After two hours of dispute and discussion, the EC faculty and president Tom Fallo finally came to an agreement as the college’s budget was finalized.
Discussion and arguments from the public and unions delayed the approval, as many faculty members and employees joined the audience to refute the budget.
“This budget has been reviewed over and over again by the administration and the budget committee,” Fallo said.
“I think this plan holds a lot of integrity and I am proud of the hard work the committee has put into creating it,” he added.
As the year passes, there will always be room for corrections, he added.
“The reserve fund is important for us in the future years, not just this (year),” Fallo said during the meeting.
“We do not know what will happen in the next few years, but with a large reserve, we will be able to cover the cost of sudden expenses, mishaps and breaks from Sacramento,” he added.
However, before approving the budget, the board addressed the concerns of the public.
Gerry Turner, an administrative member, who was unable to attend the discussion, wrote a letter to the board concerned about the many of the cuts, William Beverly, president of the board of trustees, said. The letter commented on, what Turner thought, were unnecessary cuts to salary benefits, he added.
“It is important that we adopt a budget,” Beverly said.
“There is always room for change and corrections, however the first and foremost, we must create a budget. How we do that is based upon negotiation and estimates from the preceding years,” he added.
Beverly said the budget approval creates conflict among students, teachers, employees and administrators, because they all have different interests.
He said the labor unions are worried about their benefits that may be affected.
“Unfortunately, a small portion of employees are affected because of the medical plan they chose,” Beverly said.
“They have chosen a more expensive plan. The problem for them is that we will still pay the same percentage of the lower plan, but they will have to pay the extra or regular costs,” he added.
Many people are also opposed to the amount of reserve the college has, Beverly added.
The college has almost $23 million in the reserve fund, according to the California Community Colleges unrestricted general fund transactions report from fiscal year 2009-2010.
But while EC has met the requirements of the state, saving between 1 and 5 percent of their general fund expenditures, Fallo said the reserve fund should be saved for future needs.
“With the possibilities of midyear cuts and increased fees, we have worked well with what we have and have predicted what may come,” Fallo said.
“We will be prepared for any uncertainty,” Fallo said.
