Attendees: Grayce Ross, Rashad Norris, Marco Lopez, Pat Daniels, Helen Burn, Michael Pham, Kevin Kalal, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Lela Cross, Sam Alkhalili, Emily Coats, Laquita Fields, Gerie Ventura, Heather McBreen (note taker)

•   Introductions
• BAC Bylaws

o    Pat Daniels presented Bylaw suggested edits

o    Michael Pham went over bylaws

o    As of right now the meetings are not open to the public

o    To promote transparency all minutes and adopted recommendations will be posted online (budget page)

o    The commitment to the council is for FY 20-21

o    A timeline of goals to accomplish was requested

•  Budget Planning Principles 2020-21

o    Michael Pham presented principles as adopted by exec cabinet

o    At the end of the fiscal year there can be a survey for members to express how they felt the council went, what worked, what didn’t

•  FY Budget 2019-20

o    Michael Pham presented the revised budget

•   Fiscal challenges (current & next FY)

o    Not doing any budget reductions between now and June 30th

o    Important to note that this isn’t a budget reduction council, Recommendations will be made on any/all aspects of the budget

•  Q&A

o    Plans for this to be a standing committee

o    Decisions/ recommendations are meant to reflect coming years ( as opposed to just next year)

o    Stimulus/ CARES funding will play a role in this council, although there are strict federal guidelines on usage of funds

o    This council will not be making decisions on cutting any programs

o    Data will be an important informant of decision making

o    Feel free to email questions to Michael Pham

• Action Items

o    Heather to send out poll to vote yes or no on bylaws

o    Heather to update Budget website

Meeting Minutes for June 30, 2020

Attendees: Rashad Norris, Marco Lopez, Pat Daniels, Helen Burn, Michael Pham, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Lela Cross, Sam Alkhalili, Emily Coats, Laquita Fields, Gerie Ventura, Heather McBreen (note taker)

Discussion items:

• Establish regular meeting schedule through the rest of summer quarter

o   Decided upon every other Tuesday at 2:30 through summer quarter

• Budget status outlook

o   OFM has provided more updates on the bleak budget situation with recommended budget reductions/ changes

o   OFM is asking for budget amendments – requested response by July 27^th

o   Projected $3M shortfall in budget, regardless of state budget cut. However with State budget cut (15%) could be another $3.5M- $4M

• Pandemic is primary cause of dried up revenue streams
• COLA recommendations

o   $1.3M cost to college if everyone across the board received COLA

o   Exec Cabinet recommendation to suspend COLA

o   HC is obligated to provide COLA to classified, but there is flexibility for exempt employees

o   Some current numbers: 160 FT faculty, 157 exempt (60 of whom make under $53k annually), 154 classified

o   As of July 1^st COLA goes into effect

• Budget reduction strategies

o   Limiting/Suspending PD funds, however concern over those PD that are required for some positions

o   Limiting travel and goods/services (purchases and equipment make up large source of expenditures)

o   Suspending some paid licenses/subscriptions while not on campus

o   Recommendation to start from the bottom up, asking what reductions could be made?

o   An equity lens and guiding principles need to be the foundation of decisions

o   Furloughs as a budget reduction strategy could be negotiated

• Discussion regarding furloughs not applying to those who make less than x amount annually
• A decision on this should be made sooner rather than later to benefit those impacted

Meeting Minutes for July 14, 2020

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Sam Alkhalili, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Jarmaine Santos

Discussion items:

• Review Budget Status
  o ICE dropped decision on International Student visas (not yet recorded in budget projection)
  o However there are still roadblocks for recruiting international students
  o S&A budget receives ~ 10% of tuition fees for student related expenses (separate from budget reductions)
  o Including State 15% reduction looking at $9.9M shortfall
  o Largest portion of annual contingency allocation is for CTClink ( can look at reducing other expenditures but likely not ctclink)
  o Realistic savings have already occurred by not being on campus, not making purchases, no travel, etc
• Budget Reduction Principles (adopted by council)
  o To be conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner that supports equitable decision making
  o Preserve student programs, resources, curriculum and accessibility, and the jobs that support these endeavors to ensure that students are least impacted in the decision making
  o To utilize available data to make informed decisions
  o To maintain and sustain the financial health of the institution through effective resource management, collaboration, and innovation
  o To define which budget reductions are temporary, include a timeline and honor that
  o Budget reductions should be shared across the college
  o Timeline should reflect decisions being made sooner rather than later
• Define “Equity in Budget Reduction Planning”
  o By grounding all principles in the mission statement and strategic plan, principles will naturally demonstrate equity.
  o We need to specifically call out equity as the aim of our principles

Meeting Minutes for July 28, 2020

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Sam Alkhalili, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Marco Lopez-Torres, Jarmaine Santos

Discussion items:

• Approval of the minutes 7.14.20
  • Minutes approved by voting members of council to be uploaded online
• Budget reduction principles (voting for a set of recommendations for Exec Cabinet to adopt)
  • Exec Cabinet has already adopted set of Budget Planning Principles
  • Request for BAC to have more up to date revenue source/ expenditure info
  • Voting council members adopted the following principles:

• • • To be conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner that supports equitable decision making
    • Preserve student programs, resources, curriculum and accessibility, and the jobs that support these endeavors to ensure that students are least impacted in the decision making
    • To utilize available data to make informed decisions
    • To maintain and sustain the financial health of the institution through effective resource management, collaboration, and innovation
    • To define which budget reductions are temporary, include a timeline and honor that
    • Budget reductions should be shared across the college
    • Timeline should reflect decisions being made sooner rather than later

• Fall quarter meeting schedule (adopting meeting schedule)
  • Heather to send out email regarding every other Tuesday 2:45 starting October 13^th or Sep 29^th
• Budget reduction suggestions – Google form
  • Suggestion box available to students, staff, faculty (online)
  • BAC to review submissions
  • Helps to engage the whole community
  • Request to provide background and context for suggestion box
  • Plans for a forthcoming budget email to go to campus- would introduce suggestion box
  • Recommendation to form a sub committee to review submission
  • Michael proposed a forthcoming Town Hall for budget updates- working to find a date
• Review of Budget Updates
  • Michael to send out spreadsheet outlining budget reduction
  • Total projected budget shortfall of $8M
  • Reduction target #1 is $3.2M
  • Reduction target #2 is $4.8M (15% state cuts)
  • About $100k of unused faculty professional development funds from FY 19/20 was reallocated to purchase laptops to support faculty teaching from home
  • COLAs have been suspended for exempt staff
  • Furloughs are being negotiated with classified staff
  • Agreement with HCEA to discuss Faculty COLAs
  • Hiring freeze is in place
  • Leadership in AA, SS, IA, AS, ITS, PRES each submitted reductions to the following areas that total ~$2.1 million towards meeting our reduction target #1 of $3.2 million. These included but are not limited to:
    • Reduce Goods and Services by 25%
      Reduce Equipment by 25%
    • Reduce Travel by 75%
  • HR has sent out a survey on furloughs

Meeting Minutes for August 11th

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Sam Alkhalili, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres

Guests:  Executive Cabinet (Emily Lardner, Aaron Reader, Josh Gerstman, John Mosby, Danielle Slota, Time Wrye, Summer Korst)

Discussion items:

