Ward split question on tithing

Reviewing the policy for discontinuing a unit, it would seem to be similar for splitting a unit and forming a new unit, in that you would need to run tithing settlement reports for all donors moving to the new unit, prior to moving their records.

Am I thinking correctly?

TIA

hammerc wrote:Reviewing the policy for discontinuing a unit, it would seem to be similar for splitting a unit and forming a new unit, in that you would need to run tithing settlement reports for all donors moving to the new unit, prior to moving their records.

Am I thinking correctly?

Yes. As documented in the wiki under Discontinuing a ward or branch, you create tax statements and tithing settlement statements for all members who are leaving the ward (which is everyone, in the case of a discontinuation).

When our ward split I did something which may not be okay but...

The "old ward" and the "new ward" were going to be in different buildings. So I "printed" all of the individual donation statements and tax statements for members of the new ward as PDF files. That way, after I gave the paper versions to the donors, I would still be able to make additional copies if anybody lost their papers. (...and they wouldn't have to ask for them from a clerk in another building.) The only thing I need to remember is to delete the PDF files after the record retention period. My PDF "print-outs" are separated by year so that I can easily delete one year at a time.

Incidentally, I did ”prints outs" for the current year plus three previous years. Again this was only for donation records of members of the new ward.

mrrad wrote:I "printed" all of the individual donation statements and tax statements for members of the new ward as PDF files.

I see no problem with doing this, as long as you follow proper security procedures for these very confidential files. Remember that the Policies and Guidelines for Computers Used by Clerks for Church Record Keeping say: "The MLS database is stored on the computer’s hard drive. Other confidential files should not be stored on the hard drive. They should be saved on external media and locked in storage when not in use."

The collection of these PDFs is equivalent to the Tithing Declaration Report, which is one of the most sensitive documents I ever handle (I don't handle disciplinary council documents, which would be even more sensitive). I get rather nervous when it's in my hands and make sure that it is properly locked up whenever it's not in my hands. So you should be extremely careful to follow the data security policies for these files. But as long as you treat the external media that they are on just as carefully as you do the Tithing Declaration Report, it seems like a reasonable practice.

Doesn't everyone have an old 512mb flash drive they don't use anymore or the original 128mb Secure Digital card that came with your last camera? Those would be perfect for storing this kind of data in the locked cabinet at the church (rather than sitting in a drawer at home doing absolutely nothing).

hammerc wrote:Reviewing the policy for discontinuing a unit, it would seem to be similar for splitting a unit and forming a new unit, in that you would need to run tithing settlement reports for all donors moving to the new unit, prior to moving their records.

Am I thinking correctly?




TIA

After further thought, it seems the unit that will move out a block of members to the new unit could wait until normal tithing settlement time and include the former members in the printing. They would have to separate the appropriate forms and hand over to bishop of new unit. Not really different than printing and mailing to someone who moved during the year.

hammerc wrote:After further thought, it seems the unit that will move out a block of members to the new unit could wait until normal tithing settlement time and include the former members in the printing. They would have to separate the appropriate forms and hand over to bishop of new unit. Not really different than printing and mailing to someone who moved during the year.

That's mostly true, but doesn't account for members who then move out of the new unit in the meantime. If the original ward hands over all the forms to the new unit at the time of the split, then they are done with any responsibility for those members. But if they wait for the end of the year, then they would need to treat those members differently who move out of the new unit. The new unit may have no record of those members if they never donated in the new unit without moving out. If I were the clerk of the original unit, I'd want to handle all the transition issues at one time and be done with it.

Enhancement Request: I am wondering if it would be possible to associate tithing records with membership records (at least a summary) so when a membership record transfers, the tithing information also transfers? Yesterday, we had a member come to our Stake clerk office asking to see his tithing records from his recently-discontinued Singles Ward. We had the printed records from that ward, but we had to locate the boxes and rifle through them to find the actual printout. It sure would have been more efficient to have the summary information available from his new ward. --David