FROM: Mary Spilde

DATE:  November 13, 2001

RE:  Budget Planning ñ Phase 1

In an earlier memo I shared some thoughts with you about our budget challenges and how the budget needs to be driven by our mission, strategic plan and work plan. The purpose of this memorandum is to share with you the budget process for this year.  When I accepted the position as president I pledged to the board that the college would move toward a balanced budget. Over the last few years we have been balancing the budget using non-recurring funds for continuing expenses, which is similar to using a savings account for day-to-day living.  The time has come to balance the budget and to make the tough choices that will determine the shape of the college in the future. 

To accomplish this, we are dividing the budget development process into two phases.  Phase 1 will focus on the pre-planning that needs to occur.  Phase 2 will be the formal budget process that is required of the college. This memo deals with Phase 1.  To date the Executive Team has examined the fiscal assumptions on which the budget is built.  Based on these assumptions we will finalize budget projections. We will be making a presentation to the board on these assumptions and projections on November 14.  We plan to hold an open forum on this information for all staff on November 14. The information will be posted on the web at the beginning of next week.  We will hold additional forums as necessary.

We all want the budget process to be more open and inclusive.  One way of doing this is to involve more people in the development of the budget. We are committed to doing this although it takes time. As we work back from some of the deadlines in preparation of the budget document and meeting contractual timelines, a great deal of work needs to be completed in the next three months.  This may seem like quite a bit of time but when the holidays and winter breaks are factored in it does not give us a lot of time to do this important work.  
 
The Budget Advisory Group (BAG) was created last year and to further this goal of openness and involvement we are establishing three additional work groups to allow for meaningful participation.  In doing this I hope to open up the process. These groups will be modeled on the Restructuring Team in terms of representation and engaging stakeholders. They will be charged with ensuring that they hear from all staff members who choose to participate. The work groups will make recommendations to the Executive Team. I have given a lot of thought to whether I can delegate the authority and responsibility to these work groups to make final decisions.  It is clear to me that, ultimately, it is my responsibility as president to finalize the budget and make recommendations to the budget committee.   Therefore, these will not be ìjointî committees with the unions but rather college committees that are inclusive of all the stakeholders.  Our shared governance policy states that ì shared governance provides stakeholders who are most affected by decisions a timely opportunity to be informed and involved in the deliberations in order to influence the formulation of decisionsÖî Stakeholders are defined as ìclassified staff, faculty, management staff, labor unions, and students who are directly impacted in a significant way by a decision.î  The membership of the work groups reflects this policy. This is my best thinking to get this important work done and move us forward.   

The work groups are:
Transparency Work Group
Criteria Application Work Group
Efficiencies Work Group

The timeline from here on out is attached as well as the charters for the work groups that are being formed to help with this task. Next year we will start the process earlier to give us maximum time to do this work.  For now, we plan to stay focused and get this work done in the time we have available.  

You are aware that the Budget Advisory Group solicited input on budget criteria. They reviewed the information and submitted recommendations to the Executive Team.  The Executive Team has used the recommendations as the basis for developing sets of criteria to be used in budget reductions.  Within the next two weeks I will be asking you to review this draft and make further recommendations before we take the criteria to the board on November 27 for final approval.  Again, there will be some forum, electronic or other wise, for people to comment on the criteria.

I hope you will work with us as we embark on this effort to make the budget process more open and inclusive.  I know that some of you are too busy to be involved or do not care to be involved and I respect that choice.  For those of you who have a desire for more information or involvement, I hope you will find that this process gives you that opportunity.