College of Lake County Budget to be Placed on Public Display Friday

Submission by the College of Lake County

The College of Lake County Board of Trustees authorized placing a proposed $102.5 million operating budget for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY 17) on public display in Room A100 at the Grayslake Campus, starting at 10 a.m. on May 20. The action was taken at the board’s May 17 meeting. On June 28, the board will hold a public budget hearing at 6 p.m. Following the hearing, trustees will vote on the new budget.

Board Chair Dr. William M. Griffin acknowledged the hard work done by the college community to prepare the new budget. “We strive to keep the lowest possible cost to the taxpayer while at the same time continuing to offer quality education for students throughout Lake County. That has been especially difficult with the uncertainties of state funding,” he said after the meeting.

The proposed budget represents an overall slight decrease in expenditures of 0.3 percent over the FY 16 budget of $102.8 million. According to Ken Gotsch, vice president for administrative affairs, the FY 17 budget’s revenue is based on a 20 percent decline in state funding, a 1 percent increase in property taxes and a 4.7 percent increase per credit hour in tuition and fees, from $129 to $135 for in-district tuition.

On the expense side, the budget contains a 1 percent increase in non-personnel expenditures, a 7.3 percent increase in health insurance costs and $5.7 million debt service for the Sustainable Campus Master Plan.

Gotsch said the college will implement a wide range of cost-saving measures in FY17, including eliminating 20 positions, increasing employee contributions to health insurance premiums, reducing spending on contracts and travel, and a push toward paperless payments to the college.

“In addition, our new budget task force, composed of staff from a wide range of departments, will explore a variety of other ideas to help us control costs. The reorganization and consolidation of several departments will also build a superior student service experience,” Gotsch said. “And the good news is that Moody’s recommends maintaining the college’s Aaa bond rating, a result of the board’s prudent financial policies and practices.”

In order to balance the current budget and in light of the state’s reduced funding to CLC, Gotsch recommends transferring between $1 and $2.7 million from the operations and maintenance restricted fund to the operating fund.