NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEE
Monday, March 17, 2008, Hagerty Center

CALL TO ORDER — Chair Walter J. Hooper called the study session to order at 8:30 a.m.

PUBLIC INPUT – There was no public input.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

Update: Campus Services

Housing – Stephen Siciliano explained the beliefs underlying the recommendation of the Housing Master Plan team, comprised of Anne Monroe, Dean of Student Services; Ed Bailey, Director of Campus Services, and Karen Ferguson, Business Planning Manager.  He presented their proposed operational guidelines for the five year period defined as FY’09 through FY’13 and answered trustees’ questions regarding the proposal.  The Board was supportive of the Administration’s approach. 

Food Service – Ed Bailey explained that the college issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a food service provider at the College. The scope of services outlined in the RFP was to provide comprehensive food service programs to all NMC students, faculty, staff, and visitors, with more emphasis placed on commuter students than in the past. The current program is primarily driven by the residence life programs.  Trustees reviewed and discussed the bid evaluation matrix.  A final decision will be made at the March 24 regular meeting.

Security – Ed Bailey reviewed with trustees the current activities of the Campus Safety and Security Department (building and site security, security systems, emergency services liaison, emergency response, Cleary Act compliance, and parking management).  He also explained some new initiatives that are in the planning stages (policy development, risk management, safety programs, and better utilization of technology).  Ed provided incident activity by type, hour of the day and day of the week, as well as examples of how technology could be used more effectively.  At issue is the desired service level, which translates to staffing and the budget amounts.  Current staffing levels were presented.  Ed recommends a slight reduction in contracted services and an increase in student patrols.  An RFP for security personnel will go out in April.

Update:  2008-09 Budget Development – Cathy Jones provided an update (below) to the Fiscal 2009 budget process presentation she made at the February 18 board meeting.  The purpose of that presentation was to identify those areas in which the assumptions underlying the FY09 budget were proving challenging.

• Property Taxes: As of February 2008, we have received 92% of the FY08 property tax revenue budget. A review of the past three years indicates that 10% to 15% of the budgeted amount is collected between the months of March-June. Given this fact and the knowledge that the FY08 Budget was based on a 6% increase over the FY07 property tax revenue, we have been able to forecast FY09. Our current budget model has assessed taxable values increasing by 3% with the millage rate decreasing by 1.5%. The result of these two effects is an increase in budgeted property tax revenue at 3% over FY08 or $9.1 million.
• State Appropriations: Making only minor changes, a 2008-09 budget that gives community colleges an overall appropriations increase of 3 percent won approval Wednesday, February 12, by the Senate Appropriations Community Colleges Subcommittee. The effect of this approval is a 2.6% increase to NMC. This equates to State Appropriations revenue of $8,757,200.
• Tuition: A modest rate increase has been assumed for the purposes of planning. The current budget model includes a 3.7% increase to in-district rates.
• Employee Benefits: While the State’s retirement contribution rate went down by almost a half percent, NMC current employee health insurance rates have increased by approximately 16%. The current budget model has overall employee benefits increasing by 11% over that of last year’s budget. Benefits Advisory Committee is looking at several scenarios to identify potential cost savings without sacrificing the current plan’s quality.  Trustees found the increase in health benefit costs unacceptable and asked the administration to find ways to level off the increase. 
• Campus Security: The fiscal 2009 budget contains approximately $315,000 for campus Security. The Board will be presented with several alternatives for the composition of these funds (i.e., labor versus technology).
• Food Services: Included in the Board materials are the results of the recently complied RFP results related to campus food services. The Board’s approval of the recommended vendor will determine if there is an impact to the General Fund through a capital investment.  

Given the above assumptions, the current working model for the FY09 budget contains $750 thousand dollars of unmet need. Planning and Budget Council will be reviewing the model to identify ways in which the budget can be balanced.

Update: Dennos Museum Center Strategic Goal – Proposed strategic position alternatives for the future of the DMC were discussed. Each alternative offered multiple resource scenarios to consider.  The next steps are to develop financial proformas for each strategic position/resource scenario.  Board questions included the climate for fundraising, potential collaboration/ partnerships with other local arts organizations and the status of plans for WSI, etc. in anticipation of conducting a fundraising feasibility study.

Update: Great Lakes Maritime Academy Strategic Goal – The Board and administration discussed the upcoming meeting with the GLMA Board of Visitors.  Trustees reiterated their strong desire to support the Academy and find external resources to support the growing needs of the Maritime programs. Tim agreed to develop a preliminary plan that would be shared at the meeting on Wednesday. 

ADJOURNMENT – The meeting adjourned at 11:30

Recorded by Timothy J. Nelson