ECC taps reserves, hikes tuition to balance budget

[steven]

With student numbers down and enrollment projected to decline in each of the next few years, Erie Community College expects to use another sizable chunk of reserve funds to balance its budget.

The ECC board of trustees approved a budget Thursday morning in a 6-0 vote, with two abstensions, that includes an annual tuition increase of $300. It must still be approved by the Erie County Legislature.

The budget preserves all of ECC’s personnel, including its 692 full-time faculty members, and leaves intact its $7.5 million pledge to the $30 million science building proposed for the Amherst campus.

Fresh off using $3.5 million of fund balance to plug the deficit in its 2013-14 budget, ECC is pledging $4 million for its 2014-15 budget. That’s nearly 40 percent of its savings — which will be whittled to $12 million — in two years.

The problem is basic, said William Reuter, chief administrative and financial officer. The college’s main source of revenue — tuition — has fallen in recent years while its other sources, such as government subsidies, have remained relatively flat.

Meanwhile, nearly 85 percent of its expenses are based on personnel, whose compensation are governed by contracts that provide for raises and advancement. ECC pays 95 percent of health benefits for current and former employees — though new contracts have eased that burden somewhat.

Reuter told the trustees the college projects a 4 percent enrollment decline next year and a 3.1 percent decline the year after.

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/n...ce-budget.html

[Frank Broughton]

Meanwhile, nearly 85 percent of its expenses are based on personnel, whose compensation are governed by contracts that provide for raises and advancement. ECC pays 95 percent of health benefits for current and former employees — though new contracts have eased that burden somewhat.

... and on SU here some imply unions are not in charge.

[Stockholm]

I think that your concerns are misplaced on the unions. They may be part of the problem but when I look at the alleged boom in residential interest in downtown living ( which I wonder what exactly is the amount that the taxpayer
is contributing through tax breaks and other subsidies) I am willing to ask why we don't sell the Old Post office building and convert it into a taxpaying condo development . The north and south campuses have the area and the easy`
accessibility for the vast majority of students who use ECC. We don't need three campuses, one of which is constrained for expansion.