Budget Development

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1)  Attendance
The meeting of the Lane Community College Budget Committee was called to order by Bert Dotson at 5:31 pm in the Lane Community College Boardroom. Present were budget committee members Stephen Alison, Roger Hall, John Hamilton, Paul Holman, Sandie Hitchcock, Larry Romine, Mike Rose, Kathleen Shelley, Dennis Shine, Jerry Sirois, and Rick Yecny. Also present were President Mary Spilde and Vice President Marie Matsen. Budget committee members Jay Bozievich and Kevin Wells were unable to attend.

2)  Approval of May 12 Minutes
Romine moved to approve the May 12, 2004 minutes. Sirois seconded.

Motion carried unanimously.

3) Public Comment
LCC Foundation trustee Dean Hansen proposed a solution to the loss of the men’s baseball and women’s softball programs next year. Hansen offered to personally guarantee $80,000 to support the programs for two years. Hansen and six members of the community have volunteered to spearhead an athletic advisory committee to develop sustainable resources for LCC athletics. Fund-raising efforts for administrative costs are generally not successful. Hansen’s proposal includes a request that the board approve college support of approximately $60,000 to pay for the administration of the programs.
Rose asked what program would be cut by $60,000.
Romine suggested a $2 student fee for athletics.
Yecny recommended securing the funds in advance.
Dotson thanked Hansen and his colleagues for the proposal and for their dedication to the college and to athletics.

4) Information Requests
Matsen reviewed responses to the information requests from May 12.

1. Prioritized investments of carryover revenue are tied either to board direction or to efforts to off-set future expenditures. The 17 proposed investments are now grouped in four clusters. The first cluster is the highest priority and includes deferred maintenance and a stabilization reserve. The committee did not propose any changes.
2. Allocation of extra section funding has recurred for so many years that departments now depend on the revenue. This year, $796,814 will be permanently dispersed to core classes and student service departments. $607,889 will be held by the VP for Instruction and Student Services to be allocated for extra classes as needed.
3. Enterprise unit managers propose a transfer of 50 percent of each unit’s year-end balance to the General Fund. This proposal would replace a board mandated contribution of 8 percent of each unit’s adjusted gross sales and would stabilize funding for these departments. Matsen stated that the burden on students will decrease with more Enterprise units participating.
4. Fund Nine was created in FY03 to separate from the General Fund those programs which rely on student fees and other department-generated revenue for most of the program budget. In past years, the General Fund budget was inflated because these largely self-supporting units were included.
5. Student Activity Fees are paid by all credit students taking one or more classes on main campus. Matsen distributed a comparison of revenue generated from three approaches to charging fees based on number of credits. In scenario 1, fees are prorated by number of credits; in scenario 2, fees are prorated for students taking fewer than 12 credits; in scenario 3, fees are prorated for students taking fewer than 4 credits. The comparison results did not prompt any recommendations to revise how student fees are assessed.

5) Discussion
Shine asked whether there is a relationship between the decline in enrollment in non-credit classes and the board decision to abolish a senior discount. Institutional Research Director Craig Taylor will advise the president as to whether an analysis is feasible.

Alison asked whether the college sells bad debt. We do not. Bad debt loss decreased by $100,000 in the last year due to diligent staff work and two new practices – earlier turnover to collections and termination of credit beyond one term.

6)   Budget
Rose moved that the Lane Community College District budget committee approve the 2004-2005 fiscal year operating budget for all funds totaling $199,580,591.

Sirois seconded. Motion carried unanimously

7) Adjournment
Chair Dotson adjourned the meeting at 7:00 pm.

______________________________
Bert Dotson, Chair

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Mary Spilde, President
Lane Community College