• Approval of the minutes ( 7.28.20)
  • Minutes were approved to be posted online
• Vote on meeting Aug 25^th and/or Sep 8^th
  • Council approved next meeting to be Aug 25^th (last until Fall Quarter)
• Overview of Respective Budgets
  • Administrative Services
    • Lela Cross presented
    • Consists of Vice President of Admin, Financial Services, Public Safety, Budgets and Grants, Facilities, and Bookstore and Conference Services
    • Expenses for Finance consist of paying bills/ building rental payments
    • Expenses for Budget consists of travel, PD, salaries, benefits
    • Bulk of expenses for Facilities is utilities (45% of goods and services) as well as supplies associated with cleaning/sanitation
    • 50% of Public Safety expenses are funded by parking fees (w/o students on campus funding becomes challenging- likewise faculty and staff are not paying for parking passes)
    • Conference Services and the Bookstore and funded by self-generated revenue
    • The Bookstore is the only department on campus with a COGS (cost of goods sold)
    • Continuing to comb for possible reductions after the initial target was not met
  • Academic Affairs
    • Marco Lopez presented
    • Largest division on campus (including Continuing Education, Library, Testing Center, Resource Centers, Adult Basic Education, Pathway Center, Instructional Design, Learning and Teaching Center, Welcome Back Center, etc) and therefore accounts for 50% of college’s allocated funding
    • Working to minimize impact on students and retain employees
    • Able to reduce budget by reallocating some 1000 hour salary costs to grants and other sources of funding/resources ($362,000) in order to retain employees
      • However some 1000 hour positions will be eliminated
    • VP contingency allocation has the largest allocation between divisions and will be reduced by 25%
    • May reduce number of classes offered (reduce by 2%)
    • Looking at $1M reduction overall
  • Institutional Advancement
    • Presented by Josh Gerstman
    • Represent about 3.8% of overall college budget
    • Includes Outreach, Communication and Marketing, Grants, Government Relations, Foundation, Small Business Development Center, Center for Excellence Global Supply Trade
    • SBDC and Center for Excellence are almost all self-funded
    • Print Shop under Communications/ Marketing is self-funded
    • Been successful at seeking new grant opportunities
    • The Foundation is a separate Nonprofit organization – raises a significant amount of money
    • Budget reduction strategy focuses on reducing recent additions and hourly positions
    • Biggest area of savings is reducing advertising (cut in half by $36k)
      • IA does targeted marketing campaigns on social media
      • Targeted Geofencing ads for local students
    • Looking at cutting travel and PD budgets (cut by $40k)
    • Total reductions looking at about $200k out of a $2.8M budget but still looking for other areas to reduce
  • Student Services
    • Presented by Vince Sanchez
    • Division made up of Admissions and Enrollment Services, Athletics, Counseling Center, International Student Programs, Funding Support Services, Student Life
    • Reduction strategy is to focus on contracts, hourly, travel and line item expenses- reduce down to ~$200k
    • Goal is to retain employment as much as possible
    • Some hourly positions to be suspended-
      • many student hourly positions are funded by S&A and will not be reduced at this time
    • President’s Unit
      • Office of the President
        • Presented by Danielle Slota
        • Reduction choices are driven by context, student retention, job retention
        • Most budget reductions to come from travel, professional development and some salary savings due to a vacancy
      • ITS
        • Presented by Pat Daniels
        • Bulk of budget is salary and benefits as well as maintaining tech- divided into work groups
          • Customer service Work group (support for tech)
          • Infrastructure work group (maintaining software, servers, etc)
          • Data development work group
          • CTClink project
        • Goods and services includes software and licensing- able to target reduction of $40k
        • Looking at foregoing some equipment replacement for the next year (~$500k)
        • Able to reduce travel by $20k
        • Able to reduce hourly by $40k
        • Reduction due to vacant positions not being filled in the coming year (about $100k saving)
      • HR (not represented today)
        • Most expenditures are salary and benefits so little room for reductions
      • Institutional Research Enrollment Data
        • Presented by Emily Coats
        • For 19-20, College was at 93% of enrollment for previous year
        • For 20-21, State FTEs down 10% for Fall compared to last year
        • ISP down 43% compared to last year
        • Projected revenue is based on projected enrollment numbers
        • Might not necessarily lose FTE allocated funds since most colleges are in a similar situation- the allocation model has changed- very few colleges have been meeting FTE targets
        • The hope is that some students have just not registered yet
        • Being one of the most diverse colleges presents different challenges for student enrollment, considering we cater to our most vulnerable communities who might not have the option to return to school
      • Budget Updates
        • Sep 14^th is the goal to complete the 20-21 fiscal year budget ( BOT meeting)
        • Before the state budget cut, looking at $3.2M shortfall
          • Have not reached just yet
        • Reduction target 1 (reduce $3.2M)
        • Reduction target 2 (reduce $4.8M as part of state 15% budget cut)
        • After state budget cut Projected budget shortfall $8M
        • Budget reductions strategies at the moment reduce travel, cancel 3% exempt employee COLA, hiring freeze, reduce equipment/goods/services/ contracts
        • Executive Cabinet to hopefully adopt a budget plan this Thursday
        • Forthcoming campus communication
• Discussion of Furloughs
  • If classified staff furlough, but get the COLA they still come out ahead financially
  • If we don’t return to campus this fiscal year large projected savings of utilities, supplies, etc.
  • There may be a benefit to everyone furloughing the same days in terms of campus utility savings
  • Employees may be able to apply for unemployment for furlough days (as well as added benefits if applicable)
  • The choice in furloughs comes down to: employees choose when to furlough or the institution chooses when employees furlough
  • There are early retirement incentives for faculty (does not require state approval)
  • Working on other retirement incentives
  • Council members should email recommendations regarding furloughs to Michael (between now and Thursday)
  • 8 furlough days equates to 3% of salary budget

Meeting Minutes for August 25th

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Jarmaine Santos

Discussion items:

• Approve 8/11 minutes
  • The minutes were voted on and approved to be uploaded online
• Discuss Dr. Mosby’s email
  • Exempt staff COLAs will be reinstated retroactively
  • But exempt employees will still need to furlough (8 furlough days equate to 3% of salary- same percentage as COLA increase so net change in salary is zero for 20-21)
  • The decision was reversed based on not wanting to create long term consequences for exempt employees (COLA is a percentage increase and once lost is lost)
  • Budget Reduction Principles were included in the email
  • Unfortunate timing that the 2.5% tuition increase was announced the same day as the Budget Reduction email- should be communicated in a variety of ways so as to reach all students
    • Tuition is dictated by the state and the college does not have control over tuition increases
    • This increase was approved over a year ago
    • Students should be encouraged to apply for financial aid and CARES Funding
  • $40,000 annually was chosen due to federal guidelines on the national poverty level (for a household of 4)- this threshold for exempting exempt employees provided more savings to the budget without having to make up funds elsewhere
• Furlough feedback
  • 8 furlough days for exempt employees beginning in October (actual dates are still being determined)
  • Working on agreements with Unions
  • Proposal in Executive Cabinet is for everyone to furlough on pre-determined, institutionally designated days. Faculty furloughs are still being discussed. The following feedback was provided:
    • Easier to track savings (both utilities and paychecks) if everyone furloughs the same day
    • Designated days may not work for every department, some departments don’t have flexibility
  • Would be good to consider variance in hours worked per pay period
  • Important to prioritize student needs- what furlough scheme has the least impact on students?
  • If single furlough days (one day here one day there) are pre-determined then unemployment benefits cannot be reaped, however if clusters of furlough days are selected by the institution this could become a huge burden to lower earning employees. Self-selecting days would allow for employees to make this assessment for themselves as well as provide an invisible/painless impact on students
    • Unemployment benefits are ever changing in this unknown climate- not necessarily an available option to all our employees
    • Steps to “Work Share” should be made clear to all employees
  • Executive Cabinet will be taking additional furlough days
  • In a vote between department-selected furlough days and self-selected days, BAC voting members voted for department-selection
• Suggestion Box feedback
  • Heather will send out the link to the suggestion Google form and make everyone in BAC a contributor
• Wrap up and questions
  • Michael is looking for volunteers to discuss BAC and Budget Reduction Principles in the next forum (Kevin, Marco, Jarmaine, Rashad, Pat, Helen, and Marta were nominated)
  • This is the last meeting until Fall Quarter (next meeting will be September 29)
  • The next step is to bring the Budget to the BOT during the September meeting (September 10^th)

Meeting Minutes for September 29, 2020

Invitees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Jarmaine Santos

Discussion Items:

