Budget

The following budget information for Central Oregon Community College was prepared by the COCC Fiscal Service Office. Additional information is available upon request.

Current Budget Information

COCC Budget Report
 - COCC Budget 2012-13 (pdf)

COCC Audit
 - COCC Audit 2012 (pdf)

   Archives
 - Previous Budget and Audit Reports

2012-13 Budget Message

- Dr. James Middleton, President

The budget development period is a time to look back and look forward.  Reviewing the 2011/12 budget to date and projects, COCC has managed its fiscal affairs well in a challenging time.  We project that the Board Budget Reserve will grow by approximately $1million more than projected in the original budget development - mostly due to the robust summer school enrollment and a strong end-of-year carryover from the 2010/11 budget.  The 2011/12 Capital Project Fund support COCC's most ambitious concentration of facility projects in the institution's history with completion of the Culinary Center, Madras Center, Prineville Center, Ponderosa Hall renovations, Mazama Hall renovations to support our exemplary Math Redesign projects, Newberry Hall renovations and installation of a new phone system; scheduled completion in spring and summer of the Health Careers Center and the Science Center; substantial design work on the Redmond Campus's Technology Education Center and the Chandler Center in Bend.  The General Fund supported implementation of a new student services audit program to analyze  progress toward degrees and certificates, additional software systems for automating the process of moving students from class waitlists to empty seats as they become available, an increase in full-time faculty positions, expanded staffing for academic support and advising, significant improvements in data network and security, new academic program initiatives in Non-Destructive Testing, Entrepreneurism, Veterinary Technician, Exercise Science and other areas.  Additionally, COCC set the foundation for strengthening our fiscal and operational future through enhanced programming and fiscal success of the culinary program and through initiating the mixed-use real estate project in partnership with William Smith Properties, Inc.  All of these were extraordinary accomplishments in times of fiscal challenge.

As we move into the 2012/13 fiscal year, there are potential rays of hope on the economic horizon, but the Central Oregon region and State as a whole continue to feel the impact of the multi-year recession.  Income from property taxes continues to stagnate or decline (projected to decline an additional 1% after a 1.8% drop in the current year); State funding continues to drop below prior expectations.  With the recent close of the 2012 Special Legislative Session, funding for community colleges will decline in the second year of the biennium.  The biennium funding is being reduced by 3.5%, but since this is being applied entirely to year-two of the biennium, 2012/13 State funding will be 7% below the 2011/12 level.  Total public resources (State funds plus local property tax receipts) are virtually the same as 2007/8 in spite of the fact that credit full-time equivalent enrollment has almost doubled over that period.

COCC is particularly challenged due to the stagnation of property tax revenue and declining State funding while our enrollment has exploded.  In 2007, we projected that by 2012/13, COCC would receive over $4,100 in combined total public resources (State + property taxes) per FTE.  We are now projecting only slightly more than $2,500 per student.  This shift has required COCC to be more cost efficient and has likely compromised some of our services to students and the community.

While the challenges are significant, COCC's history of conservative fiscal planning and efficient operations have sustained the institution well in this challenging period and placed the institution in a position relatively better than other regional community colleges. However, the challenges are significant.  COCC faculty and staff truly "stepped up" over the past few years to meet an extraordinary demand for educational services.  With significant growth, it is important to increase staffing and other expenditures to support quality and continue to serve demand.

To meet these needs, the 2012/13 budget recommendation included three strategic actions: 

(1)  Though staffing positions, technology expenditures and other expenditures are increased, the college is able to fund only about 50% of identified additional needs.

Strategic increased allocations are needed to ensure quality and respond to explosive growth of the past few years: for additional full time faculty positions (particularly linked to opening new facilities), student support services (tutoring, testing counseling, advising) institutional research, custodial positions and utilities linked to new facilities, data and information service to support instructional and operational system.

Though the above expenditures will support services to students and the community, resources were insufficient to address other needs.  Many important, but judged less critical allocations were left unfunded:  special services for veterans, additional custodial staff, expansion of safety and security staff, technology training, expansion of student bus-pass subsidies, expanded intramural and club sports, scholarship management software, technical and staff support for special software and operations in fiscal services.

(2)  Tuition and technology fees are proposed for increases - an alternative deemed better than restricting access, cutting classes, or reducing services

Tuition and fees now constitute 51% of institutional revenue in contrast to the long-standing prior standard of one-third, one-third, one-third - with equal portions coming from tuition/fees, local property taxes, and the State.  Staff are proposing a $6 tuition increase and a $2 increase in the technology fee.  Even with these increases, we estimate that COCC's combined tuition and fees remain the third lowest of the seventeen community college districts.  Projected decline in the combined State and local property tax revenue are roughly equal to $2 in tuition increase.

(3)  Substantial transfers to the general fund from traditional allocations to special side accounts is recommended to sustain access, quality and services.  Staff believes these transfers can be made without compromising long-term financial stability.

Over decades, COCC has been able to address many important needs through use of reserves in special non-general fund accounts.  For instance, COCC was able to pay for the new Campus Center in full through multi-year transfers from these accounts.  With the current fiscal pressures, staff recommends slowing growth in the balances in these accounts to support operations through the General Fund.  In this manner, filling of critical instructional, student services and operational demands can be met through tapping some of the income generated through successful growth in summer school, income from external rental of time on the Aviation programs flight simulator, reduced subsidy to the community education program, rental of college facilities to other agencies, and other income.  Additionally, we are reducing the annual general fund allocation for capital equipment purchases and projecting to cover these expenses out of end-of-year balances and special fund transfers.

The proposed budget for 2012/13 does access fiscal reserves as we project we will end 2011/12 5% above the Board mandated 10% fiscal reserve.  The five-year budget projections would tap these reserves in three of the next five years; however, projections sustain the Board mandated 10% reserve over this five-year horizon.  We are hopeful that prudent management of resources, potential enrollment growth above our conservative 1% per year growth, and other factors will mitigate the use of these fund balances.

Significant long-term uncertainty remains over the long-term, specifically:

• What will the levels of PERS and medical cost increases be over the next five years?
• Will COCC maintain its current high water mark in enrollment or will enrollment decline as the economy recovers?  Conversely will capacity from new facilities and new campuses bring COCC to even higher enrollment levels?
• When and at what rate will property tax revenues begin to recover?
• What fiscal demands will correlate with heightened outcome expectations from accreditation and State Achievement Compacts?

Long-term financial planning will need to ensure the flexibility and reserves necessary to accommodate these uncertainties.  COCC operations remain sound but we must plan carefully to ensure we do not over commit ourselves financially until there is greater certainty relative to the questions listed above.

Dr. James Middleton, President

Budget Committee Meeting
March 14, 2012

Archived Budget Information

COCC Budget Reports for Previous Years

  - COCC Budget 2011-12 (pdf)
  - COCC Budget 2010-11 (pdf)
  - COCC Budget 2009-10 (pdf)

COCC Audits for Previous Years

  - COCC Audit 2011 (pdf)
  - COCC Audit 2010 (pdf)
  - COCC Audit 2009 (pdf)
  - COCC Audit 2008 (pdf)
  - COCC Audit 2007 (pdf)

Additional budget information is available upon request by contacting the Fiscal Services office.

COCC Fiscal Services
Phone: (541) 383-7220
Fiscal Services Web