As all of you know these are challenging financial times.  The finance office and the cabinet have been working diligently to reduce our operating costs along with addressing the challenge of maintaining quality.  We have tried to anticipate the myriad of challenges we will likely be facing while being ever mindful that every change ripples through to all areas of the college.  Given that, the 2016 Tentative Budget is now available in Colleague and will be placed on public display at the July Board Meeting. A Campus Budget Workshop will be held in the 1st quarter of this fiscal year. A notice will be sent out later regarding when and where this will take place. A balanced budget was presented as required by the LLCC Board of Trustees. This was a very difficult process due to proposed property tax freeze by the legislature, continued reductions in state funding, and declining enrollments.

Some things to know about this year’s budget:

·     FY16 budget includes Board approved increases in salary and benefits. HR will send notification to staff regarding current approved salary increases.

·     Many budget line items in all areas of the college were reduced to be in line with the three year spending pattern for the line items.

·     These reductions include all Materials and Supplies accounts (54X) being reduced by 5%.  Please watch your supply budgets accordingly.

·     Approved Budget Maintenance and Planning Strategies with funding are included in the budget and available in Colleague.

·     Approved FFE, Small Projects, Perkins, and Tech Fee appropriations will be sent out or posted when available.

·     Additional adjustments may be necessary between now and the adoption of the Final Budget at the September Board Meeting.

·     Budget transfers will not be processed until the final budget is approved by the Board and those adjustments are made in Colleague. HOWEVER, if you do not have the necessary funds in your lines to process a payment or PO, a budget transfer MUST still be prepared and submitted to the Budget office. Once the transfer is received and reviewed, we will override the account and will process the transfer once the final budget is online.

These changes mean there has to be even more accountability at every budget management level.  It is imperative that departments review their budgets during the year as purchases are made to ensure you are operating within your budget. Directions on running Colleague general ledger reports (ACBL, GLBR, and GLBS) are located in the “Useful Information” section on the budget office portal page found here.  Please familiarize yourself with these reports as they will help tremendously in managing your budget appropriately. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to contact the Finance Department.