• Feedback/ reflections on BAC and current budget climate
  • Members feel there is good alignment between BAC and other department/group needs
  • Budget was adopted for 20-21 during Sep Board of Trustees Meeting -Meaning that no more reductions will be made to this fiscal year’s budget
  • Projected state budget shortfall has been cut in half. But state is still asking for colleges to look at 15% cut (for future biennium)
  • We may need to wait to meet/make more future plans until we see what happens with state legislation/legislators
    • BAC members want to plan for both case scenarios
    • Concern for staff morale given possibility of more salary cuts (via furlough days) in the future (next biennium)
  • In the process of union bargaining (two unions are WPEA and HCEA) for next contract to begin July 1, 2021
    • At the moment HC doesn’t have a seat at the Governor’s table so we are not really a part of that bargaining unit
    • State cannot increase debt obligations in the next biennium which poses bargaining restrictions
    • The deadline for the agreement is Oct 1
  • Michael asks BAC to think about future budget reductions/ planning in regards to constituents (as more info comes in)
• Vote on notes from 8/25
  • Minutes were voted on and approved by the voting members
• College budget planning process
  • Michael showed the Budget Planning Process and the budget planning schedule for FY20-21 (posted on Budget website)
  • Sometimes tuition increases are not known on July 1^st because they have not been approved by state legislation yet
  • So often we do not have the info from legislators to have the budget ready on July 1^st
  • Proposal to not meet again until after accreditation. This was agreed with by BAC members
• BAC communication w/respective representation
  • Important that all BAC members know how BAC and the budget planning process, with respect with representatives, reflect HC core themes
  • This is especially important as we approach accreditation
  • Michael would like BAC members to come up with a work plan by the next time we meet
• Budget suggestion box review process
  • Proposal to be a standing item

Meeting Minutes for November 3, 2020

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Jarmaine Santos, Helen Burn, Sam Alkhalili

1. Round Robin Updates

• Thank you email from Dr. Mosby for accreditation participation

1. Discussion Items:

• Tentative budget planning calendar
  • Trustees asked for budget planning calendar to be moved up a bit (July 8^th tentatively)
  • This will be about a month and a half shorter time frame
• Updates on union contracts
  • HCEA 2021-2024 contract is in the negotiation process. Will be locally negotiated
  • WPEA 2021-2023 contract is being negotiated (hybrid of both local and state-wide negotiation) State WPEA also negotiated with the Governor’s office on a state-wide level
  • Bargaining unit deadline was missed
• Develop work plans
  • Heather and Michael to work on preparing a tentative work plan and bring it back to the group
  • Would be helpful to bring union contract negotiation scenarios into work plans
• Suggestions on improving BAC
  • How can we simplify process/information for department heads?
  •  Increase transparency. Improve communication back to campus
  • Preference to start each meeting with impending decisions looking to be made/ updates on things happening
  • Start having standing items in the agenda (i.e. general budget updates or suggestion box)
  • Would be good to have a few revenue sectors that are reviewed on a regular basis (i.e. enrollment)
    • Emily will provide BAC with FTE report on regular basis
  • Preference to measure progress in terms of certain budget targets/goals
    • To present “state budget 101”
  •  Suggestion for BAC to host campus budget forum in new year
  • Suggestion to revisit enrollment strategies
  • Suggestion to weigh various outcomes and plan and strategize in advance
• Vote on minutes 9.29.20
  • Voting members of committee voted to approve

Meeting Minutes for November 10, 2020

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Sam Alkhalili, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Jarmaine Santos

1. Standing Items

• Round Robin Area Updates (voting members) What is your communication process in updating your respective area?
  • Student Government: provides info through ASHC meetings including a summary
  • HCEA: updates on any union related issues
  • Faculty Senate: Have not really addressed budget concerns apart form enrollment caps
  • Exempt Staff: provides updates in student support meetings
  • Academic Affairs: sends out emails to Academic Affairs with minute. Previously sent out a survey to deans and directors asking for budget reduction principles
  • President’s Group: meets with Summer regularly to keep HR posted and plans to speak more with Danielle
  • WPEA: works with the stewards to keep them informed
  • Administrative Services: not a lot of info to share. Helped custodians to register for shared work before it was discontinued. Talking with employees about budget management.
  • Student Services: looking at areas to cut spending with Aaron Reader. Meets with senior management in student services
  • Institutional Advancement: discusses updates with Josh
• Michael provides general budget updates
  • Michael is finishing up first quarter financials (period ending Sep 30) to present to the BOT
  • Expenditure is almost the same
  • In the process of re-evaluating the student funding allocation model (to impact all colleges)

1. Discussion Items:

• Suggestion box review process
  • This has not been promoted
  • Suggestion to hold off on this for a while
  • Suggestion to put the link on the Budget webpage for accessibility
  • Suggestion for a smaller group to monitor responses
  • Recommendation to allow community responses
  • Helen, Emily and Laquita volunteered to review responses
• BAC forum- discuss tentative date in early Winter
  • BAC to have their own forum
  • Could be an opportunity to relaunch the suggestion box
  • Wednesday afternoons do not work
  • Could meet on Tuesday during our regular meeting time (Jan 26^th?)
  • Thoughts about talking points for Town Hall – Introduce BAC members and who they represent: Current budget situation –   Share where to find the notes, etc. on the BAC on the web –  Share the suggestion box –   Share the high level budget timeline:   make that public for all to see (list on BAC section of webpage) –  Share one thing that we plan on work on next –  open for Q&A   (take turns/share talking about some of these)
• Please submit your own agenda items a week before the next meeting (Heather will send out email)
• Possible change to furlough schedule
  • Possible change in schedule of furlough days after November
  • Unknown whether sharedwork will be reinstated, not available right now
    • Sharedwork is a sliding scale, it would be a percentage of your paycheck
  • Two furlough days a month would be a substantial impact on paychecks (would be more than 3%)
  • Is it possible to give people a choice?
  • Recommendation to leave things as is, a majority of BAV approved this recommendation
• Approve 11/3 notes
  • Minutes approved by the committee

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Sam Alkhalili, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres,

1. Standing Items
   • Round Robin Area Updates (voting members)
   • Michael provides general budget updates
     • No decisions have been made by executive cabinet yet on furloughs
     • The state revenue forecast showed significant improvement in tax revenue which is good news for us, however the caveat is this was announced before Gov Inslee’s latest restriction announcement
     • Waiting to hear from the legislature about state budget cuts
     • Our intention is to stick with current budget plan for the rest of the year

1. Discussion Items:

• Emily Coates presentation on FTE
  • FTE down in comparison to other years and other institutions
  • Many variables at play as contributing factors to declining FTE
  • How we compare to other schools does impact us and other schools
  • Potential loss of state funding revenue looking out beyond next year
• Town Hall Updates
  • 2pm on Jan 26^th
  • Invite Dr. Mosby to give the greeting
  • Feb will kick off actual budget planning process for 21-22
  • Recommendation to send out budget survey again and discuss at the forum
  • Suggestion to present FTE numbers
  • Would be good to provide visual aides (graphs)
  • Recommendation for the meeting only be 60 min with time for Q&A
  • Suggestion to do introductions and explain who we represent
  • Suggestion to tell the campus what we have accomplished
  • Good to divide up responsibilities and speaking (Michael not to speak too much)
  • Emily, Helen and Laquita will meet soon to discuss the suggestion box
    • Suggestion to modify suggestion box to include a section for questions
  • Need to come with a unified message
• Review of RIF in current CBAs
  • Did not discuss
• Review first quarter financial report
  • Michael went over first quarter report from BoT meeting
• Approve 11/10 notes
  • Minutes approved by voting members

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Sam Alkhalili, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Vince Sanchez, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Rashad Norris, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Marco Lopez-Torres

I. Standing Items

• Round Robin Area Updates (voting members)
  • Faculty Senate invited Emily Ladner and Aaron Reader to discuss enrollments- survey has been sent out to collect faculty thoughts
  • Laquita will be sending out an email to exempt staff to keep them up to date on budget
  • Kevin has been reaching out to Admin Staff to see where each department is at with budget
  • HC (students usually participate in legislative breakfast) reaches out to legislators this time of year to educate legislators on the issues that are important to HC
• Michael provides general budget updates
  • Still waiting for more info from the state
  • Gov Inslee has extended restrictions until Jan 4,2021
  • This will have an impact on state revenue
  • State Budget forecast coming
  • HC is preparing for budget cuts

II. Discussion Items:

• Prepare for Forum 1/26 2pm- 3:30pm
  • The purpose of the forum is kick off budget planning for 21-22 and focus on introducing the campus to BAC for the sake of transparency
    • May not have a lot of budget updates to provide
    • Explain the BAC’s role to the campus as the advisory body to executive cabinet
    • Suggestion to explain what we are and what we aren’t
  • Go over introductions
    • Suggestion to have a slide with names and representative divisions rather than spend 15 min on introductions
    • Counter suggestion to do 30 second intro instead
  • Ask for questions in advance (in suggestion box?)
    • Preferable to have questions in advance
    • Heather can send out suggestion box with opportunity for people to ask questions prior to forum
  • Need 2-3 people to talk on each talking point
    • What we have accomplished
  • PowerPoint
    • To include intro slide with members and voting members (with thumbnails)
  • Heather to send out Zoom info/ meeting details to campus

