Budget message
To: Chemeketa Community College Budget Committee
From: Cheryl Roberts, President and CEO
Date: April 11, 2012
RE: Budget Message
Dear Budget Committee Members,
By way of introducing the 2012-2013 budget document, my budget message is intended to give you the context and assumptions used to develop our budget proposal, summary information about the budget, and major changes from the 2011-2012 budget to this year’s budget.
It will come as no surprise that Chemeketa’s budget challenges will continue into 2012-2013 and for many years to come. Our initial budget projections for 2012-2013, however, did not contain a budget shortfall. In my view, this is due primarily to Chemeketa’s long history of responsible budgeting. As many of you are long-standing members of the budget committee, you can be proud of the role the budget committee has played in this history. The budget presented in this document is balanced. It is a tribute to many that we were able to balance our budget without significant program reductions. I am also grateful to the staff for their efforts in preparing this proposal.
One area of some uncertainty in our budget is the cost associated with our faculty collective bargaining contract. We are currently in negotiations with the faculty so we are not able to budget this cost with certainty.
Although there are some programmatic reductions in this budget, as I mentioned earlier, these were not done to balance our budget. We are proposing some budget increases in programs that we believe will also position us for the future.
Recently, the Oregon Legislature enacted a law (SB 1581) that requires our Board of Education to enter into an Achievement Compact annually with the Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB). During the budget process you will have opportunity to review Chemeketa’s Achievement Compact along with the proposed annual budget document.
General Fund Resources
For 2012-2013, we are increasing our tuition by $3 from the current $77 per credit hour to $80 per credit hour. There will be no increase to the universal fee. Chemeketa’s overall cost to students remains below the state average for community colleges. For the typical student, Chemeketa’s tuition is approximately half the tuition cost of Oregon’s public universities.
The budget before you is for the second year of the biennium and, therefore, the appropriation from the legislature for community colleges has been determined with some certainty. There remains a possibility that the legislature or the governor could order reductions in our appropriations if the economic recovery that is underway does not maintain its current momentum.
General Fund Costs
The largest portion of Chemeketa’s budget is personnel costs. For 2012-2013, the expenditure budget includes step increases for eligible employees, but does not include any cost of living increases. As I mentioned earlier, we are currently in negotiations with the faculty union, and the final cost of this contract has yet to be determined.
In the academic areas, this budget also includes investments in the form of new full-time faculty positions in selected disciplines and enhancements to our student support at the new Yamhill Valley campus in McMinnville. The budget also includes investments to enhance our student success and diversity initiatives. It also includes increases to our support services areas that we believe will increase the overall efficiency of our business processes.
Other Funds
Capital Development Fund: Towards the end of the recent session, the Oregon legislature approved a bill that will result in Chemeketa receiving $1,000,000 in capital construction funding. These funds will be used for the renovation, modernization, or instructional equipment upgrades to four Career & Technical Education programs at the Salem campus.
Overall, I believe that Chemeketa Community College is financially sound and this budget maintains the tradition of fiscally conservative budgeting. I am proud and honored to present you with our 2012-2013 budget and grateful for your service to the college.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Roberts, Ed.D. President/CEO
View past financial documents