Budget Update 2.29.2016

Colleagues:

At the close of business today, the Voluntary Separation Program concludes.

The combined volume of retirements and resignations, voluntary separations, expense controls offered by employee groups, and other cost-savings or revenue enhancements have done the job. We are within $10,000 of a balanced budget for the next fiscal year and will not need to consider any reductions-in-force or non-renewal of contracts at this time.

However, the way we go about accomplishing our mission is still severely impaired.

We are fewer in number (or will be by July 2016) by some 46 employees.  In addition, there remain 14 vacant “mission-critical” positions that must be refilled and that process will proceed very slowly. All of our spending constraints that were in place this past year will continue, including restricted travel, delays in refilling vacancies, elimination of overtime, and less reliance on student and hourly work.  

The state budget impasse is still unresolved and we have no reliable information as to when it might be resolved.  Our fiscal status will be monitored carefully through the summer and into the fall semester as the state situation evolves, enrollment trends become apparent, and health-care costs are better understood. In other words, this may be a temporary reprieve.

What follows are updated numbers that I shared with you last week:

Retirement/Resignations	$1,740,865
Voluntary Separations	$1,278,029
Vacancies to be Refilled	-$747,820
Cost savings/revenue enhancements	$1,249,800
RIF & Non-Renewal of contracts	$0
Total	$3,520,874.00
Budget Goal	-$3,530,562.00
Balance	-$9,688.00

Many people worked very hard to get to this outcome. I would like to thank Union Leadership as well as faculty, staff, and administration that participated in getting us to this point.

I continue to be proud to be a part of this College.