• Heather will record and send out to campus after
• Suggestion to send calendar invite with zoom details
• Suggestion to have Zoom rather than webinar

• Approve 11/24 notes
  • Minutes approved by voting members

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Lela Cross, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Samantha Sebring, Jarmaine Santos

I. Discussion Items:

• Finalize who is doing what for Forum
• Review draft PowerPoint (please update via google drive to finalize by Jan 19)
  • Worked on powerpoint
  • Please submit finished version of your slides by end of day Jan 19
• Governor’s plan
  • Biennial budget for 21-23
  • Inslee has decided not do a 15% across the board budget cut
  • But there are some smaller cuts (likely less than 5%)
  • This is just the governor’s proposal, it is not law just yet
  • Wage reductions and layoffs proposed in biennial budget
  • New policy investments will include anti-racist curriculum and skills/worker retraining
• Vote on minutes 12.8.20
  • Voting members approved the minutes

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Laquita Fields, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Samantha Sebring,

Absent: Rashad Norris, Pat Daniels

1. Standing Items
   • Budget Updates with Michael
     • Second quarter financial report is being submitted to the BOT
       • Revenue still down and expenses are up overall
       • Overall net loss of $1.1 mil (improved prospects overall)
     • A revised budget will be submitted in April
     • Still waiting for state budget
     • Michael showed Budget Planning schedule for 21-22(budget planning begins March 16)
     • Marco is doing a fee review
     • BAC will come up with budget planning principles
     • Opportunity for BAC to provide feedback on budget to EC
   • Suggestion Box (Helen, Laquita and Emily)
     • Suggestion for tenured faculty to moonlight and not hire additional part-time faculty (don’t have to pay for additional benefits)
       • Helen spoke to James Peyton and Marco Lopez about this
       • This decision would have to be made in AA
     • Suggestion to increase the amount of pay eligible for furlough so as to include a smaller pool of people and minimize impact on vulnerable staff

2. Discussion Items:

• Debrief forum
  • Overall well received
  • Over 220 participants
  • It was tough to grab Q&A from the chat
  • Disappointment that some questions were outside the scope of the BAC
• Budget Planning Principles 21-22 (need a draft by Feb 23)
  • Last year’s principles were centered around core themes
  • Should there be a principle regarding the utilization of resources?
  • How can we improve budget training? How can the college prioritize this?
  • We can improve transparency by helping people know how to access the available info regarding their budgets and allocations
  • Helen would like to propose two additional principles (relevant to current environment)
  • Reframe principles to reflect current priorities (ctclink, guided pathways)
  • Action items: each person come back with at least one proposed principle (Heather send reminder Feb 18^th)
• Vote on minutes 1. 12.21
  • Minutes approved by voting members

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Kevin Kalal, Pat Daniels, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Jarmaine Santos, Vince Sanchez, Rashad Norris, Samantha Sebring

Absent: Laquita Fields

1. Standing Items
   • Vote on minutes from 2.9.21
     • Minutes approved by the council
     • Motion to approve recording absent attendees as well as present attendees
   • Budget Updates with Michael
     • EC has not begun budget planning work yet
     • State legislature is working state budget proposal
     • Revenue forecasts for the state look a little better (will know March 17)
     • Budget cuts will primarily target compensation
   • Suggestion Box
     • Suggestion regarding full time faculty will be reviewed by instructional cabinet

2.Discussion Items:

• Budget Planning Principles
  • Discussion regarding how much principles should change on an annual basis
  • Imperative that principles include special attention on transparency and training regarding budget management
  • Let’s be realistic about outreach given current economic environment
  • Focus on short term needs and solutions
  • Action item: edit the google doc or provide more info before next meeting
    • Would like to vote on principles by next meeting (3/9)
  • Heather to send reminder to edit/update google doc

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Kevin Kalal, Pat Daniels, Laquita Fields, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Samantha Sebring, Vince Sanchez, Gerie Ventura

Absent: Rashad Norris

I. Standing Items

• Vote on minutes from 2.23.21
  • Approved by the voting members
• Budget Updates with Michael
  • Still no update from state budget (waiting for house and senate)

II. Discussion Items:

• March 23^rd? Do folks plan to be around?
  • Keep the meeting
• Spring quarter schedule
  • Keep current meeting time?
  • Heather send out survey
• Budget planning principles
  • Subcommittee will meet (Kevin, Pat, Vince)
• Budget planning exercise – Part 1
  • Michael showed proposed budget based on current projections open for discussion as an exercise (pretend to be EC)
  • Concern over staffing budgets and potential layoffs
  • We will not have enough money from the state to sustain expenses (will look to alternative sources)
  • Recommendation to focus more on recruitment outreach efforts/ strategic plans to increase enrollment
  • Request to compare financial impact of furloughs and layoffs and adjunct and full time
  • Recommendation to make hard decisions sooner rather than later
  • Option to re-request use of reserve funds
  • Need to develop metrics to evaluate program effectiveness
  • Enrollment challenges began in 18-19

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Laquita Fields, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Samantha Sebring, Pat Daniels, Marta Reeves

Absent: Rashad Norris, Sam Alkhalili

1. Standing Items
   • Vote on March 9 minutes
     • Minutes approved by the voting members
   • Budget Updates with Michael
     • State released revenue forecast is better than expected (due to federal stimulus and increased housing market)
     • State shortfall is better than projected
     • Employment growth is projected at 1.7%
     • Wa state will receive about $4B in federal stimulus money
     • It appears that furloughs are off the table
     • May be a COLA increase for certain (I732) employees (only applies to HC faculty)
     • Classified staff will not get COLA increases
     • Exempt employees are expected to see some salary rollback

1. Discussion Items:
   • Budget Planning Principles 21-22 recommendations for EC (proposed by Vince and Pat)
     • Pat explained/ reviewed the proposed document for the consideration of the voting members
     • Gerie suggested “smart goals” instead of “achievable goals”
     • Helen suggested “promote” wording for budget planning principle number 5
     • Helen liked the overall planning principles but feels that commenting on the rest of the document is outside of the scope of her role as HCEA representative
     • Kevin is concerned that investing in enrollment is absent from the planning principles
     • Michael clarified the purpose of the BAC and that HC does have a budget planning process
     • Emily is uncertain what “innovation” means in budget planning principle 3. Adapt?
     • Emily thought the document ought to be recommended to EC
     • Helen would like to continue discussing what BAC’s role in advising is (what is within our purview?)
     • Motion to adopt the proposed document passed by the voting members
     • Michael will send proposed recommendations to EC

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Samantha Sebring, Pat Daniels, Sam Alkhalili, Kevin Kalal, Rashad Norris

Absent: Laquita Fields

1. Standing Items
   • Vote on March 23 minutes
     • Minutes adopted by voting members
   • Suggestion Box
     • No new suggestions

1. Discussion Items:

• State Budget Updates
  • All furloughs have been removed
  • Looks like possibility of additional 15M for system (new funding)
  • Likely that versions of the state budget in the house and the senate will be adopted
  • Classified staff contracts will be funded in the next biennium
  • Economic conditions have improved significantly
• Revised Budget
  • ISP, auxiliary, and CRRSSA revenue forecast has been revised to reflect increased revenue (Auxiliary includes child care)
  • Grants and contracts, bookstore, and investments revised to reflect decreased revenue.
  • BoT reserve was not used (2.5M)
  • Travel and COGS expenditures decreased
  • Increased expenditure for PT faculty
  • Still maintain a balanced budget (due to CRRSSA money)
• HC Budget Planning Process
  • B99 lease will end September 2022 (building will totally vacate) which will save on rent. 45% of saving will be applied to other building/space expenses for new offices such as campus view
  • EC approved budget planning principles
    • Retained the word “innovation”
    • Number 5 changed to “promote alternative funding”
  • Budget planning priorities listed as prep for return to campus/face-to-face, ctclink, equity plan, and enrollment.
  • Will be available on the website
  • Please review document and discuss with your respective area so we can provide feedback to EC (if you can provide feedback by Thursday that would be great)
    • Please do not distribute it widely
  • Stimulus includes 5M over 2 years
  • We are behind schedule for budget planning process
  • Would like budget requests finished by April 30^th

