

However, if the phone line is associated with DSL then the FM Group pays it. As a result, our stake, for the first time ever, has allocated a portion of its budget to pay FHC phone expenses. It would be nice to have updated written clarafication of this issue, because I also spoke to several folks at HQ who gave me conflicting opinions (that is until I got to Bro. Arden McQueen).

I suspect that we will get some written clarification soon. [sigh]

Our FHC was a tap off of the hall phone. That would be reimbursable. Perhaps now we should get it added to the DSL line? Or is it already? No one seems to know.

I guess it is time to find out.

I queried the Family History Support group and received the following reply:

"Access to the Church communications network through the Internet has been authorized for meetinghouses and other facilities with official family history centers. Local facilities management groups will coordinate installations and will pay monthly Internet charges for these centers.* If the Internet connection requires a separate telephone line, the installation and ongoing monthly charges will also be paid by the local facilities management groups. Monthly Internet charges for family history centers not on the official list will continue to be the responsibility of the sponsoring stake or district. At this time, either a static or a dynamic IP address for the center will work."

So it seems there is no change to the FM Group's policy. They will pay for the Internet charges only, unless a separate phone line is req'd for the Internet (which isn't the case in BC), in which case they would pay the associated phone costs as well.

The cost for a dedicated phone (only) line to the FHC (except as noted above)continues to be the responsibility of the FHC, which is supported by the stake. So essentially, the stake pays the cost of the FHC phone from it's budget. the exception would be where the FHC phone to tied to the hall phone, which would be paid as part the ward/stake phone bill and is reimbursable.

Hmmm, I was hoping we might get a break for our stake budget but it doesn't sound that way.

Freedom55 wrote:If the Internet connection requires a separate telephone line, the installation and ongoing monthly charges will also be paid by the local facilities management groups. . . .. . . So essentially, the stake pays the cost of the FHC phone from it's budget. the exception would be where the FHC phone to tied to the hall phone, which would be paid as part the ward/stake phone bill and is reimbursable.

Hmmm, I was hoping we might get a break for our stake budget but it doesn't sound that way.

So, if the voice phone line is on the DSL line, or the voice phone line is an extension off of the building hall phone . . .

Because of our circumstances, it appears that our stake budget just picked up a new line item. [pun intended]

Freedom55 wrote:I queried the Family History Support group and received the following reply:

Well, that reply only said what the FM group definitely will pay for. It did not say what they would not pay for. So that answer does not address in any way the cost of a phone line that is not Internet-related in the FHC. It also doesn't explain if some other entity than the stake might pay the charges. Furthermore, it doesn't explain if policies might be different in different areas of the Church. So no one should assume that the question of who pays for phone lines in FHCs has been answered at this point for every FHC.

Hi Alan,

My post above, quotes from the FHC operations guide:

"Operating funds for a family history center are allocated by the stake(s) that supports the center. The family history center director works with the high council adviser to develop an annual budget request from the stake(s). These funds pay for:
- Telephone expenses.
- Office supplies and postage..."

That, and a phone call to the FHC support group, tells me pretty clearly that the FHC is responsible for their own phone costs (if it's a dedicated line). Since the stake is responsible to fund the FHC, the cost ultimately comes from the stake budget.

If anyone else can suggest an alternative method of paying these costs you may color me happy.

Freedom55 wrote:My post above, quotes from the FHC operations guide:

"Operating funds for a family history center are allocated by the stake(s) that supports the center. The family history center director works with the high council adviser to develop an annual budget request from the stake(s). These funds pay for:
- Telephone expenses.
- Office supplies and postage..."

Well, the question is - what is "Telephone expenses"? For example, AFAIK, the church reimburses the wards for the base telephone charge, but does not pay for any long distance calls. So in this case "telephone expenses" could refer to just the toll charges and not the whole bill. "Could" being the operative word here.

I think this may be worth going back to FHC support for some answers. It does strike me as a bit strange that the stake is to shoulder the cost of the phone line for a official FHC when the church reimburses most other telephone lines.

Freedom55 wrote:My post above, quotes from the FHC operations guide:

I don't have access to that document, which seems to be the key source of the policy you are describing. I certainly wouldn't presume to contradict anything you are saying.

But I can say with certainty that our stake (which houses a FHC shared by our stake and one other) does not pay the cost of the phone line (which has nothing to do with DSL -- it is a voice-only line). That cost is paid for exactly like every other phone line in all the buildings in our stake in ward/stake offices and foyers. Specifically, it is automatically charged to our Other account and immediately reimbursed by CHQ, as described in the wiki under Stake & ward telephone service.

Is that an accounting error that will be corrected at some point? Or is it being done in accordance with some policy that is not known by anyone who has posted to this thread? I don't know. I simply was urging some caution in jumping to conclusions about a blanket policy, since I have personal, ongoing experience that contradicts what seems to be the logical conclusion of the policies that have been mentioned so far.

One little detail I just remembered may be the key to why our stake's situation may be an exception. Our FHC phone line is routed to our stake office and is available as a second line. We don't currently have any 2-line phones in our stake office, but we did once upon a time. Perhaps that changes the categorization of that line from an FHC phone line to a stake phone line, and thus it is reimbursed like any other phone line.

Alan_Brown wrote:I don't have access to that document, which seems to be the key source of the policy you are describing.

Here you go. It can be found under "Serving in the Church".

Alan_Brown wrote:But I can say with certainty that our stake (which houses a FHC shared by our stake and one other) does not pay the cost of the phone line (which has nothing to do with DSL -- it is a voice-only line). That cost is paid for exactly like every other phone line in all the buildings in our stake in ward/stake offices and foyers. Specifically, it is automatically charged to our Other account and immediately reimbursed by CHQ, as described in the wiki under Stake & ward telephone service.

AFAIK, ours is the same way.

Hi Guys,

Here is the word from the FHC support group,

"the Facilites Management only pays for a telephone line if a separate line is needed for the internet connection. All other telephone connections come out of the FHC budget".