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Kevin Kalal, Gerie Ventura, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Pat Daniels, Sam Alkhalili, Kevin Kalal, Rashad Norris, Laquita Fields, Jack Hutchinson, Samantha Sebring, Marta Reeves

1. Standing Items
   • Vote on April 6 minutes
     • Approved by voting members
   • Suggestion Box
     • No new suggestions
2. Discussion Items:

• Budget planning process updates
  • Plans for college to return to on-campus operations which improves revenue projections. Like that enrollment will bounce back quickly with the exception of ISP
  • 21-22 budget projections still show net loss of 2.3 Mil excluding CRRSAA money and stimulus money
  • Federal stimulus money is for next 2 years
  • The legislature approved the budget (no furloughs, salary reductions or cuts at this time) for this fiscal year
  • The state has decided to fund all capital projects (HC may be scheduled for 2023) including the HC welcome center and roundabout project
  • Faculty is the only category that will receive COLA increases
  • Need for transparency concerning open positions, filled positions, etc
  • Need to plan the next budget forum (will be June 8)
  • Heather to upload Budget Planning Principles 21-22 and send out to BAC

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Gerie Ventura, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Samantha Sebring, Laquita Fields, Jack Hutchinson, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn

Guests: Josh Gerstman, Summer Korst, Emily Lardner, Aaron Reader, Tim Wrye, Danielle Slota

Absent: Pat Daniels, Rashad Norris, Sam Alkhalili

1. Standing Items
   • Vote on May 4 minutes
     1. Approved by voting members

2.Executive Cabinet present changes in budget

• Michael presented preliminary budget 21-22
  • Minimal changes to state allocations
  • Declining enrollment reflected in lower tuition projection
  • Faculty will receive COLAs (1.7%)
  • Increased expenses including goods, services and benefits
  • 8 new full-time positions have been requested
  • Hiring and travel freezes will be lifted (as well as emergency purchasing approval)
• Administrative Services Budget Overview
  • Operating expenses have been reduced this past year, but they will increase as we return to campus (around $150k)
  • Shipping costs have gone up substantially this past year
  • May fill vacant custodial positions this year
  • Had to lay off one position in conference services
  • One employee on temp layoff
  • Asking for new fiscal analyst position
  • Asking for 1000-hour health monitor
  • Asking for $35k for Bistro project in conjuncture with HOST program
• Academic Affairs Budget Overview
  • Enrollment decline has impacted faculty (if department/program is not at 70% capacity may be cut)
  • The cost of classes has gone up due to class caps
  • Due to continuing social distance requirements fall quarter classes on campus may have reduced capacity
  • Increased workload due to ctclink
  • UMOJA and MAST don’t have budgets (they rely on annual good will)
  • Request for a position to support academic scheduling
• Student Services Budget Overview
  • Request for enrollment services coordinator, director of financial aid, and running start advisor (will support enrollment management)
  • Requested GP funds for support last year
• ITS Budget Overview
  • Request for permanent budget line for two business analysist roles
  • Request for general support for ctclink stabilizing
• HR Budget Overview
  • Request for new HR consultant assistant (classified role)
  • Need payroll support
• President’s Office Budget Overview
  • Request for reclass of admin assistant role (fill in Jan 2022)
  • Will hold off on request for front desk position for B12
  • VP EDI role will be a priority in coming year (fall quarter search)
    • Once hired will need EA
  • Institutional Advancement Budget Overview
    • Request for increased ad budget
    • Core events such as BBMS and YELL need permanent budgets
    • Request for 60^th anniversary celebration funds
    • Total ask is about $60k
  • Time for questions
    • All budget requests have been built into preliminary 21-22 budget
    • Concern that there needs to be measurable objectives tied to these positions/ requests
      • 80% of target is about 1200 FTE
    • Are we considering adding back cut positions?
      • Right now, no but will depend on departmental needs and requests
    • 50% CRRSSA money spent this year and 50% next year
    • State Board requesting that colleges need pay money for ctclink implementation shortfall (one time)
    • New positions do include benefits in preliminary budget
    • No food service next year (at this point) but bistro and bookstore will be providing minimal food/bev
    • Parking will not be collected in fall
    • Will a list of programs and cohorts (like Native Student Summit and Puente) be worked through regarding official budgets for these programs?
    • Please submit any further questions to Michael by end of this week

Invitees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Gerie Ventura, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Laquita Fields, Jack Hutchinson, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Anita Wambui, Kevin Pham

Absent: Laquita Fields, Jack Hutchinson, Marta Reeves, Anita Wambui

Agenda:

• Introduction
  • Welcome Kevin Pham and Stephanie Ojeda Ponce!
• Bylaws
  • Heather and Michael to work on updating bylaws
  • Heather to change meeting frequency in bylaws
  • Review of BAC purposes

1.The Budget Advisory Council shall advise the President and the Executive Cabinet on matters relating to the college budget, including budget planning and development, in alignment with college mission and strategic goals.

2.The Budget Advisory Council shall evaluate funding models and provide comprehensive recommendations on budget adjustments and mitigations.

3.The Budget Advisory Council shall review and inform the respective college constituency about college budget policies, procedures, and priorities.

• More work to be done to increase transparency
• In the past BAC didn’t get a chance to evaluate funding models and provide recommendations on budget adjustments and mitigations due to unstable financials
  • If this is not a regular role of BAC, should it instead be part of a sub committee rather than the purpose?
• Questions regarding “how” BAC advises executive cabinet? How does that advising take form?
  • BAC provides budget reduction principles and feedback to executive cabinet (EC is the instigator in the feedback process)
  • Michael Pham is the liaison between BAC and EC
  • BAC is not a decision-making body (advisory only)
  • Proposal that this be clarified in the bylaws purpose
    • Stephanie proposed “Executive Cabinet developed the BAC to provide a forum for input from institutional constituencies. The Vice President of Administration will chair the budget advisory council and be the primary liaison and form of communication.”
  • Proposed changes
    • Membership terms
      • Proposal for 2 year terms and to review role with your representative group for “renewal”
      • After 2 years your representative group can request either a new rep or renew current rep’s term
      • There will be natural turnover due to existing group structures (such as student reps) and term limits will apply to those where natural turnover doesn’t already occur
    • Process
      • Reps will go back and discuss with their represented groups
    • Budget FY 21-22
      • Approved by the BOT
      • Included all federal money in FY 21-22 budget projection
      • Last year HC exceeded revenue target
      • Parking and transport revenue come from the student fee
      • BAC request for EFT updates/ real time data
      • Carryforward money is “leftover” from previous year that was not spent
      • Major capital projects make up a sizeable portion of expenditures (will receive state funding for B16 capital project in the upcoming future)
    • Next meeting date
      • Nov 2 (2:30-4)

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Laquita Fields, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Anita Wambui, Kevin Pham, Tony Johnson

Absent: Vince Sanchez

Agenda:

• Vote on notes 10.5.21
  • Minutes were approved by the present voting members
• Bylaws vote
  • Reviewed changes made to the “purpose”
  • Since we didn’t have enough voting members present who were present last time, the bylaws were reviewed as a first read
  • The original intent was for this council to be a permanent fixture on campus
  • Any active members can bring forth agenda items (but must relate to the nature of BAC)
  • The Council shall hold regular meetings of once every month during budget planning period – except during summer quarter and quarter breaks or specifically called by the chair
  • Kevin brought up the issue of how the council can better use time
    • Can others be summoned/subpoenaed to BAC to speak on matters relating to the budget?
  • Stephanie proposed the following change: I propose we make a change to the bylaws to make the role of the council within the governance of the campus more clear, including answering: What do we take back to our areas? I would add: What do we bring to the council from our areas? (change was not made)
  • Reviewed changes made to “membership terms”
  • Pat proposed clearer language to include students under “membership terms”
  • Marta proposed that members should have “backups”
  • If you have proposed amendments, please submit them in writing (email please) prior to the next meeting
• COLA increase for non-faculty
  • In current fiscal year, due to I732, Faculty received a COLA increase
  • The governor has made a tentative agreement with WPEA, in which classified staff (making less than $99k a year) will receive a $2000 lump sum (this fiscal year) in addition to a 3.25% COLA increase (not including the $2000)
  • So far, professional/exempt staff have not been mentioned, but it is likely that they will get something (COLA increase) next year
  • Some colleges are planning to match funds and other are not. HC is taking the wait and see approach
  • Questions asked:
    • What will the financial impact be on the bottom line? The lump sum will cost the college $320,000 (will use CARES money)
    • Given that many workers were let go, how has this impacted the workload of current employees?
    • How much is HC relying on CARES money to prop up the budget?
  • Members, please take this back to your areas for discussion/feedback

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Marta Reeves, Emily Coates, Marco Lopez-Torres, Laquita Fields, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Kevin Pham, Tony Johnson, Steve Washburn 

Agenda:

• Vote on notes 11.2.21
  • Voting members voted to approve minutes 
• Discuss lump sum payment (for non-rep staff)
  • Still up in the air where the funding would come from (dependent on legislature) 
  • The goal of this would be to recoup losses (no COLA increase, furlough days last year, etc) 
  • Emily Coates asked if there was another more pressing need that this money could be used for? If not, then Emily proposed we move forward. 
  • Governor Inslee has reached a tentative agreement (pending legislative actions in the supplemental budget) with the classified staff unions for the following:
    • 3.25% COLA for 2022-23, AND
    • $2,000 lump sum payments to all classified staff (earning less than $99K annually) in June 2022.
  • Please note the following:
    • There are currently 14 non-represented classified staff (these are the classified supervisors).  All would qualify for the lump sum.
    • There are currently 172 professional/exempt employees: 151 would qualify (since they are making less than $99K) and 21 would be excluded (deans, executive directors, and vice presidents/president)
    • Of the 151 who would qualify for the lump sum:
      • 71 of the 151 are currently earning less than $60K annually (this group consists of mostly advisors/support specialists – 15 are actually earning less than $50K)
      • 57 of the 151 are currently earning between $60K and $79,999 (program managers).
    • Please note faculty is on I-732 which includes automatic annual COLA increases based on CPI.
  • Stephanie and Pat both brought up that this would be a good morale improvement/ retention strategy for the college (especially considering high turnover) 
    • If this didn’t happen at the state level, should the college promote its own retention strategies? There was support for some kind of incentive/ retention structure 
    • Kevin Kalal brought up if this money couldn’t be better used for scholarships to improve enrollment 
    • Pat brought up cutting the lump sum in half so that the same amount of money could go to twice as many people. 
    • Stephanie suggested a sliding scale based on base salary 
  • Members asked to vote on: Provided that the legislature/ governor does reach an agreement on lump sums for classified staff (June 2022), should HC offer similar lump sum payments (up to $2000) to exempt employees earning less than $99,000 annually? 
    • Voting members approved motion 
  • Members asked to vote on: Should the governor/ legislature not reach an agreement on lump slums for classified staff, should HC make an effort to provide some kind of compensation to classified, non-represented, and exempt staff? 
    • Voting members approved motion (1 no vote from Kevin Kalal and 1 abstention from Helen Burn) 
• Enrollment and scheduling practices (brought forward by Stephanie) 
  • Enrollment is currently low
  • Courses are cancelled due to low enrollment, and then when students try to register later on there isn’t capacity to serve these students 
  • This an opportunity for creativity to increase our enrollment (especially for late registering students) 
  • Threshold for capacity changes due to the quarter, financials, covid, etc.
  • Emily Coates proposed late start classes that start in week 3 (be an 8 week quarter). 
  • Departments are being told to maintain a certain % of in-person classes 
  • Hard to predict the number of students who wanted to register, but didn’t
  • CE used to have a way to capture students who were unable to registrar for the current quarter (and retain them for the next quarter) 
  • One primary obstacle to enrollment for many students is funding 
  • Is there interest in inviting the strategic enrollment committee to BAC? 
    • Lots of interest in this idea 
    • Will look into inviting for Jan meeting 
  • Next time we meet will discuss adjunct faculty positions initiative (SB 5194)

Invitees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Marco Lopez-Torres, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Kevin Pham, Tony Johnson, Steve Washburn, Laquita Fields

Absent:  Marta Reeves, Emily Coats

Guests: Gabrielle Bachmeier, Josh Gerstman, Fawzi Belal, Ay Saechao, Tim Wrye, Jamilyn Penn

Agenda:

• Strategic Enrollment Management 
  • History of enrollment (encompassing recruitment and completion)
    • Changing demographics of the area have impacted the communities we serve 
    • The state as a whole is facing declining enrollment 
    • In 2019 we began to see and address enrollment challenges 
    • Met with consulting group, CampusWorks, to work on enrollment and retention strategies 
    • RFP is currently out to hire a consulting group
  • Enrollment and budget 
    • Budget and enrollment are inherently intertwined 
    • SEM wants to create the budget based on our enrollment goals rather than the inverse (something for BAC to discuss) 
    • Declining enrollment means lost revenue 
  • Tools/ Strategies
    • Texting program for students to boost interaction/ transparency
    • Implemented communication/marketing campaigns for student outreach/ answer questions about vaccine requirements for fall quarter 
    • In a response to enrollment gaps,SEM used a targeted approach to reach specific groups/demographics
      • Since our effort, 394 more LatinX students have applied for COVID-19 fund, exceeding our target goal of 200
      • LatinX students are now 23% of students who have applied for COVID-19 funds, compared to 13% pre-intervention 
      • Note: LatinX students consist of 19% of our enrollment
      • Over 3.8 million in COVID-19 Financial Relief Fund has been awarded to our students in total for Fall 2021, and we had a record 3,000+ students applied due to enhanced outreach/communication efforts
    • Implementing ask@highline.edu to assist students and answer student questions 
    • Building partnerships with community groups 
    • The goal is to continue the work being done into the future and beyond 
  • Comments from BAC
    • Folks would like to see the human element of customer service on-campus improved (mentioned by Kevin, Helen and Pat) 
    • Stephanie brought up that we may need non-traditional methods to address systemic issues 
    • Aspirational Question: should enrollment drive the budget? 

• Vote on notes 12.7.21
  • Minutes were approved by voting members 
• State Budget Update 
  • As per governor’s proposal, effective July 1st, classified and exempt will receive 3.25% increase. Faculty will receive 4.67 %
  • As per governor’s proposal, classified staff will receive $1000 lump sum payment 
  • State will only provide 85% of COLA increase 
  • The timeline for budget planning is set to begin in February with a goal of completion in April 
  • Helen noted that currently no clock has started on the RIF language as per HCEA contract (note: no state budget cuts are on the table) 
  • HC operating costs have increased while revenue has declined 
  • The intent of (SB 5194) is to address equity issues in the system (converting part-time to full-time) 
    • Will discuss next time
  • Next meeting is Feb 1st 

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Helen Burn, Marco Lopez-Torres, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Kevin Pham, Tony Johnson, Steve Washburn,  Emily Coats

Absent: Laquita Fields, Marta Reeves,

Agenda:

• Vote on minutes from 1/11/22
  • Minutes approved by voting members 
• Campus Budget Update 
  • Classified will receive a lump sum of $2000 on or before June 30th (actual date to be determined) 
    • Included in the proposal is that the state will provide 80-85% of the funding and the college will have to make up the rest (contingent on legislature) 
  • Executive Cabinet has begun budget planning for next year 
    • One of the rare times in which budget reduction is not due to state budget cuts
    • Plans for an all campus budget forum in the near future 
  • The second quarter financial report will be included in the BOT meeting this Thursday 
  • Similar lump sum payments for non rep classified and exempt staff are still being discussed (was the recommendation of BAC back in December) 
  • Still facing enrollment challenges 
    • HC relied on $6.1 mil of federal stimulus money to balance the budget for FY21-22
    • All of EC is engaging in the enrollment discussion 
    • Filling open staff positions is imperative to supporting students, addressing needs and grappling with enrollment challenges 
• SB1594
  • The state will fund 200 new tenured faculty positions and each college will receive a one-time $27k to do so (this amount doesn’t scratch the surface) 
  • Faculty are facing retention challenges (some due to retirement and some due to courses being cut) 
  • Loss of PT faculty are “invisible layoffs” as noted by Helen 
• Debrief of meeting with SEM
  • Questions from faculty have arisen as to how much the consulting firm will cost 
    • The cost is still under works 
    • It is routine and normal for the college to hire consultants 
    • Some BAC members indicated they would like more transparency and future guidelines when it comes to the use of consultants 
  • Vacant staffing positions and employee retention  play a critical role in addressing student enrollment challenges (concern that pay is not competitive enough) 
• Second quarter income statement 
  • Revenue minus total expenses results in a net loss

Attendees:  Michael Pham, Heather McBreen,  Helen Burn, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Kevin Pham, Tony Johnson, Steve Washburn, Laquita Fields, Marta Reeves, Emily Coats

Absent: Vince Sanchez, Marco Lopez

Agenda:

• Vote on minutes from 2/1/22
  •  Minutes were approved by voting members 
• Campus update 
  • Quarter meetings were hosted for staff and faculty ( Michael presented on the state of the budget) 
  • Executive cabinet is working on fine tuning projected expenditures 
  • Still facing a budget shortfall
  • Enrollment (tuition paying students) will play a major role in mitigating budget challenges 
  • The BOT has $10 mil in the reserve fund 
• Review and evaluate Budget Planning Principles 
  • Budget Planning Priorities 
    • Stephanie voiced concern about returning to face-to-face as a priority (as this doesn’t meet the needs of all students) 
    • Pat reiterated this by suggesting changing the language to reflect a “hybrid/flex” approach rather than “face-to-face’ 
    • Marta voiced concern about the capacities of employees given hiring and retention challenges. There is a need for improved customer service 
    • Emily Coats pointed out that most colleges struggle with retention, and that according to the data HC’s retention has not gotten worse (but there’s always room for improvement) 
    • Helen voiced that improved customer service surrounding core services needs to be a priority 
    • Helen also noted that campus safety should be a priority 
    • Kevin Kalal voiced concern that students’ needs are not being met (on campus) and that is hurting enrollment–Kevin Pham echoed this 
    • Priorities as noted by HCEA 
      • Increase enrollment and improve intake processes
      • Maintain health benefits for employees
      • Move current employees in lower priority positions into higher priority positions
      • Respect the CoLA and don’t ask for concessions from employees unless we know they are absolutely necessary
      • Build an intentionally multi-modal institution – instruction and services – with in-person, synchronous remote, and asynchronous remote
      • Protecting and improving pay for lower paid employees including adjunct faculty
  • Budget Planning Principles 
    • Michael feels that these don’t need to change every year, but that priorities would need to be adjusted on an annual basis–Pat echoed this 
    • Emily felt that the language of “ensure” in #4 is a bit lofty/unrealistic and could instead be replaced with “strive for/advocate for”
    • If there are any additional thoughts, please send to Michael 
    • Once we get to spring quarter BAC will meet more frequently 
• Lump sum recommendation for exempt professional staff 
  • Did not get to discuss. Will review next time 
  • Stephanie put in the chat that faculty senate unconditionally supports 
• Exempt COLA recommendation 
  • Did not get to discuss. Will review next time

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Helen Burn, Kevin Kalal, Helen Burn, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Kevin Pham, Steve Washburn, Laquita Fields, Marta Reeves, Emily Coats, Tony Johnson,

Absent: Marco Lopez-Torres, Vince Sanchez, 

Agenda:

• Approval of 3/1/22 minutes
  • Approved by voting members 
• EC updates
  • Budget planning principles 22-23 (draft)
    • Be conducted in a deliberate, inclusive, transparent, and financially sustainable manner to support both short-term and long-term goals; 
    • Focus on student success, including academic excellence, enrollment, persistence, and completion; 
    • Support mission fulfillment, innovation, and institutional excellence, as well as aligning with the strategic planning processes and vision; 
    • Promote a safe, healthy, and accessible learning, teaching, and service environment for our students, faculty, and staff; 
    • Promote alternative funding opportunities, including grants, external funds, partnerships and sponsorships.
  • Institutional priorities (and strategies) 22-23
    • Enrollment management 
      • Recruitment and retention of students
      • CampusWorks recommendations 
    • Addressing budget shortfalls 
      • Transparency 
      • Maintaining current spending levels into fall 
      • Utilize time between now and fall to develop contingency plans 
    • Recruitment and retention of employees
      • Exempt salary structure reevaluation 
      • Classified staff position comparative analysis 
      • Benefits for temp and permanent hourly positions 
    • Technology improvements and integrations
      • Improve, adjusts, and support ctclink and address workload issues 
      • Mobile-first approach 
      • Hy-flex classroom equipment 
    • Implementation of equity first strategic plan
    • Implementation of Guided Pathways 
      • Support adoption of Aviso
      • Advising 
      • Student communication improvement plan 
• Round-robin updates:  What are the current concerns (from your respective representation/group), if any, relating to budget planning?
  • Pat (president’s unit ) reiterated the importance of recruitment and retention efforts/strategies 
  • Steve (academic affairs) noted that the college still has work to do to better manage and track budgets 
  • Marta (WPEA) would like more transparency and accessibility to track budgets 
  • Everyone noted what a great job Marco is doing 
  • Stephanie (faculty senate) voiced that many faculty (and staff) feel burdened by workloads and are feeling discouraged in the workplace 
  • Kevin (admin services) voiced concern about employees not wanting to come back to campus and how that impacts the campus’ ability to meet student needs
  • Laquita (exempt staff) echoed Stephanie’s concerns about workload and burnout 
  • Marta clarified that no official “sick out” is happening 
  • Helen (HCEA) noted there is talk about what programs are up for RIF (reduction in force) due to low enrollment 
  • Tony (IA) reiterated concern about B6 being closed on Fridays and how that looks to students 
  • Kevin (ASHC) reiterated the need for future contingency plans. Kevin wants to know how we can  A. get more students on campus and B. put the needs of students front and center.  
  • Stephanie noted that students are not signing up for in-person classes which is then resulting in low enrollment
• Recommendations for addressing budget shortfalls of ~ $3 – $3.5M next year.
  • Steve voiced the need for a contingency plan 
  • The hope is to maintain current spending levels into fall quarter 
  • Please discuss with your area:
    • What do we do if enrollment is still not up by fall? 
    • Start thinking about what potential budget reductions might look like and how reductions might be evaluated
    • Who will/should make budget reduction decisions? 

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen,  Marco Lopez-Torres, Kevin Kalal, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Kevin Pham, Tony Johnson, Steve Washburn, Laquita Fields, Marta Reeves, Emily Coats, Helen Burn

Absent: Vince Sanchez, Pat Daniels

Agenda:

• Approval of 4/5/22 notes
  • Minutes approved by voting members 
• EC updates
  • Budget planning priorities have been approved 
  • HCEA bargaining is coming up. The WPEA contract will be up for bargaining in late spring or early summer 
  • All FT employees are receiving a COLA increase on July 1st ($1.4 mil in COLA increases)
    • State will provide 85%
  • Plans to host another budget forum during spring quarter 
    • Stephanie proposed that we use the forum to collect more feedback 
    • Potential to resurrect the suggestion box from last year 
• Recommendations for addressing budget shortfalls of ~ $3 – $3.5M next year.
  • Stephanie and faculty senate is in favor of asking the BOT for reserve funds 
    • Stephanie also recommends focusing on enrollment and accelerated classes that students need and can access funding for 
  • Helen and the HCEA supports asking for reserve funds 
    • Helen is concerned about kicking the can down the road 
    • Laquita is also concerned about kicking the can down the road 
  • Steve would like to play out various scenarios and see what repercussions would look like in different cases 
  • Tony would like to know what steps the college can do between now and July to “cross train” employees given the employment gaps 
    • Laquita is concerned about staff taking on more/extra duties 
    • Tony also voiced that in the past there hasn’t been a lot of saying “no” to things
      • Emily noted that many of the more innovative programs are grant funded 
  • Kevin feels that we have to cut into the HR expenses in order to balance the budget (need to asses open positions and the priorities of those roles) 
  • Stephanie noticed three themes today. A) A need for plans B) A need for details and specifics C) an audit into the unfilled open positions to look at what our highest priorities are (Ie positions that if aren’t filled will hurt rather than help the budget challenges) 
  • As per Emily, enrollment isn’t looking great 
  • Michael clarified that we are not imposing a hiring freeze, but that hiring challenges are due to a variety of external factors 
    • Marco added that these challenges are not specific to HC
• Future meeting dates updates 
  • May 17th to 24th 
  • May 31st to June 7th

Attendees: Heather McBreen, Vince Sanchez, Marco Lopez-Torres, Pat Daniels, Stephanie Ojeda Ponce, Kevin Pham, Tony Johnson, Steve Washburn, Marta Reeves, Helen Burn

Absent:  Emily Coats, Michael Pham, Kevin Kalal,  Laquita Fields,

Agenda:

• Approval of 4/19/22 notes
  • Voting members voted to approve 
• Recommendations for addressing budget shortfalls of ~ $3 – $3.5M next year.
  • The importance of pinpointing what programs/areas need more funding in order to improve enrollment 
  • “how foundational is a program to the mission/business of the college” 
  • It was noted that we should look for areas of overlap 
    • This is especially true of committees (less time in committees means more time serving students)
  • Attendance/enrollment/revenue generation is a good marker of a program’s effectiveness 
  • We should evaluate whether or not we are fully using some of the tools/software we pay for 
  • There needs to be more accountability for going over budget 
  • We can better optimize space utilization including hours of operation 
  • HCEA expects less release time for full-time faculty thus more of them will be teaching and thus reducing the part-time budget
  •  More programs and processes need to be evaluated for efficiency. How can we streamline? 
  • Recommended that we document the evaluation process for budget reduction strategies and methodologies 

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Marco Lopez-Torres, Darryl Stratford, Douglas Avella Castro, Pat Daniels, Gayatri Sirohi, Annie Nguyen, Steve Washburn, Rachel Homchick, Izzy Wroblewski, Emily Coates, Tony Johnson

Agenda:

• Introductions
• BAC tasks & charges
  • The purpose of the council is to provide recommendations, input and feedback regarding budget strategies, priorities, planning and development 
  • Working 23-24 budget during this cycle of BAC 
  • The WPEA rep position is currently vacant
  • The exempt/professional staff rep position was eliminated 
• FY2023-34 Budget Planning Overview 
  • EX will kick off the budget planning for 23-24 in Feb
  • The first campus budget forum will take place on Feb 22
  • The second campus budget forum will on June 1st (BAC to participate) 
  • The legislature is reviewing salary increase proposals during the 23-25 legislative session 
• FY2022-23 Budget Overview 
  • Projected revenue was roughly $4.4 mil less than the year prior (21-22)
  • The tuition projection is based on projected enrollment  
  • Projected expenses were roughly $7.6 mil more than the year prior (21-22)
  • State FTE report shows declining enrollment (though 22-23 was a bit higher than 21-22) 
  • State funding is tied to FTE and achieving the state targeted amount, HOWEVER it is built into the funding model that if no one in the system meets their targets, then funding sources aren’t penalized 
  • ISP student enrollment is also down since 17-18 (how ever important to note that ISP students pay higher tuition) 
• Q&A
  • ELCAP students count towards FTE
  • Representatives should be taking info back and checking in with folks in their representative groups. Likewise, feedback should be taken back to BAC in order to help direct discussion 

Attendees: Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Darryl Stratford, Douglas Avella Castro, Pat Daniels, Gayatri Sirohi, Steve Washburn, Rachel Homchick, Izzy Wroblewski, Emily Coates ,Annie Nguyen

Absent: Marco Lopez-Torres, Tony Johnson, 

Agenda:

• Approve Minutes 2/21

  • Did not get to during the meeting

• Budget updates 
  • State allocation is the biggest revenue source of Highline College and tuition is the second 
  • Increasing enrollment is crucial to raising revenue and off-setting budget shortfalls (specifically targeting running start, FTE and ISP students)
  • Target is to increase revenue by roughly $1.2M
  • Reduction target of $1M in expenses
• Continue discussion about budget reduction strategies 
  • During the last meeting there were breakout rooms for more intimate discussions 
    • Covered everything from shorter work weeks and furloughs to freezing travel and hiring freezes 
    • Each strategy was evaluated based on savings potentials, impacts on students and impacts on equity 
  • List of strategies ranked from “easiest” to “hardest” to implement 
  • 1)Non-essential travel freeze came up as frequent suggestion 
    • Point was made that the college shouldn’t be participating in “non-essential” activities anyways 
    • When it comes to what qualifies as “nonessential” vs “essential” it should come back to strategic goals. The secondary question is then, is there a less costly way to fulfill the same strategic goal
    • It also comes down to whether the role and/or department requires travel or not
    • Not a huge amount in savings, but everything counts 
  • 2) Goods and services 
    • Would need to see a list of expenditures, but the total dollar amount is so high it seems like there must be something that could be cut 
    • Recommendation to reduce consultant contracts. This will save the college money as well as give the college a chance to focus on implementing recommendations from previous consultants instead of seeking out new ones 
  • What’s a strategy no one wants to entertain? 
    • Everyone agreed that layoffs should be a last resort 
    • There was also discussion around not doing furloughs because of the high impact. Likewise, furloughs aren’t solutions to long-term budgetary issues 
  • There is a deadline for bringing reductions strategies to EC. Final budget is due June 1st 
  • Idea for voting members to bring forward their top five budget reduction strategies and see where there is overlap. Due by the next meeting: April 25th

Attendees: : Michael Pham, Heather McBreen, Marco Lopez-Torres, Darryl Stratford, Pat Daniels, Gayatri Sirohi, Tony Johnson, Steve Washburn, Rachel Homchick, Emily Coates, Annie Nguyen, James Peyton (stand-in for Douglas)

Absent: Douglas Avella Castro, Izzy Wroblewski,

Agenda: 

• Approve Minutes 4/11/23

• • • Approved by voting members 

• State Budget updates 

• • • The governor has not yet signed off on the state budget (23-25 biennial budget) , but it is presumed to be approved 
    • Looking at COLA increases (it is carry forward percentage) 
    • The COLA increases are needed to help retain and attract employees 
    • As of end of March 31, the college has increased revenue compared to last year—though it doesn’t look like the college will be meeting its tuition target 
    • Looking at a deficit of $1.29M, however that is better than anticipated and the college is in a fairly good position 
    • All of the college’s operating expenses have gone up 
    • Tuition increases must be approved and adopted by the legislature and the state board. (anticipating a roughly 2-2.5% tuition increase) 
    • Likely to use some of the Board reserves next year 
    • The real task moving forward will be attracting new and more students.
    •  If the college can increase revenue by $1m that should tide the budget over for another year 

• Continue budget reduction strategy (each bring forward top five reduction strategies for discussion)

• • Given this positive news, the college may not have to seek out reductions strategies, but more data is required to confirm this 
  • BAC will be recommending places for “belt tightening” as well as FTE enrollment strategies, not necessarily “cuts” 
    • One concern with this is that people might not take the budget situation seriously if they are told that “cuts aren’t needed” 
    • The College should develop contingency plans in case the situation changes for the worse 
    • The college is still considering smaller actions to help keep expenses down (like limiting out of the state travel) 

• Updates 
  • Need for 2 volunteers from BAC to update the campus on BAC/ budget planning during a campus budget forum 
  • We will leave the remaining meetings for 22-23, but stay tuned 

Attendees: Heather McBreen, Marco Lopez-Torres, Darryl Stratford, Steve Washburn, Emily Coates,  Izzy Wroblewski, Douglas Avella Castro, Michael Pham, Milana Izetova, Sangeeta Sangha

Absent: Pat Daniels, Tony Johnson, Rachel Homchick

Agenda: 

• BAC purpose

• • • Provide recommendations on particular budget strategies and priorities
    • Provide input on budget enhancements, adjustments and mitigations 
    • Provide feedback on budget planning and development 

• Budget planning for 2024

• • • Two tentative campus budget forums in April and June 
    • Marco went over 23-24 budget 
    • Budget request form for next year 

• Next meeting time:

• • • Meetings will be in-person moving forward 
    • Will meet once in March, twice a month in April and May, and once in June
    • At least six members and the chair are required to attend to hold a vote 
    • Heather can send out a survey 

• Open discussion: what would you like to see from this council? 

• • • Transparency 
    • Want to increase understanding of the budget request process 
    • Want to see what is prioritized and why, and how that’s reflected in the numbers 
    • If we want solutions to challenges, we need to ask specific questions with specific answers 
    • Make clear what the college’s priorities are in order to better guide the budget planning process 

• Action item for next time:

Come up with a question about the budget to ask in the next meeting